Welcome to Bible Believers Fellowship and the ministry of bbfohio.com. I'm Pastor Greg and I welcome you to our 15th installment of our Israel and the Jews series. This study is titled Persecution of Christians in Israel. And our text is 1 Thessalonians chapter two. All right, we're in 1 Thessalonians 2, 14 to 16. We're going to talk about persecution of Christians in Israel. This is one of the main points brought up by the Jew haters when you have a conversation with them. They'll say, well, yeah, can you support that country over there, blah, blah, and all the other things we talked about. They say, they persecute Christians over there. And I didn't bring up, and I'll bring it up right off the bat, there was an attempt to pass a law against proselytizing. But it didn't pass, and so, you know, it's a red herring. But that would have been really bad. But again, we're gonna see that this is what we should expect. So this is our 15th installment of our Israel and the Jews series discussing the anti-Christian persecution in Israel. It is a fact that unbelieving Jews and Gentiles have persecuted Christians since the time of Christ and the apostles. So let's just get that right out on the table. All unbelievers, not every uh... single-person not even every group but among the gentiles and the jews are groups that have persecuted christians for two thousand years so here in first thessalonians to fourteen to sixteen i want you to read the even verses with me So read beginning of verse 14. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews. who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us. And they please not God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always, for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. Amen? Some hard truth there, but it says right there that, first of all, The persecution, he says, is of your own countrymen, first off. Now, that's the Greeks. And also, the word Greeks, there's times where you'll see it's referencing Gentiles. Why is that? Well, there's where Thessalonica is. It was part of what you call Greece proper. But the Greeks was a term used, first of all, for the Macedonian Empire, which covered all this territory, including into Italy and Turkey and elsewhere. But really, there were references to the Greeks all over what became or what was once the Alexandrian Empire, the Alexandrian Greek Empire, all that green. They taught and basically were required to learn the Greek language and became really a part of Greek culture. And in Israel, they were called the Hellenists. And that's a term for the Greeks, Hellenism. And so that tells you why that when you talk about Thessalonica and the Greeks, you actually are referring to really all Gentiles in the Western, or what we'd call the civilized world of that day. So unbelievers, period, persecute Christians, Jew and Gentile. So we have to lay that out, get that across. Now, focusing on a tiny number of Jews while ignoring the mass persecution by non-Jews is satanic deception. And that's what these people are doing when they put a microscope, more like a telescope, in order to make what's happening with Christians in Israel look way worse than it is. And they're ignoring all the persecution of Christians around the world, for the most part. Now, there are some who do bring up the, we've talked about Nigeria and other places where Christians are being persecuted, the Druze and the Christians being slaughtered in Syria and that sort of thing. But there's two leading persecutors of Christians in church history, and neither one of them are the Jews. The two leading persecutors of Christians begin with, number one, Islamist Muslims. And if you go do your research, you'll find out that the Muslims, the Islam, have killed, enslaved, raped, and murdered more Christians than anyone on the planet. But a close second is the Roman Catholic Church. And you'll have people, a lot of times, they'll talk about Christians and they'll talk about how Christians have persecuted the Jews. Hey, man, I'm not going to lay claim to what the Roman Catholic Church is doing. I am anti-Catholic. I love Catholic people, but I am an anti-Catholic. I think the Roman Catholic Church is a whore. I believe the Pope is a joke. The last couple, anyway, have been communists. but they're all wicked. They all are part of the globalist system now, especially in the last decades. Throughout the years, the popes and the inquisitions have murdered and just slaughtered Bible believers like us, as well as Jews. And there's really so much that we could go on and on about that when it comes to the history of the persecution of the Jews, because among the non-Catholics who do persecute the Jews, they're those who believe in replacement theology. Those of us, those who have held our beliefs as dispensationalists, we call ourselves Christian Zionists. We have never persecuted Jews. None of our ancestors, no one who held our beliefs persecuted Jews. but that differentiation that's rarely made outside of our circles. And Paul's next statement is isolated by the anti-Semites to label Jews as Christ killers. Look at verse 15. who both killed the Lord Jesus Christ and their own prophets. That's about as much as they usually quote. And it's true. Paul said it because it's true. But Paul is speaking solely of the Jews in this context. So it's like you're talking about one group, then you just stick to that subject. and he's not talking about any general terms. So there's times where we can be talking about the Roman Catholic Church, and we can be talking about a certain, there are certain groups among the Roman Catholics who are very conservative, and they're very pro-life, and very anti-Sodom, and we appreciate what they do. That doesn't mean we endorse Roman Catholicism. And that's the same kind of thing that they pull with this text. And they pull this out where it says, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. And he speaks of non-Jews elsewhere, so that's why he's talking about the Jews and saying that. Now, we're going to come back to this matter of calling Jews Christ-killers. But in this study, we're going to stick to the topic. And he says about the Jews, and they have persecuted us. They both killed the Lord Jesus in their own province and have persecuted us. Paul has been persecuted more than any Jew hater I've ever met. And yet Paul did not say the things the Jew haters say. He still said, if I could go to hell to save my brethren, the Jews, I would do it. he has the right answer that's the thing is these what we talked about the last study satanic anti-semitism there's a bad spirit in these people who are then pointing out the tiny amount the persecution of christians in israel so yes just like many gentiles jews persecuted paul and early church believers that's fact but it is not exclusive to the Jews, and by percentage, the amount of persecution from the Jews was minuscule compared to the empire of Rome, and then later, the religious whore of Rome. Emphasizing Jewish persecution of Christians while ignoring Gentile persecution of Christians exposes that satanic spirit of the accuser. Those are the kind of things, if you want to practice spiritual discernment, you have to take note of those things. and there are whole documentaries produced in order to pretend that this is a Jewish problem, that Israel is evil, and they totally ignore what's going on among the Islamists especially. This is one, it's called What Israel Does to Christians. It's two hours. I mean, they have to go on and on and on about stuff. They don't have two hours worth of examples. Tucker Carlson's people put out a couple of things, but this is from the Young Turks with Tucker. That's not a man. I hate to be mean, but that mustache is on a woman. I'm told that's George Stephanopoulos' sister. Yeah, look it up. Agapia Stephanopoulos. Mother Agapia, I think, is all you have to do when you look it up. Now, Tucker's people put out a whole 95-minute documentary. Here's what it's really like to live as a Christian in the Holy Land. Now, the young Turks, if you look there, they took 33 minutes of that interview, and they called theirs, Christian Nun Warns Israel is Erasing Us. George's sister, if that's what she is, she's a liar. I feel sorry for, you know, women have that problem with hair on the upper lip and everything, that's nothing to, you know, but it sure does make, it is his sister. But when you're a liar, that upper lip just gives somebody something to... I'll show you one more. This is a 28-minute one. The persecuted church. Is Israel destroying Christianity in the Middle East? Do you know who's destroying Christianity in the Middle East? I mean, do you really want to know the truth? The United States of America has done more to destroy Christianity in the Middle East than anybody. under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, even Bill Clinton, what was going on in Serbia. You have what's been going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. Iraq had this big Christian population. It was a minority, but it was sizable. It's totally gone now thanks to George W. Bush. Totally gone. Killed, genocided, ethnically cleansed, run out of Iraq. Same thing in Syria. There's a tiny number of Christians remaining in Syria, thanks to George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The anti-Semites find examples of Christians being mistreated by a tiny number of overzealous Orthodox Jews and use it as propaganda for Jew hatred. This is an example here. This is a little gift somebody made. You watch, you see it, it'll show it again. This little boy right here spits. It spits like on the ground next to these Christians who are here. And he's about 10 years old. That's rude. But if that's what you call persecution, you got a real problem. And that's the kind of stuff they're talking about. There's rarely, there is somewhere there's like fist violence, but as far as real hardcore violence, what happened to big balls was way worse than what is happening to Christians in Israel. And the Democrat judges thought that was so terrible, they just let the perpetrators off on probation. So don't tell me you're upset about a kid spitting at somebody's feet. Now, listen to this. This is a balanced factual report on the issue. This is from CBN News. Israel today, where officials are taking seriously a recent upsurge in spitting and hitting attacks on clergy and the vandalism of Christian sites. Christians in Jerusalem's Old City say they've been repeatedly assaulted. So how are Christian leaders responding? CBN's Julie Stahl brings us the story from Jerusalem. The situation led Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai to meet leaders of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches of the Holy Land. In recent months we have seen very serious phenomena towards the Christian denominations in the Holy Land. Our brothers and sisters, Christian citizens, feel attacked in their places of prayer, in their cemeteries and on the streets. Christians in Jerusalem's Old City say they are often harassed, spit on, and even physically attacked by religious Jewish youth. I view this phenomenon as extreme and unacceptable in any shape or form. This phenomenon needs to be uprooted. Earlier incidents include the desecration of a Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion, an attack on international Christians during a day of prayer for Jerusalem, and harassment at a Messianic concert in Jerusalem. We must respect the members of all religions. We've committed to this since the dawn of our existence. This is the most basic commandment of love your neighbor as yourself. Church leaders expressed their desire to work together with Israeli authorities. We need to work together in order to encourage coexistence and solidarity between us, and the love between us, because we are brothers in the same state, we live in the same places, and we need to live together in quiet and peace. Recently, Israeli Channel 13 reporter Yossi Eli went undercover as a priest for a day. Dressed in a robe, he walked through the Old City with Franciscan Father Alberto. In the first five minutes, he was spat at five times by Orthodox Jewish Israelis. In Haifa, Israel's police commissioner said the police are working to eradicate incidents and trends that affect the sense of security. We're here to reassure you of that and to offer any assistance that may be required. As part of the cooperation between all the parties, we're working to bridge the gaps in places of conflict while simultaneously striving to provide the vital sense of security. David Parsons from the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem says the attacks are coming from a fringe element. Most Israelis welcome Christians here, they welcome Christian support, but there does seem to be a fringe, a small fringe on the religious right that for whatever motivations are trying to harass and give trouble for Christians here. He also says it's a learning curve for Israel right now. Jewish people wouldn't tolerate these sorts of attacks against them. In other countries, they're very vocal about it, and they shouldn't tolerate it here when their own co-religionists carry out similar attacks against Christians. Parsons told CBN News the scriptures are clear about how Christians should treat the Jewish people. Scriptures are clear that Genesis 12, 3 says we need to bless the Jewish people. Isaiah says, comfort them. Paul in Romans 11 says, show them mercy. So we have biblical commands to stand with Israel, support them. We're not going to condition that support on whether or not these attacks are stopping. But it does make it harder for us to build support and friendship for Israel out there. Julie Stahl, CBN News, Jerusalem. Now, first of all, the Roman Catholic clergy guy there with the hot pink yarmulke had the best name of any priest I ever saw. Did you see it? Pizzabola. I'm like, that is a name. You know, I've been living with Miller, you know. Pizzabola, that would be awesome. But second of all, you notice, I'm not saying that this isn't bad, but it's spitting and a few punches being thrown. I mean, that's what they're trying to make Israel look like the new Nazis. That's what they're trying to do. Ironically, they're trying to make Israel look like the new Nazis. If all Hitler's people did was spit and hit people with their fists, there would have been no Holocaust. Right. Well, here's the reality. By the way, that report was before October 7, 2023. It's almost totally disappeared and they go back and they find this stuff, this old reports, and put it on the internet like it happened yesterday. But here's the reality of life for Christians in Gaza before October 7th. Remember, we're comparing spitting and throwing fists to this. The latest effort against Gaza's small Christian minority centers around this Palestinian Bible Society bookstore. Evangelicals have worked out of this shop for nearly a decade, bringing help and hope to Gaza's 1.5 million residents. Now the landlord, under pressure from militant Muslims, is suing to evict the Christians. Hana Massad is pastor of the Gaza Baptist Church. He said in recent years, persecution has become a way of life for Gaza Christians, a community that has dwindled to less than 2,000 people. The Bible Society bookstore has been bombed twice since early 2006. And this year, two attacks have occurred against a Gaza Christian school. To be a follower of Christ in Gaza, and to be a disciple for the Lord in Gaza, this could cost you your life. And the question is, how far are you willing to go to follow the steps of the Lord? Do you follow Him from far away, or are you willing to go all the way? 29-year-old Rami Ayad was willing to go all the way. He was inspired by the faith of the Malatya martyrs, three Christians murdered in Turkey last year. Rami told fellow Christians he wished he could die such a noble death. His wish was realized last October, when militant Muslims kidnapped Rami and shot him to death. After his murder, Rami's wife Pauline gave birth to their third child, Sama. His name means heaven. Pastor Hana says Pauline has chosen to remain in Gaza to continue her husband's ministry. She believed that Satan, when he killed Rami, he tried to kill the Christ, which is in Rami. He tried to kill the testimony of the Christian faith, and this is why she continued to go forward and continue to serve the Lord and to continue the ministry and the work which is close to Rami's heart. As for the Gaza Christians who live under fire every day, Pastor Hana says they are encouraged by believers around the world. The main thing inspired us of what God called us to do, but also that we belong to a wonderful body, the body of Christ, that we are part of this wonderful family, the family of God. And to have brothers and sisters who really care and who are really praying for us, that means a lot to us. Gary Lane, CBN News, Jerusalem. You cannot find that kind of persecution anywhere in Israel. But all the Jew haters ignore that. and they make you weep over spitting and a few fists being thrown. They say little to nothing of such persecution of Christians by non-Jews. Like that, and like this, Turkey labels Christians national security threat to deport them. Israel's not doing that. Why are these Jew haters screaming about Israel and saying nothing about what's going on in Turkey? Lying hypocrites is what they are. When people bring up the persecution of Christians in Israel, mark them down. Lying hypocrites. Every one of them. and research all the Christian, by the way, I say that mostly Roman Catholic persecution of Jews, and you'll be surprised they let Christians into their country. And sadly, most of the Jews I've talked to don't understand that the Roman Catholic Church has killed as many Baptists as they have Jews, as many evangelicals as they have Jews. And they just kind of lump everybody as Christian. But if I thought Christian was Christian, and I looked at what the Roman Catholic Church has done to the Jews, I wouldn't let them in my country. So I think they're showing a lot of charity, or whatever you want to call it, by allowing Christians into Israel at all, thanks to the Roman Catholic Church. You can read this. This is at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website. It's written by Gerard S. Sloyan, professor emeritus of religion at Temple University, called Christian Persecution of Jews Over the Centuries. That's not an evangelical. That's why I recommend it. You can go find several resources like that. But if you want to, read the works on the Brian Call, the Brian Call website. He wrote a book called A Woman Rides the Beast. There's a deadly piece of dirt by Peter Ruckman. You can get it in print. You can also get it in MP3s where he goes on and on and on. You got to listen to that in portions at a time where he documents all this. As I've said before, I've been threatened, maligned, physically assaulted many times. I'm not up here whining about it, but I'm just being honest. There's been a lot over the years. We've told the stories on a number of occasions, and not once, including when we went to Bexley, the Jewish part of town, not once did a Jew ever threaten us, spit on us. They didn't even wad up the stuff we gave and throw it back at us like a lot of Gentiles around here do. I get more nasty, vile responses in Worthington, Ohio, Gentiles, than I got down in Bexley. Does it happen? Not to me, but it has happened. I mean, we're not up here pretending it doesn't happen at all. But the Jewish persecution of Christian is mild and tame and minuscule in number compared to Gentile persecution of Christians and so we go to our text in verse 16 it says this about the Jews forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sins all way for look at this the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost that destruction of the temple in 70 AD, scattered throughout the world, pogroms here and there, and all throughout Europe and Russia, of course the Holocaust, all the Inquisition killings, and all that sort of thing, right down to today, what you see on the news. It is God's wrath, I believe that. But the Jews will continue to suffer for their rejection of Christ, and for their persecution of Christians at times over the years, but you leave that to God. And that's what most of these people who are crying about the persecution of Christians in Israel, they're wanting us to condemn Israel. Well, you go ahead and curse them. I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna be a part of that. Genesis 12.3, and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. That's not just to Abraham, as your lying, false teachers tell you. That was to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to his twelve sons, and to the nation of Israel. And we did a whole study on that, if you didn't see it. So what if a Jew does spit at you? Or persecutes you? Matthew 544, Jesus said, 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. Even then, Romans 12, 14, bless them which persecute you, bless and curse not. Amen? I know it's not easy, but amen. And finally, Romans 15. Let's close by reading that. Romans 15. 30 to 33, Romans 15, beginning of verse 30, you read the odd with me, so I'll, wait a minute, where am I at here? I turned to chapter 16, 15, there it is. 30 to 33, I'll read the even beginning of verse 30. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints, that I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. Now the God of peace be with you all, amen. That's Paul talking about going back to where he's already been stunned to death and survived. He's been persecuted and imprisoned, and he still loves them, and he still prays for them, and he's asking for prayers so that when he goes back there, he can preach the gospel and see some more Jews saved, amen? And that should be our attitude as well. Father, we thank you for what we learned tonight. We pray that many of these out there cursing Israel will wake up to their sin and repent. and that these messages might help some. They've already helped some folks. We've heard from them. We're thankful for each one. And we pray you continue with your Holy Spirit to convict hearts with the truth of your word and for the glory of Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen. Amen. All right, stand if you can. Let's sing. God of creation, Father of lights, Ruler of nature, Creator of time O God of Israel, Lord of that land You are Messiah, Redeemer of man Glory to God Glory to God, glory to God, in Jesus' name. God of creation, Father of lights, Ruler of nature, Creator of time, O God of Israel, Lord of that land, You are Messiah, Redeemer of man. Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in Jesus' name. Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in Jesus' name. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of angels. O come, let us adore Him. O come, let us adore Him. O come, let us adore Him. Christ the Lord. Sing, choirs of angels. Sing in exultation. Sing, all ye citizens of heaven. Glory to God, all glory in the highest, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning, Jesus, to Thee be all glory given. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Amen? Hey, yes, it's usually thought of as a Christmas song, but it's only 70 days to Christmas, so you can be seated. His blood makes my heart pure, and I find the curse is cure when I run. into the arms of Jesus. A whole new life begins. There's forgiveness of my sin when I run into the arms of Jesus. When I run into the arms of my Jesus, my friend. I lose all of my fears He dries up all my tears When I run into the arms of Jesus I find a brand new strength And mount with eagle's wings When I run into the arms of Jesus When I run into the arms of my Jesus, my friend I sing to God above, my help melts with His love When I run into the arms of Jesus My soul must magnify My King who sits on high When I run to the arms of Jesus When I run to the arms of my Jesus, my friend When I run to the arms of my Jesus, my friend. Amen. ♪ Lord prepare me to be sanctuary ♪ Pure and holy ♪ Try and do with thanksgiving ♪ I'll be a living sanctuary Who knows my weakness? Who gives me strength? The light of a camp Lead me home From temptation Purify me From within Fill my heart with Your Holy Spirit Lord, repair me to this sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving, I'll be a living, This song is 120 years old. We are often tossed and driven on the restless sea of time. Somber skies and howling tempest oft succeed a bright sunshine. In that land of perfect day, when the mists have rolled away, we will understand it better by and by. By and by, when the morning comes When the saints of God are gathered home We'll tell the story, how we've overcome We'll understand it better by and by. We are often destitute of the things that life demands. Want of food and want of shelter, thirsty hills and barren lands. We are trusting in the Lord and according to the Word. We will understand it better by and by. By and by, when the morning comes When the saints of God are gathered home We'll tell the story, how we've overcome For we'll understand it better by and by Temptations, hidden snares Often take us unawares And our hearts are made to bleed For a thoughtless word or deed And we wonder why the test When we try to do our best But we'll understand it better by and by By and by, when the morning comes, When the saints of God are gathered home, We'll tell the story, how we've overcome, For we'll understand it better by and by. By and by, when the morning comes, When the saints of God are gathered home, We'll tell the story how we've overcome, Or we'll understand it better by and by.