Of all the hatreds in a fallen world, none is more pervasive and persistent than hatred of Jews, God’s covenant people. Antisemites on the Left, from Marxists to Islamofascists, have rioted on the campuses of our “elite” universities. Hate crimes in major US cities, such as New York, have exploded. Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for New York City mayor was built on antisemitism and hatred of Israel. Antisemites are now serving in Congress.
Historians have shown that countries that tolerate and promote antisemitism almost inevitably embrace other evils and often lose freedom. America must confront this evil or suffer the same consequences.
In America, the Church, at its best, has been a bulwark against antisemitism. Studies show America is more pro-Israel than other Western nations. A main reason is that America has more serious Bible-based Christians than do European countries. We overwhelmingly support Israel.
It was probably predictable, then, that the forces of hate would try to deceive American Christians and pro-Israel conservatives. One of the more extreme spokesmen for hatred is Nick Fuentes, a social media “guru” who has gained a significant following among many young American men.
Fuentes has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, denies the Holocaust, and promotes a noxious racial superiority. He also hated Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA, whose work has sparked a Christian revival on university campuses. Make sure your sons are not consuming this poison on social media from haters like Fuentes.
This raw hatred should be quickly rejected in any church that follows God’s Word. But many Christians in recent years have been deceived by a “replacement theology” that rewrites the Bible and the place of the Jewish people in God’s plan for mankind. What does the Bible say about God and His relationship to the Jews?
The Covenant
In Genesis, we are told that God met Abram and said this to him: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3, ESV).
Later, in Genesis 17, God tells Abram that his new name will be Abraham, and in verse seven He reiterates His promise: “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you . . .”
God’s Word Is Clear
But some churches are wrongly teaching that God has abandoned His covenant with the Jews and that all the blessings belong to the Church instead. This is not biblical. Paul, writing in Romans, addresses this directly: “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew” (Romans 11:1-2a).
God does not change His mind. He does not break His promises. If God broke the covenant with the Jews, we could fear He would also break His covenant with Christians.
A Christian who hates the Jewish people is betraying his own heritage and defying God. God chose the Jews to be the people through whom the Messiah came into the world.
Zechariah 2:8 and Deuteronomy 32:10 tell us that God considers Israel and the Jews to be “the apple of his eye.”
The Old Testament is the story of the Jews and their covenant relationship with God. The patriarchs, Abraham, Issac and Jacob, were all Jews. All the prophets whose prophecies point to the coming of Jesus were Jews. Christ fulfills those prophecies in every detail in the New Testament. A Christian who hates Jews is rejecting the foundation of his own faith. The Bible, God’s inspired Word, was written by the Jews. The first family of Christianity, Mary, Joseph, and Christ Himself, were observant Jews.
Did the Jews Kill Christ?
Another age-old heresy that is raising its head again is the libel that “the Jews killed Jesus.” In the Middle Ages, this distortion of Scripture led to mass murders of Jews and fueled antisemitism. It continues to fuel antisemitism today.
The crucifixion of Jesus was carried out by the Roman authorities. Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman controlled province of Judea. He presided over the “trial” of Jesus and ordered His crucifixion. Crucifixion was the Roman method of capital punishment, not a Jewish method. Factually, the Roman Empire executed Christ.
Theologically, there is a more important answer to the question as to who killed Jesus. It was God’s plan for Jesus to die on the cross as the perfect sacrificial lamb, whose shed blood washed away our sins. God could have sent an army of angels to prevent the crucifixion, but He did not. Only through His death and resurrection could our transgressions be forgiven and Satan defeated. Christ canceled “the record of debt that stood against us” (Col. 2:14) due to all the sins committed before His incarnation, during His ministry on earth, and after the crucifixion.
It is the sum total of mankind’s (Jews’ and Gentiles’ alike) sins—past, present, and future—that required the perfect lamb, Jesus, to be killed. We all bear responsibility, through our sin, for the crucifixion. Scapegoating the Jews for Christ’s death is yet another sin—a sin for which Christ had to die on the cross.
Israel and the United States
Israel and the United States are the two pillars of Judeo-Christian civilization. Many of America’s Founders were “restorationists” who believed the Jews must be restored to their historic covenant land.
Many of the central ideas of our founding came from the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments.
In 1947, the nation of Israel was restored by a vote in the United Nations. Dr. Dobson’s father, sitting with him listening to the announcement on the radio, said, “Jimmy, you are listening to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.” Dr. Dobson never forgot that moment.
JDFI strongly supports the US-Israel alliance. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem and urge all Christians and people of goodwill to reject hatred and antisemitism.
All Scripture is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
