WHY DOES SATAN WANT THE CHURCH TO HATE ISRAEL?
If Satan hates the Church, why does he work so hard to make the Church hate Israel?
Because Israel is not merely a nation.
Israel is a testimony to the faithfulness of God.
From Genesis onward, God attached His name to specific promises concerning Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants.
"I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you." (Genesis 17:7)
He promised a people (Genesis 12:2).
He promised a land (Genesis 15:18-21).
He promised a throne (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
He promised a kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14; Luke 1:32-33).
And He promised that those covenants would endure.
This creates a problem for Satan.
If God fulfills those promises exactly as spoken, His faithfulness is vindicated before the entire world.
God told Abraham:
"I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse." (Genesis 12:3)
The issue is larger than one nation. It is about whether God keeps His word.
As Bible teacher Chuck Missler often observed, Satan's strategy has always been aimed at preventing God's program from reaching its appointed conclusion.
So Satan has pursued the same objective for thousands of years.
Not merely to destroy Israel physically.
But to undermine confidence in God's promises.
Consider the pattern:
β Pharaoh tried to destroy Israel's sons.
β Haman sought to exterminate the Jews.
β Antiochus desecrated the Temple.
β Herod slaughtered the infants of Bethlehem.
β Hitler attempted genocide.
β Hamas continues the hatred today.
Different centuries.
Different empires.
Same hatred (Psalm 83:1-8).
Same target (Zechariah 12:2-3).
The war did not begin in the Middle East.
It began with the promise of Genesis 3:15.
The promised Redeemer would come through a particular people, and Satan has opposed that people ever since.
But there is an even more subtle strategy.
If Satan cannot destroy Israel, perhaps he can convince the Church that Israel no longer matters.
Perhaps God's promises can be redefined.
Perhaps Israel can be replaced.
Perhaps prophecy can be spiritualized.
Perhaps Christians can be persuaded to boast against the very people through whom God gave the Scriptures, the prophets, and the Messiah Himself.
Paul warned the Church against exactly this attitude:
"Do not boast against the branches." (Romans 11:18)
And again:
"Do not be arrogant, but tremble." (Romans 11:20)
Notice that Paul never says God is finished with Israel.
In fact, he asks:
"Has God rejected His people? By no means!" (Romans 11:1)
And later declares:
"The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29)
Not temporary.
Not conditional.
Irrevocable.
Paul reminds us that to Israel belong:
"the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises." (Romans 9:4)
The adoption.
The glory.
The covenants.
The promises.
And from them came the Messiah Himself (Romans 9:5).
The issue is bigger than ethnicity.
Bigger than politics.
Bigger than modern borders.
The issue is whether God keeps His word.
Jeremiah records one of the most astonishing promises in Scripture:
"Only if these decrees vanish from my sight... will Israel ever cease being a nation before me." (Jeremiah 31:35-37)
As long as the sun shines.
As long as the moon remains.
As long as the stars fill the heavens.
God's covenant commitment to Israel remains.
Think about the alternative.
If God can permanently abandon Israel after making unconditional promises to her, what prevents Him from abandoning us?
If He can revoke an everlasting covenant, what confidence can we have in our own salvation?
The security of the believer ultimately rests upon the character of the Promise-Maker.
That is why Revelation 12 is so important.
The dragon hates the woman who brought forth the Messiah.
His hostility is not political.
It is prophetic.
Israel is connected to Messiah's first coming (Micah 5:2; Romans 9:5).
Israel is connected to Messiah's second coming (Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 23:39).
Israel is connected to the covenants, the kingdom, and the ultimate vindication of God's promises (Jeremiah 31:35-37).
And Satan knows it.
The irony is profound.
Jesus is Jewish.
The apostles were Jewish.
The prophets were Jewish.
The Scriptures came through the Jewish people.
The Savior came through the Jewish people.
Yet throughout history, some who claimed the name of Christ developed hostility toward the very people through whom God brought salvation to the world.
Scripture never tells believers to hate Israel.
It tells us not to boast.
Not to be arrogant.
Not to forget the root that supports us.
One day, the world will discover that God has not forgotten His covenant people (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:26).
Zechariah foresaw a future day when:
"Ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew... and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" (Zechariah 8:23)
Ultimately, Satan's attack on Israel has never really been about Israel.
It has always been an attack on the character of God.
Because if God can break His promises to Israel, He can break His promises to anyone.
But He cannot.
"God is not a man, that He should lie." (Numbers 23:19)
The entire Book of Revelation is a giant chiasm. π€―
A chiasm is a literary device where ideas unfold in order (A B C) and then repeat in reverse (C B A), forming an X shaped symmetry that aids memory and draws attention to the central point (C).
The Bible is amazing.