Jewish Extremists?

A Nun views damage from an arson fire at the Church of the Multiplication

While Islamic terrorism has been attracting a lot of attention across the world for several years, there are other terrorists who are causing significant trouble who've received only sparse attention from the global media.

Who are they? They're Ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremists who've been attacking the homes, businesses and churches of Christians throughout Israel. They've gotten bolder in recent years by setting arson fires that have resulted in serious injuries and extensive damage to historical church buildings.

After the extremists torched the Church of the Multiplication last month, Father Nikodemus Schnabel accused the Israeli government of going soft on the Jewish radicals: The attacks have become more brutal and more aggressive. And we have not been happy with the political response.

The Israeli government has attempted to distance itself from the radicals, claiming that the religious zealots are disenfranchised youth with very few leaders who are messianic activists riding on waves of suspicion and ignorance.

According to the Israeli government's own information, the extremists have vandalized, burned and bombed dozens of churches and monasteries throughout the Jewish nation during the past three years. The radicals have also attacked mosques, but their rancor seems to be directed more toward Christians than Muslims.

Why are the extremists targeting churches? Because they believe Christianity is a pagan religion that promotes idol worship. Specifically how? Because of the Trinity that teaches that God consists of three persons; God the Heavenly Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit. Not three gods, but rather one God who consists of three distinct persons.

The Jewish extremists consider that sacrilege because Judaism--specifically Rabbinic Judaism--teaches that God is a single being who can't be known or seen. That belief motivated the ancient rabbis to seek Christ's death and it fomented the intense persecution that Christ's early Jewish followers suffered at the hands of the Pharisees who were the forerunners of today's Orthodox rabbis.

Do the rabbis have a valid argument that Christianity promotes idol worship? Absolute not. Contrary to popular belief, the Trinity isn't a Christian concoction, but can be found in the Old Testament. For example, when the Lord created man He said this: "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26)

Who's us? Since God created mankind, He wasn't speaking to the angels, but to the preincarnate Christ and to the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, in Genesis 1:1, ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.") the Hebrew word used for God is Elohim, which is plural, meaning one God who consists of more than one person.

And furthermore, when the prophet Isaiah (8th century B.C.) revealed who the Jewish Messiah would be, he wrote this: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) Isaiah revealed that the Jewish Messiah would be the physical incarnation of God and possess His Holy Spirit. And Jesus Christ fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy when He appeared several centuries later.

Why can't the rabbis see that? Because they're following a counterfeit religious system that developed over several centuries. Their ancestors took the Torah (books of Moses) and the Haftarah (writings of the prophets) and changed them by adding their own rules and bizarre interpretations. And that was in violation of God's command that prohibited them from doing that. (Deuteronomy 4:2)

The Jewish extremists are motivated by a false religion that's a perversion of the truth. Though Rabbinic Judaism doesn't specifically encourage its followers to persecute gentiles and Jewish believers in Christ, it lays the foundation for that persecution with its elitist claim that it alone teaches the true wisdom of God. And those who dissent are considered apostates and fools worthy of contempt.

The terror attacks on Christians in Israel committed by Ultra-Orthodox religious fanatics is yet another fulfillment of end-time prophecy concerning the persecution of Christians in the last days. The apostle Paul wrote: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

The evildoers and impostors are the Jewish extremists who believe they're serving God by persecuting Christians. However, they're really serving Satan, who's the god of all false religions that can't save anyone. Hopefully, they'll wake up and realize that before it's too late. Otherwise, they'll be spending eternity with their "god" in a very miserable place.