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| Jews in a Nazi concentration camp |
Why do so many Jews identify themselves as atheists? Because they lost their faith in God after six million of their ancestors died in Hitler's death camps over 70 years ago.
These Jews claim that no loving God would've ever allowed such a travesty to take place on earth. They reason that if God exists, he wouldn't have allowed such mass murderers as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin or Mao Zedong to be born. Therefore, according to their logic, because evil exists, God can't possibly exist.
But stop and think about this: If God doesn't exist, then who's to blame for tragedies such as the Holocaust? The answer is man. And if human beings are to blame, then that contradicts Darwin's theory of evolution that claims the human race is evolving toward moral perfection. Considering the explosion of crime, violence and war over the past 100 years, only a fool would choose to believe such nonsense.
But stop and think about this: If God doesn't exist, then who's to blame for tragedies such as the Holocaust? The answer is man. And if human beings are to blame, then that contradicts Darwin's theory of evolution that claims the human race is evolving toward moral perfection. Considering the explosion of crime, violence and war over the past 100 years, only a fool would choose to believe such nonsense.
Certainly, it's extremely difficult to convince those who've been scarred by evil that God exists. And it's understandable why they doubt God's existence. The Holocaust was a nightmare beyond human comprehension. The death count was horrible enough. But when you see pictures of mutilated corpses--many of them young children--it leaves deep emotional scars on your conscience.
Nevertheless, God does exist. And yes, He allowed the Holocaust to happen. But why? How could a loving God permit such naked evil to invade His creation? Surely, He could've prevented it. But why didn't He?
The answer to that difficult question can be found in the Book of Jeremiah that was written about 2,600 years ago. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet because he lived during a wicked time in ancient Israel when the Jews had turned their backs on God by breaking the covenant He established with them through Moses. The Jews not only broke the covenant, they worshiped the false gods of surrounding pagan nations.
Jeremiah wasn't the first prophet that God spoke to His people through. He wasn't the first prophet who warned the ancient Jews to either repent of their sins or face the consequences. The Lord spoke through a host of prophets including Isaiah, Joel, Micah, Habakkuk, Malachi, Zechariah and Zephaniah to warn His people that they were in danger of falling under His judgment if they persisted in their rebellion against Him. Those warnings spanned several centuries, so it wasn't as though God's punishment came as a surprise. Rather, it came as a last resort.
And tragically, it came. In 586 B.C., Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and severely damaged that city while taking thousands of Jews captive to Babylon. The Jews remained in captivity under the Persians until 445 B.C. when Darius II finally allowed them to return home. But the Jews continued to rebel against the Lord and were taken captive once again; this time by the Romans in 70 A.D. when Titus invaded that city and destroyed Herod's Temple.
What are some of the judgments the Lord revealed against the Jews, as recorded in the Book of Jeremiah? Here's an example: "Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder, without charge, because of all your sins throughout your country. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you." (Jeremiah 15:13-14)
And then there's this: "I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city (Jerusalem) and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them." (Jeremiah 19:7-9)
And here's another: "I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors." (Jeremiah 24:9-10)
Certainly, the Lord's word was fulfilled. The Jews were scattered throughout the world and have been mocked, maligned, scorned and persecuted wherever they've gone. But the Lord has taken no pleasure in the destruction of His people. Sadly, they've brought that on themselves.
There are those who ask why God still punishes the Jews today for the sins of their ancestors. Why? Because they continue in the sins of those ancestors. When the Lord looks at people, he sees an unbroken chain going back to the ancient times.
In this case, that chain is a curse that can only be broken through repentance. And that repentance can only come through faith in the Jewish Messiah Jesus Christ. It can't come through the rabbis who perpetuate the curse. They're part of the problem because they promote a religion that is rooted in the rebellion of their ancient ancestors who rejected God.
I realize that the Holocaust is a difficult topic for many people. It demonstrated what becomes of those (Nazis) who deny God, and what becomes of those who rebel against God, despite His warnings.
But the good news is that God isn't finished with the Jews. He's bringing them back to him: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." (Jeremiah 24:5-7)
Jeremiah wasn't the first prophet that God spoke to His people through. He wasn't the first prophet who warned the ancient Jews to either repent of their sins or face the consequences. The Lord spoke through a host of prophets including Isaiah, Joel, Micah, Habakkuk, Malachi, Zechariah and Zephaniah to warn His people that they were in danger of falling under His judgment if they persisted in their rebellion against Him. Those warnings spanned several centuries, so it wasn't as though God's punishment came as a surprise. Rather, it came as a last resort.
And tragically, it came. In 586 B.C., Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and severely damaged that city while taking thousands of Jews captive to Babylon. The Jews remained in captivity under the Persians until 445 B.C. when Darius II finally allowed them to return home. But the Jews continued to rebel against the Lord and were taken captive once again; this time by the Romans in 70 A.D. when Titus invaded that city and destroyed Herod's Temple.
What are some of the judgments the Lord revealed against the Jews, as recorded in the Book of Jeremiah? Here's an example: "Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder, without charge, because of all your sins throughout your country. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you." (Jeremiah 15:13-14)
And then there's this: "I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city (Jerusalem) and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them." (Jeremiah 19:7-9)
And here's another: "I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors." (Jeremiah 24:9-10)
Certainly, the Lord's word was fulfilled. The Jews were scattered throughout the world and have been mocked, maligned, scorned and persecuted wherever they've gone. But the Lord has taken no pleasure in the destruction of His people. Sadly, they've brought that on themselves.
There are those who ask why God still punishes the Jews today for the sins of their ancestors. Why? Because they continue in the sins of those ancestors. When the Lord looks at people, he sees an unbroken chain going back to the ancient times.
In this case, that chain is a curse that can only be broken through repentance. And that repentance can only come through faith in the Jewish Messiah Jesus Christ. It can't come through the rabbis who perpetuate the curse. They're part of the problem because they promote a religion that is rooted in the rebellion of their ancient ancestors who rejected God.
I realize that the Holocaust is a difficult topic for many people. It demonstrated what becomes of those (Nazis) who deny God, and what becomes of those who rebel against God, despite His warnings.
But the good news is that God isn't finished with the Jews. He's bringing them back to him: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." (Jeremiah 24:5-7)
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