Love Israel but don't distort the Scriptures - Rated 
Dr Hagee's heart is in the right place, but that does not give him license to distort history and the New Tstament.
Dr Michael Brown wrote a Biblical critic of Mr Hagee were he focus's on major errors in Hagee's book
Hagee's errors
-That the Jewish people, as a whole, did not reject Jesus as Messiah.
-That Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah.
-That Jesus refused by word and deed to be the Messiah.
-that the Jews cannot be blamed for not accepting what was never offered.
"Statements like this must be evaluated in light of 1 John 2:22: "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ [i.e., Messiah]. Such a man is the antichrist--he denies the Father and the Son." As commentator Stephen S. Smalley explained, "The true believer is the one who accepts the Christhood of Jesus, whereas those who deny his messianic identity declare themselves to be on the side of the antichrist" (Word Biblical Commentary)."
The Jewish people rejected their Messiah. Although all Jews are not Christ-killers (God forbid!), and although the entire Jewish nation did not play a role in the crucifixion of Jesus, God held the Jewish people in Jesus' day responsible for his death and, more significantly, he held them responsible for rejecting Jesus the Messiah after his resurrection. The New Testament witness is explicit and consistent on this.
That's why the apostles preached to "the people of Israel" that they were guilty of rejecting the Messiah (Acts 2:22-23, 36; 3:13-15, 17, 19; 4:10-11; 5:30; 7:52; 13:27-28; see also John 1:12), and that's why Paul spoke of Israel's hardening, breaking off, stumbling, transgression, and rejection (see Rom 9:31; 10:3; 11:7, 11-12, 15, 20 - although with the full expectation of Israel's future redemption; see Rom 11:11-15, 25-26). Again, I encourage you to take a moment to look up these passages. They are striking in their force and consistency.
Because of this rejection, severe judgment came on the Jewish people in the first century, as prophesied by Yeshua with tears (see Luke 19:41-44; see also Matt 23:29-37) and as taught in his parables (see, e.g., Matt 21:33-46; 22:1-14).
As painful as this witness is, it cannot be rewritten, nor can anyone lessen Israel's guilt because it was God's will that Jesus died on the cross. To the contrary, just as it was God's will that Joseph be sold into Egyptian slavery and yet at the same time his brothers were guilty of sinning against him (Gen 44:16-45:5; 50:14-20), so also it was God's will that Yeshua die for our sins while at the same time the Jewish people, along with Herod and Pilate and the Romans, were guilty of having him crucified (see Acts 2:22-24; 4:27-28).
It is scripturally impossible to claim that "the Jews cannot be blamed for not accepting what was never offered." A glorious offer was made and refused, and that's why Paul's heart was broken (see Rom 9:1-5)."
Check out the rest of the article on the internet
Two types of Christian - Rated 
Those familiar with the history of Christianity know how badly the church persecuted the Jews. Christianity was supposed to spread love and charity but along the way, even in the writings of some so-called "church fathers", God's people became the target of hatred. For more info, see Our Hands Are Stained With Blood by Michael L Brown. A theology of animosity towards Judaism grew in early Christianity, and at Nicea, the ties between Judaism and its daughter religion were finally severed.
The church ignored Paul's very clear instruction to love the Jews in Romans 9 to 11. The Jewish people are dear to God on account of the promises He had made to the patriarchs, "for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Unfortunately the church chose to ignore this divinely inspired message and instead created a perverse theology that proclaimed the Jewish people were cursed by God for rejecting Jesus as Messiah. The church claimed that it was the new Israel.
This demonic doctrine held sway for centuries, leading to oppression, expulsion, extortion and murder. See The Anguish of the Jews by Edward H Flannery. This replacement theology which was at the root of Christian Antisemitism is today still prominent in many denominations. But nowadays they are more subtle in propagating their repulsive doctrine. Careful to avoid charges of Antisemitism, they have become Anti-Zionists, singling Israel out as a scapegoat, condemning it whilst ignoring oppression around the globe and encouraging divestment from the country.
Mercifully a Philo-Semitic strain of Christianity arose amongst the British Puritans in the 1600s. Many of the American founding fathers were Christian Zionists. Standing With Israel by David Brog has more information on this. In the 20th century this spirit of love, found overwhelmingly but not exclusively amongst Evangelicals, made some churches reject replacement theology. These Christians believe that all Jews ought to be loved unconditionally regardless of our different views about the identity of Messiah, affirming the message of the prophets that God will keep his unconditional promises to the nation of Israel.
Now is the time for choosing, as Israel is surrounded by enemies and assailed by the world community. It is 1938 again, as John Hagee warns in chapter one. It is time to heed the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 from verse 40 where He speaks of his brothers, meaning relatives in the flesh. At this moment in time, true Christians must stand with Israel against world opinion and against threats of annihilation from Iran, Syria and various terrorist organizations. Vide Ruth & Esther by Frank Morgan.
In chapter three, Hagee examines Antisemitism from the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, through the "church fathers" like John Chrysostom, the crusades, the 4th Lateran Council, the Spanish Inquisition, Martin Luther and its culmination in the Holocaust. The Jewish identity, eight Biblical proofs of National Israel, and the Arab, Berber, Kurd, Pashtun, Persian and Turkish peoples are discussed in chapter five. The next one looks at the religions of the region, including the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam and the Wahhabist movement of Saudi Arabia.
Hagee investigates revolution and radical Islam in chapter seven, including the Iranian revolution and the growing threat from that country. In this regard, see also The Final Move Beyond Iraq by Mike Evans. Some of the Islamic terror groups discussed here are Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyyah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Harkat al-Mujahideen and Jaish-i-Muhammad.
Christianity could not exist without its Jewish roots. Our tremendous debt to the Jewish people encompasses our Jewish Savior who followed Torah, the scriptures preserved by them and the staggering Jewish contribution to civilization. Just consider these names, a tiny sample of achievers: Leonardo da Vinci, Elie Wiesel, Leonard Bernstein, Felix Mendelssohn, Emile Berliner, Jonas Salk, Albert Einstein, Emma Lazarus, Ayn Rand, Irving Berlin and Louis Brandeis. Society has been greatly blessed by their scientific, medical and cultural contributions. And history shows that those individuals and nations that loved Israel were blessed. Hagee provides examples from scripture regarding prosperity, divine healing and salvation that came to gentiles who loved Jews.
Christian critics are addressed in chapter ten, especially those who still hold to the error of replacement theology. The ugly lie of the "Christ killers" is once again refuted. The ordinary people flocked to Jesus in their thousands. He was killed by the Romans in a plot instigated by the inner circle of Herod Antipas. See The Passion by Geza Vermes for a thorough examination of what transpired. Replacement Theology is so utterly negated by the prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Zechariah and also by Jesus in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 that one wonders how it could ever have gained credibility. There are also the everlasting and unconditional covenants that God made with Abraham in Genesis 12 and 15 for eternal possession of the Holy Land.
In the penultimate chapter the author addresses secular critics by pointing out that Israel is a vibrant democracy and is not the cause of the Middle East conflict. He deals with the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate (More on this in The Mountains Of Israel by Norma Parrish Archbold), the 6-day war of 1967, the Yom Kippur war of 1973, the Lebanese war, the bombing of Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and the Oslo Accords that brought only misery to Israel.
There are indeed two types of Christian. God has kept his word to restore Israel as a nation, the most spectacular miracle of the 20th century. But theological Antisemitism has mutated again, moving from creed to people to nation. Previously it targeted Judaism, then the Jews themselves. Now it wants to annihilate the Jewish State. Jimmy Carter is a tragic example. Those of us who fear the God of Israel cannot remain silent at a time like this. We are commanded to comfort his people (Isaiah 40:1). This is what John Hagee and Christians United for Israel are doing. Why Care About Israel? by Sandra Teplinsky provides further valuable insights.
You can't deny Christ and not be Antichrist - Rated 
John Hagee has denied Christ is Messiah. By this action he denies salvation by the sacrifice of Christ. He then prepares the rise of a false messiah - therefore hagee is Antichrist, because if you are not for Christ, you are against him i.e. Anti+Christ.
Simple. Reject this book, reject AntiChrist.
|
