RACISM AND SPIRITUAL DECEPTION

Hitler had claimed that he was a Christian and even that he was on a special mission from God. Of course, this master-politician used whatever means that had been on hand to promote his agenda. For Hitler, no lie was too bold or extreme as long as it was able to accomplish his purposes.

The same is true for today – manipulation and control, even by using the Bible. A white supremacist group, Christogenea, has picked up where Hitler left off, claiming that Jesus wasn’t a Jew. Well, what is their basis for such a claim? They claim that no one was Jewish anymore in Jesus’ day. In support of this nonsense, Christogenea (CG) claims:

·       Jesus Himself told the church at Smyrna, in Revelation 2:9: "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." https://christogenea.org/podcasts/exactly-why-jesus-christ-not-jew

It is clear that Jesus wasn’t a racist. Instead, Jesus was pointing to the fact that the Jews of this “synagogue of Satan” were not Jews spiritually. It had nothing to do with them not being Jews by race or ethnicity. Instead, they were acting as if they were spiritual children of Satan (John 8:44) and not his physical children. Jesus wasn’t concerned at all about their ethnicity. He received Jew and Gentile alike.

CG makes the same absurd point regarding Jesus’ alleged concern about ethnicity in the next chapter:

·       Just in case that is not understood, Jesus also said to the church at Philadelphia, in Revelation 3:9: "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not [spiritually], but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."

Why did the Spirit of Jesus express these words? Were these “Jews” the “synagogue of Satan” because they really weren’t ethnic Jews or because they didn’t act as the Jews had been intended to act, because they had given themselves over to Satan?” It was because they weren’t spiritual Jews as God had intended them to be.

CG continues to use the same faulty reasoning by claiming that the Jews of Jesus’ day weren’t really physical Jews, nor was Jesus:

·       Romans 9:4-8 “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

It is surprising that these verses do not argue against the Jews being ethnic (physical) Jews. There is no hint at all that these brethren of Paul’s were Gentiles. Instead, Paul insisted that not all Jews were spiritual Jews who would inherit the promises of God.

However, even those who had been Jews only physically (and had belonged to Satan) would come to salvation in the end:

·       Romans 11:28-31 “As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.”

Once again, the distinction that Scripture is making is not a racial distinction between Jew and Gentile but a spiritual one. In the case of the Jews, God will convert those who had been enemies of the Cross to believers. Clearly, it’s a spiritual issue and not a racial one, as the white supremacists claim.

If CG really cared about the Scriptures, they should also have considered the many verses that claim that Jesus was a Jew, a descendant of David, and from the tribe of Judah, for example:

·       Revelation 5:5  And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Hebrews 7:14; Rev. 22:16)

However, it is obvious that truth is not CG’s concern, especially if the lie is able to accomplish their purposes through its appeal to racial pride, entitlement, anger, and ego.