The relationship of the Church and the Jews throughout history is treated
in Michael Browns book 'Our Hands are stained with Blood!' This book touched
me very deeply. Some time after reading it I was led by the Lord to put
one of its recommendations into practice. That is one that deals with what
Dr. Brown calls Intercessory Repentance. It entails repenting for the sins
of an entire group of people, and perhaps to a group of people who were
sinned against. The repentance is a form of intercession and can be for
sins that were not necessarily committed by the one doing the repenting.
I am going to reprint here a set of messages that were circulated by
Electronic Bulletin Board on a World Wide system called FIDONET. I believe
the reader will be able to see not only an example and a discussion of
intercessory repentance but also the results that it can bring.
I am changing the names of the participants, except myself, in this
text out of concern for the individuals involved. (Please be in mind that
it is the practice on these discussion groups to quote what the other person
has written before responding to it.)
[This is the first message.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: ALL Date: 2/12/1994
From: BILL SOMERS Time: 9:18 am
Subj: APOLOGY TO THE JEWS
Back on 1-12-94, Lonnie Smith wrote to Moshe Steinberg on the subject
of God's punishment...
-- Quoted passage
> Lonnie, I will ask a simple question. Why are the Jews in exile NOW.
I
> am not an idolater. I believe in the one true G-d. All those
> statements about the idolatry of the first temple have NOTHING to
do
> with me and the state of the Jewish people at this time.
That is a good question. Why, for the last 2,000 years has Israel been
a "castaway?" I think that would be a good topic of discussion for you
to look into. Could it be you have rejected some item in God's law/plan?
LS> Do not blame Israel's sufferings on us. .... So let's not blame
the Gentiles for every folly that Israel runs into. That's all I'm saying.
-- End quoted passage
The point I wish to comment on is this:
LS> Do not blame Israel's sufferings on us.
Speaking as a gentile Christian, I recognize that many Jews do blame
their sufferings on us, the church. The slaughter of Jews during the crusades,
the Spanish Inquisition, the persecution under Luther, the Pogroms in eastern
Europe, the Nazi Holocaust; all these and much much more were carried out
by those who called themselves Christian. The history of the church is
a history of Jew hatred. Yet some of us wonder that they reject the claims
of the Lord Jesus Christ!
OK. Most Christians today are not personally guilty of any of this.
We often hear it said that those who did these things were not 'true' Christians.
That it was not really our fault. "Don't blame us!" (Has anti-Semitism
gone away, or is it on the increase?)
In Matthew 23, Jesus rebuked some hypocrites:
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build
the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would
not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children
of them which killed the prophets.
Could He deliver the same rebuke to us today, who say in effect, "If
we had been in those circumstances, we wouldn't have done those things."?
The things in scripture are given to us as examples, (1 Cor. 10:11).
Let me present two examples of the correct attitude to take in this case.
Nehemiah 9 1. Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the
children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth's, and
earth upon them.
2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers,
and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the
law of the LORD their God [one] fourth part of the day; and [another] fourth
part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.
Daniel 9 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer
and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4. And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and
said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy
to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly,
and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which
spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all
the people of the land.
7 O Lord, righteousness [belongeth] unto thee, but unto us confusion
of faces, .... (KJV - On Line Bible)
I note that in each case confession and repentance takes place for one's own sins and for those of the larger group, of which one may not be 'personally' guilty. And so, with these examples in mind....
I confess to the Lord and to the Jewish people that we, the church,
have done wickedly, fomented hatred, committed murder and sinned against
the Jewish people, 'beloved of the Father'. We have departed from your
commandments and disobeyed your word. We have rebelled and left the straight
and narrow path. We did not learn from the apostles and prophets but did
what was right in our own eyes. And to us today belongs an infinitely greater
'confusion of face' than ever afflicted Israel of old.
I confess, apologize and repent for all the crimes committed against
the Jews by church of Jesus Christ. And I humbly ask your forgiveness for
all this.
Recommended reading:
Our Hands are stained with blood.
The tragic story of the "church" and the Jewish People
by Michael Brown
Destiny Image Publishers POB 310 Shippensburg, PA 17257
[After sending this out, I got the following response about a week later.
Second Message]
To: BILL SOMERS Date: 2/13/1994
From: John Prowse
Subj: Who shed the blood ?
From: Bill Somers
To: All
Subject: Apology To The Jews
BS/Speaking as a gentile Christian, I recognize that many Jews do blame
their sufferings on us, the church. The slaughter of Jews during the crusades,
the Spanish Inquisition, the persecution under Luther, the Pogroms in eastern
Europe, the Nazi Holocaust; all these and much much more were carried out
by those who called themselves Christian.
The history of the church is a history of Jew hatred.
You are blaming the "church" for the evil deeds of the "Great Whore"
of Rome and her family.
The only question I have about you is whether you are merely incredibly
ignorant re: who constitutes the NT described "church" or whether you are
a deliberate servant of the "Great Whore" of Rome and her family.
BS/ Yet some of us wonder that they reject the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ!
The kind of deception you put out greatly contributes to the error. Which very well may be your intent.
BS/ I confess to the Lord and to the Jewish people that we, the church,
have done wickedly, fomented hatred, committed murder and sinned against
the Jewish people, 'beloved of the Father'. We have departed from your
commandments and disobeyed your word. We have rebelled and left the straight
and narrow path. We did not learn from the apostles and prophets but did
what was right in our own eyes. And to us today belongs an infinitely greater
'confusion of face' than ever afflicted Israel of old.
I confess, apologize and repent for all the crimes committed against
the Jews by church of Jesus Christ. And I humbly ask your forgiveness for
all this.
You're deceived re: what the "church" is, and you have no authority to speak for it.
To ALL: Does or does not organized "Christian" religion constitute the
NT described "Church". ??
Bill presents the "Church" as an evil institution. This reflects on
the validity of the moral guidance of Jesus Christ the founder and Lord
of His Church.
Is he right ? Is he accurate ? Who shed the blood ? (of Jews AND "heretics")
The "Church" of Jesus Christ ? Or: "The Great Whore" ?
By the way Protestants were officially RC defined as "heretics" up until
1965.
By the way N.Ireland, Bosnia & more indicate this is not merely
a historical question.
[At this point the writer proceeded to quote Rev. 17:1-6,9,15,18;
Rev. 18:1-5,16-24; and Rev. 19:1-3]
IF you can't tell the difference between the NT Church of Jesus Christ, vice The "Great Whore" of His Revelation, THEN you have a SERIOUS CASE OF BLINDNESS and, you better beg Jesus Christ for some sight.
With best wishes, John
++++++ Read and Heed His Revelation ! ++++++++++
[At this point, I was unsure how to respond to such an attack! But I
recalled a prophecy by Rick Joyner about those who have their brothers
blood on sword, (that is to say, those who have used the Word of God as
a weapon against their Christian brothers) not being allowed a part in
building the Kingdom or the House of the Lord. So I made no reply whatever. The payoff came after another week of waiting, in the following letter
by and Orthodox Jew. It showed me, as I told some friends, "The Holy Ghost
was right again!"]
[Third Message.]
To: Bill Somers Date: 2/15/1994
From: STEVE ZALMAN
Subj: Apology To The Jews
BS> I confess to the Lord and to the Jewish people that we, the church,
have done wickedly, ...."
Bill, your confession for sins you never committed is a ray of hope
from the abyss of hatred. The Jews greatest fear is that one day the church
will return to murdering Jews and there will be no one to help, as in the
past. The children of Israel are responsible for correcting the sins made
in our past. Just as Germany's children are now responsible for correcting
the sins of the prior generation. It is for the Christians to take control
of their church and to stop the hatred and anti-Semitism towards Jews.
I have heard that the Vatican will be removing anti-Semitic writings from
the NT as soon as they can work out the details. This is certainly a step
in the right direction. Jews fervently pray each Sabbath for the day to
come when the whole world will be at peace with one another, when hatred
will no longer blind the eyes. On that day, the world will be one, And
His name will be One. Ba Ruch Ha Ba B'shem - Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the L-rd.
Shalom
[Then I made the following reply.
Fourth Message]
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To: STEVE ZALMAN Date: 2/27/1994
From: BILL SOMERS
Subj: Apology To The Jews
Steve,
Shalom from this Christian.
Thank you for your kind remarks in response to my post.
SZ>Bill, your confession for sins you never committed is a ray of hope
SZ>from the abyss of hatred.
My original posting, Apology to the Jews, began as a comment on someone's
remark: "Do not blame Israel's sufferings on us."
Then I cited Matthew 23:29-31 as an example of Jesus rebuke to this
attitude. I quoted Nehemiah 9:1-3, and Daniel 9:3-7 as examples from the
bible of the proper attitude. Then I made the confession, which you quoted
back to me:
I concluded with recommending a very good book on the subject:
Our Hands are stained with blood.
The tragic story of the "church" and the Jewish People
by Michael Brown
Destiny Image Publishers POB 310 Shippensburg, PA 17257
All of this is an example of what Michael Brown calls "intercessory
repentance". Brown is a Messianic Jew with some hard sayings for the church
which I believe I can share with you and some of my Christian brothers
on this echo without getting too far off topic.
In Michael Brown's book _Our Hands are Stained with Blood_ he writes
on page 82: ...If Jesus promised to fulfill the Law of God and then abolished
it, he would be a liar and not the Son of God.
Do you know that this is one of the greatest objections to the Gospel
that religious Jews have had? If Jesus was truly the Messiah, why did he
do away with the Law? Historian Jules Isaac notes: "The Jewish rejection
of Christ was triggered by the Christian rejection of the Law.... The rejection
of the Law was enough: to ask of the Jewish people that they accept this
religion...was like asking them to tear out their heart. History records
no example of such a collective suicide."
On Page 89 he quotes Rav Shimon Walbah, a leading Orthodox Rabbi in
Israel, "Instead of bringing redemption to the Jews, the false Christian
Messiah has brought down on us base libels and expulsions, oppressive restrictions
and burning of [our] holy books, devastations and destructions. Christianity,
which professes to infuse the sick world with love and compassion, has
fixed a course directly opposite to this lofty rhetoric. The voice of the
blood of millions of our brothers cries out to us from the ground: No!
Christianity is not a religion of love but a religion of unfathomable hate!
All history, from ancient times to our own day, is one continual proof
of the total bankruptcy of this religion in all its segments."
On Page 90 he quoted Professor Eugene Borowitz: "We might be more inclined
to give Christian claims some credence had we seen Christians thru the
ages behave as models of redeemed humanity. Looking thru the window of
history we have found them as much in need of saving as the rest of humankind.
If anything their social failings are especially discrediting of their
doctrine for they claim to be uniquely free of human sinfulness and freshly
inspired by their faith to bring the world to a realm of love and peace....
Until sinfulness ceases and well being prevails Jews know the Messiah has
not come."
On page 91 he says: For hundreds of years the word 'Christ' has been
a curse word in thousands of Jewish homes. This is largely the fault of
"Christians". Millions of Jews have hated the name of Jesus. Alleged followers
of Jesus are a primary cause. Could we possibly have produced anything
worse?
On page 97 he declares: Let us hang our heads in shame. The "Church"
has blood on her hands.
On page 99 he writes: A little more than 100 years ago, a Christian
minister to the Jews "was asked what he thought was wanting on the part
of the friends of Israel. He replied, 'More tears'."
Reading all this was quite an experience for me. I discovered that
I had some unconscious anti-Semitism in myself, that I would not have otherwise
admitted to.
SZ>It is for the Christians to take control of their church and to stop the hatred and anti-Semitism towards Jews.
From this comment, it seems you can give some credence to a distinction between 'Christians' and their church. Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is on the rise in the church, even from sources that should know better. Michael Brown deals with some of it in his book. Especially the errors of "Replacement Theology". But few Christians recognize it or are prepared to do something about it.
SZ>The Jews greatest fear is that one day the church will return to
murdering Jews and there will be no one to help, as in the past.
This fear is a very real possibility. Your comment reminds me of a
passage in Job. (3:25) "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon
me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." KJV Another reading
is: "For a fear I feared and it meeteth me, And what I was afraid of doth
come to me." (Youngs translation)
One of the New Testament instructions to Christians is in 1 John 3:16
"Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life
for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren."
Regarding the Jews, it tells us in Romans 11:28
"As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as
touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers' sakes."
That makes you one of the brethren, I may one day be required to lay
down my life for. If and when the 'church' once again turns against the
Jews, there will be some who will still stand with you.
SZ>Jews fervently pray each Sabbath for the day to come when the whole
world will be at peace with one another, when hatred will no longer blind
the eyes. On that day, the world will be one, And His name will be One.
Ba Ruch Ha Ba B'shem - Blessed is he who comes in the name of the L-rd.
Shalom
AMEN AND AMEN
Further recommended reading: (It sheds some light on the phrase 'for
your sakes' in Rom. 11:28 above.
One New Man, by Reuven Doron
POB 10102, Cedar Rapids IA 52410
God Bless Y'all
Bill Somers