Join David Hawking as he addresses the complex issues surrounding anti-Semitism and the theological misconceptions that often accompany discussions about Israel. With biblical references and historical insights, this episode challenges listeners to reconsider their understanding of Jewish identity and the everlasting covenant between God and His chosen people. It’s an enlightening experience that promises to inspire greater empathy and awareness.
What does the name Israel actually mean? If someone was raised in the Jewish religion but later comes to faith in Jesus, are they still considered Jewish in some way or another? Did the sins and disobedience of the Jewish people cause them to lose the promised blessings of God? And is Abraham the father of both Jews and Muslims alike? This is Hope for Today with David Hawking. Today we’re reaching into our vast archive of Bible question and answer programs to take a look at several of the most fascinating Bible questions sent in by listeners over the years. Today with a particular focus on Israel and God’s chosen people, the Jews. Stay with us for David’s straight from the Bible responses in just a moment. First, though, Matt’s here, and we have some exciting news in a special ministry update. Matt, from time to time, we like to update listeners about the ministry of hope for today. And our faithful John Wu gave me some web stats here. There are an average of over 100,000 people. views of the videos in our media center for each of the last six or seven years. These are folks around the world who are watching your dad’s teaching, who may not be able to afford it any other way, and streaming it from our website. When you donate to Hope for Today, that is one of the things that your donor dollar helps support. And we have something new coming. We’re going to be reaching out to social media.
SPEAKER 02 :
Talk about that. Yeah. In social media, when you have these YouTube shorts, they’re like little 60-second Yeah, YouTube, things that are on Facebook, Instagram, and so forth, yeah. It is the largest digital mission field ever. 70 billion, over 70 billion views per day, Jeff. Per day. Yeah, and we’re talking across the whole gamut. Instagram, we’re talking Facebook, we’re talking YouTube, we’re talking all that stuff. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
So rather than waiting for that audience to come to us- We’re going to them. We’re taking the Bible, the whole Bible, nothing but the Bible. Nothing but the Bible.
SPEAKER 02 :
to them that’s right and these are 60 second shorts so they’re right in that time frame a lot of these viewers like to watch and then we ask them to come back to the website to get additional teaching right and what we’re going to do this this new mission uh venture venture yeah that we’re going on is they’ll hear the 60 second clip my dad and then we’re going to provide them with a bible study What is Christianity? Yeah. And a follow-up for free so that they can start their Christian life, get established in the word, and then go out and reach others. Amen. And folks, your donation to Hope for Today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. Your prayers for Hope for Today are what help make this possible. If you share that vision, if you want to reach this generation that’s online, Pray for us first, and then join with us in ministry through a donation if God moves your heart to do so.
SPEAKER 02 :
So we can supply these people with these materials. The Bible, the whole Bible. Nothing but the Bible. We want to provide the resources so we don’t just tell them about Jesus. We disciple them as well. Yes. For free. It’s the Great Commission. Amen. All right, let’s get things started.
SPEAKER 01 :
David? This should be exciting. These are the questions we’ve received about Israel. David, the first question here, what is the meaning of the word Israel? You know, that’s a really neat question because it isn’t simple. It’s a profound question. We certainly know the last part of it, El. That’s the singular form of Elohim, God. What’s the first part, Israel? Well, the first time we have the name is when God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. And he was wrestling, remember, with that man all night and so forth. Some see the word sar in English spelling, S-A-R. Sar means prince. So they see Israel as a prince of God. is the meaning of it. I’m not convinced. I look at that word. It’s Isra. I think that’s very close to the word wrestling, and I think it’s a takeoff of that Genesis 32 passage. It’s referring to wrestling with God. It’s like the history of that people. And yet God remains faithful to them, has shown them love in spite of their sin and rebellion. So I kind of stick with that. I’m not trying to be overly dogmatic and tell you that everybody else is wrong, but I think it means wrestling with God.
SPEAKER 03 :
David, the next question here goes really to the origin of the name and the people of Israel. It says, Israel does not seem to be listed among the nations after the flood. When and where did they come into existence?
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, a lot of folks who have been to our Israel conferences, they’ll know the answer to this if they’ve heard us much. But not too many people teach it. I don’t believe Israel is primarily a genetic result. That’s my first conflict with a lot of people who say, well, of course it is. You’ve got to know who your mama and your daddy is and all that. Well, I know people say that. But let’s realize that Isaiah 43, verse 1, says that the Lord created Israel. It’s a Hebrew word, bara, which means out of nothing. It’s the same word in Genesis 1.1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The commentary in the New Testament book, Hebrews 11.3, says, By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. So the things that we see were not made out of things that previously existed. They came into being out of nothing. And, of course, by the power of Almighty God. Israel is another example of the creation of God, creating a people out of nothing, so to speak. First of all, Abraham was a Gentile, lived on the east side of the Euphrates River at Ur of the Chaldees. And he left that pagan culture because of a direct revelation from God to him. A voice spoke to him, clearly, distinctly laid out the issue. Leave your father and mother and country and go to a land I’ll show you. And that revelation promised him three things. One, a nation. God will make him a great nation. Two, not only a nation but a land. that God was going to show him and give him the dimensions of, by the way. And the third thing would be a descendant of his who would bless the entire world, and that, of course, would be the Messiah. And the Bible says that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Israel was born so to speak, out of three men called the fathers of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, responding to the direct contact by God, audibly speaking to them. And that covenant, which God called an everlasting covenant, has been the guideline, let’s say the constitution, as we might say, the charter of of what Israel is and where they came from. So Israel is the product of these men believing what God told them. Therefore, it isn’t simply a genetic issue. I know we trace the line in the sons and all of that, but it’s the response by faith. And if you go, folks, to Romans 4, you will see a great discussion of that. And that means that Abraham, therefore, becomes the father of all who will believe it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And we have a question on that just a little bit later here in the program. But, David, our next question goes to the meaning of the word Jewish. Can you please explain how a person is known to be Jewish?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, that’s another great question. We do have a tape in our files called Who is a Jew? which I delivered at a synagogue. And you might find that very interesting. We know Paul wrote in Romans 2 that a Jew is one inwardly, not simply outwardly by circumcision. Of course, Jews are circumcised, but so are Muslims. A Jew is one inwardly in his heart. He’s been circumcised in his heart. It’s like the foreskin of the male organ is really the sin and scar tissue that’s built up over our hearts, and when we repent and turn to the Lord, that’s forgiven and removed by God’s wonderful forgiveness and mercy. How does a person become Jewish? Well, first of all, today you have physical descent. If you have a father and a mother who are Jewish, then you are Jewish, whether you like it or not. The only way to stop that, according to Judaism, is if you became a Christian. They say you’re no longer Jewish. Well, that’s nonsense. It’s just their little way of protecting themselves from believing in the true Messiah. But it’s foolishness. We also know in Israel that they lean more towards a Jewish mother, and they also add a Jewish grandmother. They figure if you’ve got those two, they’ll keep you in line. You’ll remain Jewish. Remember, there’s a difference between being a Jew by physical descent and following Judaism, which is the traditional religion. You must make a distinction between those two. That’s a very serious problem. The name Jew actually comes off the tribe of Judah because when Jacob had his 12 sons, the fourth son of his wife Leah was Judah. And it says the scepter. will not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes, or the one to whom it belongs comes. So the Messiah would come out of Judah, and they then began to be called Jews. There’s over 640 times in the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, that we have the term children of Israel. So it’s a physical descent, but it’s also a spiritual belief in the covenant that God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
SPEAKER 03 :
David, this next listener question relates to the one we just answered. It says, my parents were Jewish. They’re now deceased. But I am a Christian. Am I also still Jewish?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, here at Hope for Today, we say, yes, you certainly are. But Judaism says no, if you become a Christian. Now, you can be a Buddhist, an atheist, almost any religious system in the world, but there’s one thing. They don’t want, and that’s those who believe in Yeshua. There’s about 10,000 of us who are Jewish background and believe in Yeshua. Thirty years ago, we didn’t have any Messianic congregations in Israel. Now there’s over 100 of them, most of them very small. Yes, but no, you’re still Jewish, even if you believe the Messiah is Yeshua. It’s interesting to me that in order to really be Jewish, from the standpoint of the religion, traditional religion, one of the tenets, in fact, one of the principles of Maimonides is that you believe in the Messiah. But here a group of people have identified him clearly in the Bible to be Yeshua. And they say, well, no, no, no. If you believe him, you’re not Jewish. I mean, it’s incredible. That has to be a lot of arrogance, rebellion to the truth that’s so obvious in the Bible.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, David, this question really takes us to the current day and age. It says, when and where did all the hatred of the Jews, and in particular the nation of Israel, begin?
SPEAKER 01 :
Another great question. I have a good friend, a Jewish friend, French Jew, whose name is Olivier Melnick. He does some graphic work for us. And Olivier wrote a great book on anti-Semitism. It traces it. It’s excellent. I’d really recommend it to our listeners. But what we’re dealing with here, biblically, theologically, dips back into Satan himself. Satan hates the Jews. And if you want to read about his terrible hatred of the Jews, and I’ll extend even the tribulation period, read Revelation 12. We also have hatred of the Jews because of God’s dealing with them when it looked humanly like it should be someone else, like they should have chosen Esau instead of Jacob. But God says in His Word, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Very difficult to understand. And a lot of people, you know, Abraham’s the father of all the Arabs in the world also, through his son Ishmael. But God’s covenant goes through Isaac, not Ishmael. Yet God said he would bless the Ishmaelites and all the Arabs of the world. Muhammad himself was from the second son of Ishmael, Kedar. I think that we need to understand that hatred of the Jews is because God made them His special people above all peoples on the earth. I mean, that’s hard to swallow. They’re not the biggest, but Israel is the most important nation in the world, if you’re looking at the Bible and what God had to say. And even a lot of Christians are troubled about this. That’s why we have replacement theology. It’s not an outward violent hatred, but it’s a hatred by neglect. it’s substituting the church for Israel today when there is no warrant for it. In fact, it’s an abomination to the everlasting covenant of God. So it’s a great question, and that hatred has continued throughout history. It was certainly stimulated by vicious men like Herod or a Haman back in the past, and certainly by Hitler. and also Joseph Stalin and many others. So you see, it’s not a small issue. Anti-Semitism is huge.
SPEAKER 03 :
David, that’s an important study. We have additional resources that folks can avail themselves of to dive deeper into that subject. Just call our toll-free number, and you can look on the website as well to find that information. David, the next question here says, didn’t the sin and disobedience of the Jewish people cause them to lose the promised blessings that God wanted to give them?
SPEAKER 01 :
I like this question because the person asking it was asking in sincerity, does not have a chip on their shoulder, and isn’t following replacement theology teachers, but they’re just troubled about it. I think there’s a general idea among people that if you are disobedient and sinful and rebellious, that would cancel out anything that God would give you in the way of blessing. I mean, you can understand that. It’s easy to conclude that. That’s why God’s grace is so wonderful. It gives us what we don’t deserve, and God’s mercy holds back from us what we really do deserve. You see, it’s based on a covenant of God, not the performance of His people Israel. That’s the hardest thing to understand about the covenant of God. It’s everlasting. That means it’ll never end. It also is unconditional. It does not depend upon Israel’s performance. And that’s where we get into trouble in our thinking. So actually, I love the question. And I also believe that the biblical answer to that question brings a measure of encouragement and comfort and security to the heart of every believer.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right. Amen. Well, David, this next question, you’ve already touched on this, but you might have some additional thoughts. The listener asked, did the church replace Israel in God’s plan? It seems like it did, but a friend told me to ask you. Yeah.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, it seems like I’m getting known that way all across the country and here in the U.S. as well as in Canada. But no, the church did not replace Israel. And I would suggest to all of our listeners, we have a four-tape series called Replacement Theology plus a booklet. Oh, it’s one of our best-selling booklets of all time. We can hardly keep it in print. Replacement Theology. And it’s a simple… But it also tells you about what’s going on in the United Nations and the United States and why the evangelical church got involved with this and what they actually believe or don’t believe. Folks, you better be straight on this. I do believe that Israel, what you believe about Israel, can be a point of division among God’s people and among churches. And I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it happen. There can be real anger happening. And we need to know what God’s Word teaches. Amen. That’s almost worth repeating.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, amen. You probably will. David, again, this next question, we’ve touched on this a bit, but you might have some additional thoughts. The listener asks, isn’t Abraham the father of Muslims as well as the Jews? Of course.
SPEAKER 01 :
Abraham is the father of all the Arabs through his son Ishmael, who came from his Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar. Many people have asked me, how come all the great universities and all that in terms of Islam are in Egypt? Well, one of the reasons is Egypt, though it’s not the most powerful, it is certainly a great nation, has a very lengthy history. So that is important to the Muslims as well. And they kind of are the people in charge of the theological understanding of Islam. That’s why they have many great schools and universities for Islam in Egypt. Abraham is the father of the Muslims, but I always say to my Muslim friends, God promised to bless materially, physically, prosperity, the Arab peoples of the world, but Islam came in the 7th century A.D., They really captured a pre-Islamic Arab culture that was pretty nice. It had wonderful music and arts and mathematics and literature. And Islam pretty well destroyed that, all in the name of Muhammad’s teaching and the belief that that’s what Allah, their God, wants. And that’s kind of sad. If you really want to go back to Abraham, and they not only go back to Abraham, but they name many of their children with that name. But if you want to go back to Abraham, then remember that he’s the father of those who believe God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, not Ishmael, and Jacob, not Esau. And even if you are a child of Esau or a child of Ishmael, you must understand that you have to believe in God’s everlasting covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is the heart of the matter, and it leads to the Messiah of Israel as the only hope of the world.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, David, again, this next question kind of comes off the end of that. Is Israel going to have a Palestinian state within their country, within their territorial boundaries? That sounds like trouble to me. Right.
SPEAKER 01 :
It sounds like trouble to all of us who study it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it’s trouble based on what we’ve seen in history, not on conjecture.
SPEAKER 01 :
Israel doesn’t want it, but it’s being enforced upon them. You know, history is an important thing. This problem started because Arafat found no home in the Arab countries. In fact, Jordan literally slaughtered him in his PLO terrace, what’s called Black September. And there’s a reason they didn’t want him in their territory. Absolutely. Syria has often been the proponents of there’s only one land for them, and that’s Syria, not Palestine. They don’t want a separate state. In fact, the Arab countries around Jordan and Egypt, they don’t want a secular state. They might say so publicly, but they don’t want it at all. It’s causing nothing but trouble so far. We have in Lebanon, it almost looks like the Hezbollah have taken over the country. They say it hasn’t, but it looks like it. And they’re getting their orders from Iran. Syria is also tied in deeply with Iran. And those are Shiite Muslims, by the way, not Sunnis, which are in Saudi Arabia. Now, here’s a problem. The Quartet, which was United States, Russia, The United Nations and the European Union, well, that almost counts everybody. It says that they’re going to have a Palestinian state. That’s their goal of the so-called roadmap to peace. Well, it’s a roadmap to hell as far as I’m concerned. It’s not a roadmap to peace. President Clinton got involved with this, and, of course, it was his picture we saw with the late Yasser Arafat and the late Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn, shaking hands, acting like peace is coming. Well, that’s September 13, 1993, and in these years later, we still have none. Now, George Bush Jr. really made this a major point. And through his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, the pressure has been enormous on Israel to go along with this, to split the land. Yet we know in the Bible, in Joel, we’re told specifically that we should not divide the land. Also in Daniel 11. the Antichrist who’s coming, he’s going to be responsible for dividing the land under a false peace process. So you’re right. It sounds like trouble. It is trouble. It has been trouble. And we still are fighting that issue.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and you’re listening to Hope for Today. And by the way, if you missed any part of today’s question and answer session, you can hear it again for a limited time on our website, DavidHawking.org. Or you can purchase the question and answer recording also again on DavidHawking.org. And before we go, let me ask you a question if I could here. If there were two study tools that could deepen your understanding of Bible prophecy and help you stand firm in the days ahead, wouldn’t you want to have them? Well, first, there’s David’s downloadable sermon notes through the book of Revelation available right now for just $10. And these notes are loaded with prophetic insight, verse-by-verse clarity, and cross-references to help you follow along as we open up one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. And that starts tomorrow. Our series on Revelation begins tomorrow. You know, if you’ve ever struggled to make sense of Revelation, well, this is going to give you a solid foundation. And you can download the sermon notes. Be ready for the series tomorrow, right now at DavidHawking.org. Second is David’s complete MP3 audio series, Through the Book of Daniel. That’s a series that we completed yesterday on the broadcast, and we have the complete series, just $30 on MP3. Again, it’s a verse-by-verse teaching that shows how Daniel’s visions tie directly to the rise and fall of world empires, the coming of the Antichrist, and God’s unshakable plan for the end of the age. If you want to connect the dots between ancient prophecy and today’s headlines, well, this is a perfect place to start. To order either of these resources, call 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And of course, you can order the Revelation Study Notes or the Daniel Radio Series on MP3, either resource, on our website, davidhawking.org. By the way, if you’d like to send a special offering, a donation, or maybe share a personal testimony with us, well, you can do that by mail if you like. Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., All right, get ready, because next time on Hope for Today, we turn the page and step into one of the most explosive books in the Bible. The heavens open, the Lamb steps forward, seals are broken, judgment unfolds, and the enemy rises and falls. This isn’t fantasy, and it’s not wild symbolism. What it is, is divine unveiling straight from the throne of God. Our series in the book of Revelation starting tomorrow with David Hawking. The future is not hiding. It’s written and it’s about to begin.
