Page 4 - TORCH Magazine #9 - Feb 2018

much harder, and therefore even more miraculous.
“And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.”
Deuteronomy 4:27
Consider some of the ancient peoples that existed when the Jewish bloodline began - the Jebusites, the Hittites and the Canaanites – none of these exist today. The Jewish people are an incredible exception. However, it is not just these ancient peoples that
no longer exist, even some of the greatest nations and empires, even those who have persecuted the Jews, have died out while the Jews remain.
The Roman Empire was one of the most vast and powerful in history. They conquered Israel, captured Jerusalem and plundered the wealth of the Jewish people. Meanwhile, the Spanish Empire was the largest on
earth at its time and heavily persecuted the Jews through the Spanish Inquisition. The Ottoman Empire occupied the land of Israel for 400 years. The Egyptian Empire enslaved the Jewish people. The Jews were held in captivity by the Babylonian Empire. And the Nazis murdered the Jews in their millions.
All of these empires share three common qualities. They were all great in power, they all persecuted the Jews and none of them exist today. Yet, the Jews live on.
It is even more remarkable because this again remains true to the promises in the Bible.
“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:3
The second part of this Scripture is also ful lled when we consider the amazing impact the Jewish people have had in the
world. In fact, most people believe there are far more Jews on earth than there actually is. So many inventions, innovations and ideas have been created by this small group that they are by faith group the most in uential people on earth, even though they are just 1% of population. Remarkable!
In the present day, the Jewish people have consistently remained the most persecuted throughout the world. For example, the vast majority of online hatred is directed at Jews. In almost every country that Jews live, the hatred against them is disproportionately high compared with the number of Jews living in the country. In Britain, for example, a person who is Jewish is eight times more likely to be attacked for their faith than someone from another religious group. This global antisemitism, or hatred of the Jews, was prophesied in the Bible millennia ago:
“And among those nations you shall nd no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.”
– Ezekiel 28:65
Clearly this hatred is unique to the Jewish people. No other people group has been hated so intensely, for so long and so universally. Satan has stirred up the hearts of men against the Jewish people because he knows that if he can wipe them out,
he destroys the promises of God and undermines the truth of the Bible, something that is never going to happen!
“Just as I am God and I do not change, so too you the children of Jacob shall never be wiped out.” – Malachi 3:6
The most brutal act of hatred against the Jewish people was the Holocaust in which more than 6 million Jews were murdered. And it is from the Holocaust that most of us will associate the word “survivor”. It is through
the testimony of Holocaust survivors that we understand the horrors they endured. Such was the devastation of the Holocaust that there are currently less Jews living today than there were before the Holocaust. And while we are
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