Page 59 - Signs of the End

THE SIGNS OF THE END 23

RISING TIDE OF ANTI-SEMITISM

Yet another aspect of our interviews in Israel w as to focus on
the continuing increase of anti-Semitism in the world and the
w ay it squares with the prophetic message of the Scriptures. If
anyone thinks that anti-Semitism ended with the demise of
Hitler, he is sadly mistaken. But it takes many forms today, from
the blatant hatred of the neo-Nazis and Moslem fanatics to the
more benign appearing antagonistic attitude of the political and
religious liberals, and even the view among some evangelical
Christians that denies to Israel its rightful place in the Church
age and in the Millennium.

Reminders o f the Holocaust

Two great movements of anti-Semitism have occurred during
our generation. One w as the Nazi effort in Europe to destroy all
the Jews in the world in the Holocaust. (By the way, the word
holocaust is the Greek word used in the Septuagint Bible to
translate the Hebrew word for the "whole burnt offering.") There
has been the ongoing effort of the Arabs and Moslems to
eradicate the State of Israel. The world tends to downplay the
current effort and forget the former Holocaust, but there are
occasional reminders.

Demjanjuk

The most recent reminder Israel and the world have had of
the Holocaust was the somewhat peculiar case of Demjanjuk. He
w as a European refugee after World War II who moved to the
United States, where he became a naturalized citizen. But Israeli
agents became suspicious that this man was none other than the
monster of the concentration camps known at the time as "Ivan
the Terrible." Chaiges to this effect were levied against him, the
American authorities cooperated, Demjanjuk's citizenship was
revoked, and he was deported to Israel to face trial.

The whole case brought back the awful reports and images
of the persecution of the Jew s throughout the Holocaust. The
trial reminded the world that there really were people like "Ivan
the Terrible" who did those horrible crimes.