It’s a slightly chilly morning in Texas on the 21st day of October 2023. It’s been 2 weeks now since the current war in Israel broke out. This outbreak has only been 2 weeks but the battle for the land has gone on for over 5 decades. The spirit of the war on the other hand has lasted over 3 millennia.

At this point most adults, young and old, have their minds already set. Most people have already taken sides. If you were born in certain regions, your mind is made up as a child. I say all that to say this, I’m not expecting this message to change minds. I hope it’ll appeal to some hearts and cause a rethinking of position taken, or perhaps trigger some introspective thought, but I’ve come to realize that only God can really change mindsets and break strongholds that keep young (and old) minds captive.

Our minds are shaped by our own experiences, belief systems, and interactions with the world outside of ourselves. Every rhetoric that’s being spoken now has been spoken over and over again over the last 5 decades, so nothing I say, or you say is new. However, that doesn’t mean we should suddenly stop talking. If anything, what we say has become simply a reflection of who we truly are. We may appear as less wicked than prior generations but don’t think we haven’t learnt new ways to replace evil with good and good with evil.

This generation is so blinded by hate. Hate will have you so blind that you see nothing but that which supports and kindles the fires of that hatred. You will refuse to see the truth and replace every truth with a lie. For some people, it’s not easy “not to hate”. Their experiences make them hate religion, God, and anything that remotely reflects the idea that God could be true. For a few others, it might not be hatred but simply blindness. For these ones, they have an innocent heart but have drunk from a very poisonous well. To them, they want to fight the cause of the helpless, because at some point they’ve also identified with the minority.

As I said, I’m not expecting to change mindset, but I am hoping to appeal to an innocent heart.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This verse is my favorite of all the many sayings of Jesus. It’s one of my favorites because it stops me from responding in like manner whenever I hear someone curse me out, or tell me how much they hate me because of my faith. Initially the hateful words used to make me cry and bawl my eyes out, but now I get really angry and have to comfort myself with this verse.

I did say earlier that we’re all shaped by our experiences, so I’m going to tell 3 stories and a few bible verses that have gotten me to this very point.

Story 1 – I was in my early twenties living and working in England. I was young but very deeply committed to my faith in God and often shared my convictions about the bible. A lady in the office knew this about me. What I didn’t realize was how much she hated me for this. One day, she and another lady were talking about going to a Druids event, and I said “interesting”. She flipped the second I said “interesting”. It was like she snapped. She started to hurl all kinds of insults at me. She said “all the evil in this world was caused by Christians and Muslims, and that Christians and Muslims are the most despicable people on the face of the earth. She dropped a lot of F bombs and other vile things that I would rather erase from the memories of my lifetime. But that day I went home, cried my eyes out all night and felt like dying.

As I look back, I realize she was right to an extent, but she was also wrong. Yes, the Christian roman empire, the conquistadors, the knights templars and other Christian monarchies committed atrocities in the name of the church, and yes, the Caliphates, the ottomans and all the others committed atrocities in the name of Islam. But so did every other empire in history before them. Before there was Christianity or Islam there was a Nero and Caligula causing chaos and evil. Before there was Christianity or Islam there was Alexander the great who went about conquering and is now hailed as a heroic person. There was an Assyrian empire. History is full of blood thirsty men and empires. She was wrong because religion wasn’t the cause. Man’s evil inclination was the cause.

Story #2 – 5 years after this incident, I moved to New York with a bunch of friends. We had all come to start what would hopefully be a new career and successful paths in our lives. I was really close to one friend. We lived in the same building, worked for the same company, and hang out often together. Problem was he was Muslim, and I was Christian. We didn’t mind this about each other, until he found out I was actually a messianic believer. My friend who I had hung out with, eaten with, and shared many laughter’s with, cursed me out. Said all kinds of vile things about the nation of Israel and completely cut me off. At this point I cried a whole lot and wondered why life was this way.

Story 1 was over 22 years ago, and story 2 was over 17 years ago, but both stories seared into me because that was the first time I experienced those forms of hate. Hate from a close friend and hate from someone who hated religion. I’ve since experience repeated rejection and lost many more friends because of my confession of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, but I’ve learnt to take things with a grain of salt, move on and continue loving irrespective of.

Before I tell story 3, I’ll bring us back to the reason why I’m talking about hate and the hypocrisy and falseness of our generation. Again, I’ll say it one more time; “Most people already have their minds set”, so I’m not expecting to change mindsets. Only God can truly do that. Only God can break the stronghold of what hate does. But I will speak my own mindset so it’s clear.

If you’re reading this and find yourself on the opposite side of me, I’m sorry that my love for Israel has caused you to hate me. I’m sorry that you feel my love for Israel suddenly means that I love the Palestinians less, or that I do not care about their plight. For me, Israel is God’s Promise fulfilled as spoken by the prophets. Please Read Jeremiah 29:14:

“And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”

Also read Ezekiel 36.24

“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”

We can go on and on about the different scriptures where the prophets prophecy this and the coming time when God will gather all the nations against Israel, just to show himself as God before their eyes. But the one thing that drives my conviction is how God warned me never to be a part of anything that has to do with protesting against Israel. I’ve talked about this in my Podcast from Feb 16th 2023 where I shared a dream/vision I had.

Now some people might not believe in dreams and visions, but I do because it’s not the first time God has spoken to me that way. There’s never been a time in my 40+ years on this earth where he spoke to me in dreams or visions, and it turned out to be a lie. I would rather fear and obey God than try to bow to some rhetoric. As the Psalmist says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God”.

I’ve chosen to trust God’s word over to being swayed by human opinions. For those believers who don’t believe in dreams and visions perhaps you should reread Joel 2:28: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days”.

God is still pouring out his spirit on all flesh and this is how many are coming to faith in countries with strongholds.

Now I did say there’s a group that aren’t necessarily driven by hate but have drunk from a poisonous well. That poisonous well is the idea of Replacement theology. This doctrine unfortunately has its roots in antisemitism. It teaches that God has done away with the Jewish people and there’s no need for a national Israel. They argue that the Land should be Palestine just as the Romans renamed it, and just as it was called before the British mandate. This teaching is in complete opposition to God’s word. Read Jeremiah 46: 27-28

“Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, for I am with you,” declares the Lord. “Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”

All of that being said, I’ll say this; “The most hateful and vile rhetoric about Israel I’ve heard comes from people who haven’t visited or lived in Palestine or Israel”. Reread that statement because this is my segway to story 3.

Story 3: I visited Palestine in June 2023 with my family. We went to a store in Bethlehem and while we were there, we heard a loud boom and saw fire. We all ducked in fear. We ducked for what seemed like an eternity, but 10mins later 2 men came in laughing and said it’s not a bomb. It was the grease fire in the restaurant’s kitchen. They hadn’t cleaned their stove in a long time and the grease caused an explosion. They said it happens all the time. It was good to laugh about it in the end, but the fear I felt in that moment was extreme. I kept wondering how these people managed to live through that fear all their lives. But what was interesting to note is that the Palestinians weren’t afraid that Israel was bombing them again. They were afraid that Hamas had triggered another bomb, and Israel would have to retaliate.

Every Palestinian community has its own mix, and each community its own basket of eggs, but most everyday Palestinians just want to live their lives alongside the Israelis in peace. The Israelis also want to live along side the Palestinians. Most Israelis want to give business to the Palestinians and the Palestinians love this. Like I said the relationship between both groups can differ depending on the area you visit. Bethlehem where I was on that day has a mixture of Christian Palestinians, Muslim Palestinians, and Jewish Palestinians. Hebron for example has Mostly Arab Muslims and a few Israelis. Israel has a lot of Arab/Palestinians who have become Israelis and now have representation in the Israeli Parliament.

Again, like I said, the most hateful rhetoric such as “Israel is a genocidal nation, Israel is a racist nation etc” comes from people who don’t live on the land, ever visited the land, or perhaps visited and became disgruntled and unable to forgive.

Don’t get my story wrong, I’m not defending Israel and throwing Palestinanians under the bus. My love for Palestinians runs deep. I’m simply telling you Israel has a right to exist and defend herself like every other country. But that’s not the highlight. The highlight of Israel’s existence is that God is true to his word. None of us are holy or worthy of his love, but he has loved us anyway. No nation is holy. We all have blood on our hands. The Ottoman empire and Caliphate didn’t conquer the land through a bloodless war. America didn’t become America by pleading with the native indigenous people.

I’m not saying history has ever been right. I’m saying that while you sit on your luxurious toilet and keyboard away on your phone with vile and hateful rhetoric, know that the culture of freedom of speech you so readily enjoy was bought with the blood of others. Perhaps they also need to rise up and kick you out??? I wonder where you will go? Back to the country you ran away from? Or maybe back to the country ancestry.com and 123&me told you your bloodline came from (Places where, “by the way” they won’t take you back)?

My words might seem harsh but knowing who God is, is better than following that viper hole of hateful venom. Hating Israel and the Jewish people is as evil as Islamophobia. Hating Israel because you hate God and religion is one of the purest form of hate refined in the fires of hell.

Each time a conflict breaks out in Israel there are casualties on both sides. Palestinians suffer more because for some weird reason there’s always that miss-fired missile that hurts a whole bunch of innocent Palestinians and leaves each side accusing the other side. This time US investigates the evidence and sides with Israel that Hamas hurt its own people, but most people at this point already tuned off and continue in the calling of Israel a genocidal nation.

Again, this post isn’t to tell you what to do. This post is to let you know I’m sorry I don’t hate as you do. I’m sorry you feel you hate God so you must hate Israel. I’m sorry you feel let down because you think my loving Israel means I do not love Palestinians. There are Palestinian believers in Christ. When one of them is hurt or killed, it is as if my own brother was killed. I can only get on my knees and beg God for mercy and for peace to finally come to the land so my brothers and sisters can live in peace.

But what I will not do is agree with you in opposition to God’s instructions to me. I will not take your side against Israel. I will not Hate Israel. And I will NEVER EVER hate my God and disobey his instruction to me concerning the land and the Nation of Israel. I will continue to get on my knees and beg for his mercy. I will continue to pray for peace within the walls of Jerusalem for the sake of my brothers and sisters that dwell there.

I’ll finish this post by saying this; It’s very ironic that the current Free Palestine protests in America is mostly by people who have either 1) anti-God Sentiments, 2) have drunk from the replacement theology well, or 3) belong to the Muslim faith. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with these folks. I’m just pointing out that these groups have nothing in common except for a common hatred of Israel. They don’t all agree on loving Palestinians. If there was an Islamic state of Palestine, 2/3 of this group would exit the chat room. For lack of a better phrase this unholy unity is what I call a mixed bag of hypocritical rotten tomatoes hogwash. I don’t see unity in love for the people. I see unity in hate.

When Martin Luther King marched in unity with Whites and Jews, he didn’t march hoping and praying for the annihilation of whites. He marched praying and hoping for peaceful unity between blacks and whites.

Again, I pray for the Land. I pray for Jerusalem. May there be peace within your walls. May nations come to the light of your rising.

If you hate me after reading this. It’s ok. I love you all the same. I will always love you even when you have cut me off.