The False Religion of Christian Anti-Semitism

There is a strange and dangerous sickness growing in parts of the modern church. It wears religious language. It quotes Scripture selectively. It claims to speak for justice, compassion, prophecy, or “the oppressed.” But beneath the robe is an old hatred with a new mask.

It is Christian anti-Semitism.

And I will say plainly what many are afraid to say: Christian anti-Semitism is not biblical Christianity. It is a false religion created in the image of man’s own bitterness, prejudice, and rebellion against the Word of God.

The Bible does not give Christians permission to hate Israel. It does not give Christians permission to despise the Jewish people. It does not give Christians permission to replace God’s covenants with our own political opinions, cultural resentments, or tribal loyalties.

God spoke clearly to Abraham:

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” — Genesis 12:3, KJV

That is not obscure. That is not complicated. God promised blessing to those who bless Abraham and cursing to those who curse him. Through Abraham came Isaac, through Isaac came Jacob, and through Jacob came the twelve tribes of Israel. Through Israel came the prophets, the covenants, the Scriptures, and ultimately our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A Christian who hates Israel is sawing off the very branch upon which he claims to sit.

God’s covenant with Abraham was not casual. It was not temporary. It was not a campaign promise. It was a covenant established by God Himself.

In Genesis 17, the Lord said:

“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” — Genesis 17:7, KJV

Notice the word: everlasting.

God is not in the habit of reneging on His covenants. Man breaks promises. Governments break treaties. Political movements shift with the wind. But God does not wake up in heaven and decide that His Word no longer applies.

The Abrahamic covenant included descendants, land, blessing, and divine purpose. Israel was chosen not because Israel was perfect, but because God is sovereign. Israel sinned. Israel rebelled. Israel was judged. Israel was scattered. But Israel was never forgotten.

Paul made that clear in Romans:

“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid.” — Romans 11:1, KJV

That should settle the matter for any Bible-believing Christian. God has not cast away His people.

The Gentile believer has not replaced Israel. We have been grafted in.

Paul uses the picture of an olive tree in Romans 11. The natural branches are Israel. The wild branches are the Gentiles who have been grafted in by faith. That is grace. That is mercy. That is not a license for arrogance.

Paul warns Gentile believers directly:

“Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” — Romans 11:18, KJV

That verse ought to make every anti-Israel Christian tremble.

We Gentile Christians do not support the root. The root supports us.

Our faith did not begin in Rome, Washington, London, or Geneva. It began in Jerusalem.

Our Savior is Jewish. The apostles were Jewish. The prophets were Jewish. The first church was Jewish. The Scriptures were entrusted to the Jewish people.

So how can a Christian hate the people through whom God brought salvation to the world?

The United States of America shares something profound with Israel. We are not Israel, and we do not replace Israel. But our nation was built upon a Judeo-Christian moral foundation that drew deeply from the Hebrew Scriptures and the teachings of Christ.

Our laws, our concepts of liberty, our understanding of human dignity, and our belief that rights come from God rather than government all owe a tremendous debt to that biblical worldview.

And that foundation is under attack.

The attack is spiritual, cultural, political, and moral. Hatred of Israel is now being repackaged as sophistication. Hatred of Jews is being excused as activism. Hatred of Zionism is being dressed up as virtue.

Legacy media, academia, political radicals, and even some pulpits have helped normalize a poison that should have been rejected immediately by anyone who knows the Bible.

Let us be fair: not every criticism of an Israeli government policy is anti-Semitism. Governments can be criticized. Leaders can be questioned. Policies can be debated. But when the criticism becomes an obsession, when Israel alone is treated as uniquely evil among the nations, when the Jewish people are blamed for every grievance under the sun, and when Christians begin speaking as though God has abandoned His covenant people, we are no longer dealing with honest criticism.

We are dealing with hatred.

Hatred always needs a target. A heart tainted by hatred must find someone to blame. The Jew. The black man. The white man. The Asian. The immigrant. The poor. The wealthy. The political opponent. The person across the street. The person in the other pew.

Jesus warned us that this kind of division would mark the end times:

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…” — Matthew 24:7, KJV

That word “nation” carries the idea of peoples and people groups. We see it every day. Tribe against tribe. Race against race. Class against class. Party against party. Neighbor against neighbor. Hatred has become a political weapon and a spiritual disease.

But God did not create us for hatred.

David wrote:

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” — Psalm 139:14, KJV

Every human being is made by God. Every soul matters. Every person will stand before the Lord. Hatred has no rightful place in the Christian heart.

Yes, we are human. Yes, we struggle. Yes, anger and fear can creep in. But the answer is not to baptize hatred and call it righteousness.

The answer is repentance.

Instead of pointing fingers at everyone else, perhaps we should turn toward our own homes, our own churches, our own communities, and our own hearts.

Help us, O Lord, to seek Your will for our lives. Help us not to create You in our own image so we can continue hating the people You told us to love.

This is where I have a serious problem with Christians who hate Israel or despise Zionism simply because the Jewish people desire to live safely in their ancestral homeland.

If your theology requires hatred of Israel, your theology is broken.

If your Christianity makes room for contempt toward the Jewish people, your Christianity is not biblical.

If your church teaches you to curse what God has blessed, leave that church.

The Bible is clear that Israel has a future.

Zechariah prophesied of a day when Israel would recognize the One who was pierced:

“And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him…” — Zechariah 12:10, KJV

A chapter later, the prophet gives us another powerful glimpse:

“And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” — Zechariah 13:6, KJV

That is not replacement theology. That is restoration. Israel will look upon her Messiah. Israel will recognize Him. Israel will mourn. Israel will be saved.

Paul said it this way:

“And so all Israel shall be saved…” — Romans 11:26, KJV

The end of the age does not end with Satan winning, Israel being erased, or the promises of God failing.

The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords.

The seventh trumpet announces the transfer of the kingdoms of this world to Christ:

“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” — Revelation 11:15, KJV

Armageddon is not the end of planet Earth. It is the climactic confrontation in Israel when the armies of the world gather, and the Lord Himself intervenes.

Revelation 16:16 names the place Armageddon. Revelation 19 shows Christ coming in power.

Zechariah 14 describes the Lord standing upon the Mount of Olives and fighting against the nations that come against Jerusalem.

The nations will rage. The armies will gather. Jerusalem will appear surrounded. All will seem lost.

Then Jesus turns the tide.

After that, Scripture speaks of Christ reigning for a thousand years:

“And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” — Revelation 20:4, KJV

His seat of authority will be Jerusalem. The world will finally know righteous government. War will be restrained. Justice will flow from the throne of the Messiah. The promises of God will be fulfilled, not forgotten.

There are different Christian interpretations regarding the timing and relationship of Ezekiel 38–39, the sixth trumpet, Armageddon, and the final battles.

I believe we are moving rapidly toward the prophetic events Scripture warned us about. I also believe Christians must be careful not to confuse the sixth trumpet war, which Revelation says kills one-third of mankind, with Armageddon, the final confrontation in Israel at the return of Christ.

But whatever one’s exact prophetic timeline, this much is clear: God is not finished with Israel.

Therefore, Christians have no business hating Israel.

And to those who call themselves Christians while harboring hatred toward Jews, I say this prayerfully but firmly: repent.

Repent of hatred. Repent of arrogance. Repent of twisting Scripture. Repent of creating a Jesus who agrees with your prejudice instead of bowing before the Jesus of the Bible.

Jesus warned that many religious people would one day be shocked to discover that their works, words, and public displays did not mean they truly belonged to Him:

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?… And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” — Matthew 7:22–23, KJV

That is a terrifying warning.

It is possible to sound religious and still be lost. It is possible to quote Scripture and still rebel against God. It is possible to stand in a church, sing hymns, attend Bible studies, and still carry hatred in the heart.

Jesus also spoke of a coming judgment of the nations, separating sheep from goats:

“And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” — Matthew 25:33, KJV

The issue is not whether we created a version of Christianity that flatters our politics or justifies our prejudice.

The issue is whether we obeyed Christ.

Christian anti-Semitism is a contradiction in terms. It is spiritual poison. It is a false Christianity. It curses what God has blessed, despises the people through whom God gave us the Messiah, and arrogantly boasts against the natural branches.

No Christian should tolerate it.

No pastor should preach it.

No church should excuse it.

If your congregation is teaching hatred of Israel or contempt for the Jewish people, get out.

If your preacher is dressing up anti-Semitism in theological language, reject it.

If your political tribe demands that you hate the Jews, choose the Bible over the tribe.

God has spoken. His covenant stands. Israel has a future. Jesus is returning. Jerusalem will matter. The King will reign.

And every knee shall bow.

Repent of hatred toward Israel. Repent now. Ask the Lord for forgiveness. Return to the Word of God, not the fashionable bitterness of this present age.

May God bless Israel.

May God open the eyes of the church.

And may we never be found cursing what the Lord Himself has promised to bless.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Walt Tollefson

Faith, Family, Freedom & Common Sense

Standing for Christ in These Last Days