The Corruption of the West
I remember in high school leading up to the senior years,
grade 11 and 12 for us in Australia, that I had to choose my elective subjects
for the final two years. Among my choices I had to make a choice between Modern
History and Geography. I had always loved history and it was my favourite
subject currently in grade 10, but my interest was really in ancient history. I
loved to read about Egypt, Babylon, Sumer, Persia, Greece and Rome, and all of
the interesting things that occurred with those eras. I particularly liked the
parts of ancient history where we had missing information, like with the
ancient Mesopotamian societies and pre-Hyksos Egypt. The inherent mystique
involved in reading about those societies intrigued me. So, when I had the
choice of Modern History and Geography it was really a coin toss for me, as
neither were really my area of interest, so I chose Geography. This subject was
so boring by halfway through year 12 I had completely checked out. I also could
not have been more wrong about Modern History, not only is it interesting, it
has endless mystique in its own way.
This all happened of course before I realized how much we
live in a world of lies. Students of ancient history know that most written
history in that early era is either the accounting records of traders and debt
collectors, or the official histories of conquering kings and emperors.
Therefore, so much of what we find in the written accounts of these kings needs
to be taken with a grain of salt, and compared to the surrounding
archaeological record, and, where it can be found, the competing histories of
rulers who opposed those kings. With these various sources we can build somewhat
of a picture of the ancient world, that becomes much more detailed as we get
into the classical era and after that. But what I did not realize is just how
deceptive modern historians can be as well.
I would never go so far as to say there is no such thing
as objective history, but all history is written for a purpose. Even the most reliable ancient history we have, the Bible, is
written with a theological agenda in view. It is virtually
impossible to find unbiased history. Perhaps the best example we have of this
is the Scriptures, which were largely written by the critics of the ruling
elites in Israel and Judah, though not always, sometimes it was written by the
rulers (Moses and David both contributed to Scripture for instance). Even the
biblical writers were selective in what events they told as they were seeking
to teach the importance of following God not seeking to merely chronicle
everything that happened. Though unlike other historians they stuck exclusively
to the truth. Outside of that we find great testaments to those seeking to
write chronicles and histories of peoples, and empires, but even those people
had their own biases.
This propensity for people to cloud the truth shines
bright and evident in modern western society. They say, as we all know, history
is written by the victors, this is not always true, but the histories of the
victors often carry the day more than not. We see the way that the West
thinks about itself in how we have spoken about many events in the last century
or so. Britain and America have framed themselves as champions of liberty in
both World War One, and World War 2. American has been claiming to fight for democracy
against the evil Nazis, then Communists, then Islamic terrorists, then just “terror”
itself, across the world. Currently today much of the western elites, and many
among the population believe this to be the case. America and its allies claim
to be on the side of righteousness in Ukraine, and Gaza, and Syria, and any
number of other smaller but no less devastating conflicts. The West sees itself
as the liberators of mankind. I even think it once genuinely believed this, and
maybe even once, at least in part, it actually fulfilled this role. After all,
how can one not laud the British for using its Navy to put an end to the
African slave trade across the oceans? But in this fog of narrative, it is
becoming clearer to more and more people just how evil the Western powers have
come. There are many reasons for this, but one has been the West’s support or
empowerment of terrorism in Israel. Nothing shows just how shallow and wicked
the modern western elite have become like their empowerment of this
wickedness.
I mentioned briefly in a previous piece how Britian was
thanked for its support in establishing the nation of Israel by Jewish terror
attacks on British personnel, but before I go further, I need to give more
details on this. In 1939 Britian released a White Paper which recommended
severely limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine. Britian was instrumental in
setting up the Israeli nation, but their intentions were not all charitable, or
necessarily intended to create an independent nation. From the mid-19th
century there were both Christian and Jewish Zionist groups advocating for the
re-establishment of a nation for Jewish people, by the early 20th
century these groups had settled on Palestine as the place for Colonialisation.
But Britian also had geo-strategic reasons for wanting to claim the land, as I
have mentioned elsewhere, they could not countenance the French taking the
land. But also remember the British Empire was still at its peak in early 20th
century and was looking for where to expand next. The Middle East had not yet
been carved up by the Western powers, so Britian, and other European powers, had
their eyes on that region as the Ottoman Empire collapsed during World War 1. Britian
wanted Palestine, and it wanted to encourage Jewish settlement, but it also
wanted to walk the line between support for Jewish and Arab interests in the
region. This set it in conflict with radical Zionists.
Many Jewish nationalists in Palestine could not tolerate
the fact that Britian intended to stay, and that it also intended to support
Palestinians as well as Jewish immigrants. One of those groups was the Stern
Gang,
“Stern Gang, Zionist
extremist organization in Palestine, founded in 1940 by Avraham Stern (1907–42)
after a split in the right-wing underground movement Irgun Zvai Leumi.
Extremely anti-British, the
group repeatedly attacked British personnel in Palestine and even invited aid
from the Axis powers. The British police retaliated by killing Stern in his
apartment in February 1942; many of the gang’s leaders were subsequently
arrested. The group’s terrorist activities extended beyond Palestine: two
members assassinated Lord Moyne, British minister of state in the Middle East,
at Cairo (November 1944). Later the Stern Gang attacked airfields, railway
yards, and other strategic installations in Palestine, usually with success,
though at heavy loss in members killed or captured. After the creation of the
state of Israel (1948), the group, which had always been condemned by moderate
leaders of the Jewish community in Palestine, was suppressed, some of its units
being incorporated in the Israeli defense forces. Unlike the Irgun Zvai Leumi,
a precursor of the Ḥerut (“Freedom”) Party, the Stern Gang left no political
party to carry on its political programs.[1]
Another was Irgun Zvai Leumi,
Irgun Zvai Leumi, Jewish
right-wing underground movement in Palestine, founded in 1931. At first
supported by many nonsocialist Zionist parties, in opposition to the Haganah,
it became in 1936 an instrument of the Revisionist Party, an extreme nationalist
group that had seceded from the World Zionist Organization and whose policies
called for the use of force, if necessary, to establish a Jewish state on both
sides of the Jordan River.
Irgun committed acts of
terrorism and assassination against the British, whom it regarded as illegal
occupiers, and it was also violently anti-Arab. Irgun participated in the
organization of illegal immigration into Palestine after the publication of the
British White Paper on Palestine (1939), which severely limited immigration.
Irgun’s violent activities led to execution of many of its members by the
British; in retaliation, Irgun executed British army hostages.”[2]
These terrorist attacks by these groups were designed to
put pressure on the British government to remove its Mandate Rule from the
region. After WW1 Britian had established the British Mandate in Palestine and
were ruling it as they had many colonies in the past. Britian’s rule was at
times harsh as they came down with a hammer both on Arab and Israeli opponents
to their presence. Such is the way of empires; people chafe under foreign rule.
But the legacy of this British Mandate rule, which ended in 1948, was to
empower many of these terrorists to become part of the official Israel state.
These attacks culminated in 1946 with the King David
Hotel bombing in Jerusalem. But their legacy, as I have said, was the leave in
the Middle East a powder keg for conflict,
“After the creation of
Israel in 1948 Irgun’s last units disbanded and took the oath of loyalty to the
Israel Defense Forces on September 1, 1948. Politically, it was the precursor
of the Ḥerut (Freedom) Party, one of Israel’s most militant right-wing groups,
which later merged with the Liberals into the Gaḥal Party. See also Stern Gang.”[3]
You don’t hear much about this in the official discourse
of the establishment of Israel, do you? It is often framed from the perspective
that poor harassed European Jews just moved to an empty land to start their new
lives. But the truth is far removed from the reality. The establishment of
Israel happened in the context of the fall of an ancient empire, the Ottoman
Empire, and there were three broad militaries powers at play in the aftermath
of this collapse: the British Imperial overlords, the rising Jewish nationalists,
and the disenfranchised and much weaker Palestinians or Arabs. This was a
military conquest at heart, and a violent one. Those who know it well know that
the Palestinians have a word for what happened after the UN established Israel
in 1948, the Nakba, or the Catastrophe. Britian left in 1948 and abstained from
voting for the establishment of Israel. But it had already left its mark on the
region, it had left the ingredients for an ongoing conflict that is still
raging to this day.
But, why do I bring this up, when our topic is discussing
how standing with Israel blessed America? Simply because from the very
beginning of the establishment of Israel the global empire has empowered a
terrorist element to be present in Israel. As you saw above, these terrorists
were in large part neither charged or prosecuted, but were incorporated into
the IDF. And right after this military force was to go on and drive tens of
thousands of Palestinians out of their homes and into places like Gaza, Egypt
or Jordan, with violent force. You might respond that the Israeli military were
simply responding to the violence of the inhabitants of the land. But do you
hear what you are saying if you respond that way? How do you expect people to
respond to being disenfranchised in their own land?
I take us back to the founding of Israel and the
terrorist attacks that the British suffered to show that the modern conflict is simply a perpetuation of this same conflict for control over the land. And
to this day westerners, and even Christians, both support and empower terrorism
in that land and region, because of their support for the state of Israel and
for many their belief that it needs to be re-established to fulfill God’s will
for the end times.
A good example of this is the plan to rebuild the temple.
Stephen Sizer writes,
“It gets more ominous still.
On January 8, 2001, former Shin Bet secret service chief Carmi Gillon and
former police commissioner Assaf Hefetz, together with leading Israeli
academics, delivered a report to the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak,
detailing their concerns regarding plots by Jewish extremist groups to blow up
the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Keshev, the Centre for the Protection
of Democracy, based in Tel Aviv, founded by Gillon and Hefetz following the
assassination of Rabin, published a 12 page report entitled, ‘Target Temple
Mount’, which examined current threats to the Temple Mount from extreme
militant and Messianic groups. The report claimed, 'The Temple Mount is like a
smouldering volcano that is bubbling and threatening to erupt - a threat that
is liable to endanger Israel's existence.'”[4]
This might seem quite extreme, but is it any different
than what some of the more extreme founders of the nations did to get rid of
the British presence? No, it is precisely the same kind of activity. Now, of
course, not all Israelis would support such an effort, but my point is not to
examine just how many do. My point is to show how standing with Israel has
morally corrupted the West, and especially the church. As Sizer explains,
“And the tragedy is that
some Christians are ready to light the fuse. On the same day, around 500,000
secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered near the Temple Mount at
the Western Wall ‘and swore faithfulness to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem.’[154]
Six months later, in July 2001, the Rabbinical Council of Judea, Samaria and
Gaza called on all rabbis to bring their communities to visit the Temple Mount.
This was the first time a group of rabbis representing a significant proportion
of the religious Jewish community had ruled it permissible for Jews to ascend
the Temple Mount. Previously this had been forbidden. The rabbis also called
upon the Yesha Council of Jewish settlements to organize mass visits to the
Temple Mount from the settlements.[155] So what on earth would lead so many
Jews and Christians to agree on such a provocative and dangerous plan that
could very well start World War 3? As scary as it may seem, they simply believe
the Bible not only predicts but indeed requires them to help rebuild the Jewish
temple, with no fear of the consequences. Let’s consider their arguments.[5]
And as with all passionately held beliefs, even those
which are in error, many Christians are seeking to do all that they can to see
the “prophecy” fulfilled,
“Lindsey must be living on
another planet when he suggests a future Jewish temple could be built right
alongside the Dome of the Rock. Somehow I don’t think the Muslim authorities
are going to agree to move it elsewhere or allow a Jewish temple to be built
alongside it. But Lindsey claims it could revive the Israeli economy and become
‘the greatest tourist attraction in the world’. He goes on to say, ‘Right now,
as you read this, preparations are being made to rebuild the Third Temple.’
On the last point at least,
Lindsey is right. Building a temple with all the fancy architectural detail
stipulated by Ezekiel is going to be pretty expensive. So who is going to foot
the bill? You guessed it – gullible Christians who believe they are helping
speed the return of Jesus. I was in Colorado Springs recently when Gershon
Salomon was also speaking – in his case at one of the largest churches in town,
raising funds for his organization. Grace Halsell estimates that at least $100
million a year is being raised by some rather well-known televangelists and
church leaders to rebuild the temple. And if you want to know where to send
your own donation, Randall Price in his book, The Coming Last Days Temple,
provides you with the contact details of all the Jewish organizations committed
to rebuilding the Jewish temple.[168]”[6]
And these people are not ignorant of the potential
consequences of this kind of action,
“It seems that it is more a
question of ‘when’ not ‘whether’ this happens. Speaking at a Christian Zionist
conference in Jerusalem recently, Gershon Salomon stated:
The Israeli Government must
do it. We must have a war. There will be many nations against us but God will
be our general. I am sure this is a test, that God is expecting us to move the
Dome with no fear from other nations. The Messiah will not come by himself, we
should bring him by fighting.”[7]
I have heard many people argue that Christian support for
Zionism is a harmless religious belief. But nothing could be further from the
truth. First British and now American support for the establishment of Israel
has caused these western nations to empower violence both in the land of
Promise and beyond, all because of an errant belief that standing with Israel
would bring blessing to the West. $100 million dollars a year is being raised
by Christians alone to rebuild the temple, even though everyone knows this will
likely precipitate the largest war seen in the modern Middle East, and that is
saying something. This is beyond reprehensible. Not to mention it is against
Christian teaching to say any building can truly be the temple of God. Christ
is the temple, and he dwells both in his Church and in individual believers.
Coming back to my introduction, I don't remember learning about any of this in school, university, or in the churches I grew up in, though
it is known by mainstream history. I referred to Encyclopedia Brittanica in this piece for a
reason, to show these events are not debated, they are well established.
Despite this, the recreation of Israel was always framed as this miraculous
event that proves God’s word to be true, and also as an act of justice for harassed
European Jews. That was the official story. But in reality, it was and is a
violent conquest that is ongoing, and to stand with it has caused many
Christians in the West to both stand with, pray for and materially support
great evil. No wonder the Western Church is so decrepit. How many prominent
Christian leaders can we all think of that unquestionably throw their support
behind the expansion of Israel, and how many also want to see the temple
rebuilt? To rebuild the temple, according to Christianity, is blasphemy. Yet
many Christians want to see it done because of their view of the end times.
As recently as this last week we have seen how this
standing with Israel has degraded the west. For years now the West has been
punishing Syria with sanctions, and now that country has collapsed and been
overtaken by jihadists as a result. And who has publicly taken credit for the
collapse of another state into the hand of Islamic radicals? The leader of
Israel,
“Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in
Syria is a “direct result” of Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah and
Iran.
Anti-government forces,
including Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) jihadists and US-armed Free Syrian Army
militants, stormed Damascus on Saturday, as the Syrian Army stood down and
Assad – according to the Russian Foreign Ministry – left the country for an unknown
destination. HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a former al-Qaeda commander,
proclaimed victory in a televised statement on Sunday, declaring that “the
future is ours.””[8]
The leader of Israel takes credit for wrecking his region further, and much of the
western media celebrate this as a victory and the result of combined U.S. and
Israeli efforts in the region. Western leaders are admitting to having
supported jihadists with their actions, which also have further destabilised an
already unstable region. At many points America’s standing with Israel has
degraded it morally in the eyes of much of the world. But what is worse is
how much of the Church in Australia and America support these efforts, either
knowingly and not caring, or unknowingly and not caring to investigate, because
they have bought into a false narrative of modern history that we in the West
are the good guys. None of this sounds like the actions of the good guys, does
it? Till next time.
List of References
[4]
Sizer, Stephen. Zion's Christian Soldiers: The Bible, Israel and the Church .
Kindle Edition.
