"Righteous Gentiles" Ride Again
The Bible is full of grand stories of justice and of God overcoming evil. Certainly one of the most dramatic is David’s defeat of Goliath. Young David, the coming king, vanquished the mocking giant on the fields of Israel. His story serves as a model for all of us: We can have the same confidence in the same God as we face the battles before us.In our era, one of the giants that rises and mocks is the spectre of fascist ideology. In the mid-twentieth century, Judeo-Christian forces faced the giant of pagan-infused fascism. Fascism did not exist in a vacuum. It had many fellow travelers, including the Muslim Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini. The mufti is forever sealed in iniquity through the photos of him smiling alongside an equally jolly Adolf Hitler. In Berlin, they agreed that any of the Jews who might escape to the area then known as Palestine would be finished off by the Muslim troops in the Middle East. These two were confident that the Final Solution was near.
As the Jewish saying goes, “Man plans and God laughs.”
Western leaders, along with millions of Allied soldiers willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, foiled Hitler and his demonic plan. Also, in the midst of war, heroes arose who helped change the course of history. Their names come down to us, and we celebrate their actions. Gentiles like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Corrie ten Boom, and Oskar Schindler are remembered today as “Righteous Among the Nations.” Jewish people marvel at these men and women who risked all to save Jewish lives. What can motivate people to this type of action?Whether overtly or covertly, the Spirit of God must have touched them. Like David, they came against the fascist ideology, “in the name of the Lord of Hosts.” Bonhoeffer (r) was a pastor; ten Boom was reared in a Christian home with an understanding of the Jewish roots of Christianity.What of Oskar Schindler? His story is more mysterious. However, after war profiteering left him cold, he took major risks to save 1,200 Jews. The mystery of Schindler’s transformation continues today.His great-niece through marriage, Rosemary, has allowed God to lay Oskar’s mantle on her. She has joined Myles and me on many occasions to minister in Israel, America, and the nations. Together we proclaim the “one new man” of Ephesians 2:15, and we invite the Church universal to stand against the goliath of radical Islam.In late September, we will tour the Promised Land, and everyone who comes with us (perhaps including you) will have the opportunity to walk in the prophetic fulfillment of our Age. We will celebrate over 30 years of Zola Tours pilgrimages. His Spirit, we will remind the enemies of Israel that God By His Spirit, we will remind the enemies of Israel that God has planted the Jews in this Land, “never to be uprooted again” (Amos 9:15)Image courtesy The Famous People