We will relive the Book of Esther. The gentiles will carry the Jewish people upon our shoulders.

We will right the wrongs of the past when the church did not stand up for the Jewish People—as in the days of the Russian Pogroms and the time of the holocaust in WWII.

In the Book of Esther, Haman had a plan of genocide of the entire Jewish race. But aided by the prayers and fasting of Queen Ester’s Court and Mordecai’s coaching, Haman was hung on his own gallows.

Haman is long gone, but that ancient malevolent spirit is attempting a comeback in our day.

It is as if someone has pushed a “replay” button, except for one thing: Where is Mordecai? Where is Esther? Where are the God-inspired strategies that can pull down the spirit of Haman or the antisemitic demonic powers?

With this in mind, below I want to share an article by my friend and son-in-the faith, Patrick Penn, of Huntsville, AL, who provides a startling update on today’s activity.

The Resonating Sound I will Never Forget

Patrick Penn“Among the many sounds heard during the spring in Northern Alabama, there is one sound in particular that is distinctive. It is the eerie sound of a tornado siren. It is a constant reminder to those who hear its warning that we live in the path of one of nature’s most destructive forces.

“Ten years ago on Monday, April 12, 2010 my entire being resonated with emotion, at the sound of a siren, but I was not in Alabama and it was not a tornado siren. It was the siren for Yom HaShoah, (Holocaust Remembrance Day) at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem. For a few moments the entire nation of Israel came to a standstill remembering those who were murdered in the Holocaust. I stood there in silence on the grounds of Yad Vashem surrounded by 23 other Christians from eight nations. Each of us had been invited to participate in the first-ever International Christian Leadership Seminar at Yad Vashem.

“The weeklong seminar began with moving speeches by then President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. By the end of the week, each of us had completed 50 hours of Holocaust studies at The International School for Holocaust Studies. We learned from renowned scholars as well as Holocaust survivors.

“The sounds from that week are still fresh in my memory: The sound of the voices of survivors Hannah Pick (a childhood friend of Anne Frank) and Nachum and Genya Manor (rescued by Oscar Schindler), as well as the sound of the gentle yet convicting appeal of Dr. Alan Rosen (an English literature lecturer and one-time student of Elie Wiesel).

“In his lecture, Dr. Rosen spoke on the life of John Hersey, a popular Christian writer who chose to write about the Holocaust in such a way that he became an influential voice, bringing life and hope to the survivors. Fighting back tears, I jotted down Dr. Rosen’s exhortation to be like John Hersey— “A voice to influence the world.”

“Among the many sounds heard throughout the week, however, there was one sound in particular that was distinctive. It was the solemn sound of that siren on April 12, 2010 that somehow seemed to be the voice of six million people murdered in a previous era. It was a warning that one of humanity’s most destructive forces—hatred of the Jewish people—still exists.

Ten Years Later

“It has been ten years now since that providential trip to Israel. Not only does hatred of the Jewish people still exist but in fact it is intensifying around the world. It is rampant in the nations of the Middle East and throughout Europe. The United Nations and campuses across America readily embrace this hatred. It has found voice in the halls of the U.S. Congress and a worldwide movement known as B.D.S. (Boycott, Sanction and Divest from Israel).

“Mainstream churches and denominations even embolden and empower this hatred by teaching that the “church” has now replaced Israel and that God’s historical promises to her are now irrelevant. Not even two years ago, what is believed to be the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States, took place on October 27, 2018, at Tree of Life synagogue in Pennsylvania.

“As previously mentioned, I live in Alabama, which has a rich legacy of standing with the Jewish People. In 1943, Alabama was the first state to pass a resolution calling for the “establishment of a Jewish homeland” before the nation of Israel ever came into existence. Last year Alabama was the first state to pass a resolution “recognizing Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided capital of Israel.”

“Alabama enjoys a strong relationship between the Christian and Jewish communities and has been readily identified as one, if not the most, pro-Israel state in the nation. Furthermore, a huge sector of the missile defense industry which provides protection for the nation of Israel comes from my hometown of Huntsville, where I, along with other Christian leaders in the city enjoy a close friendship with our local Jewish community.

The Longest Hatred

“One might presume that such a pro-Israel place would be immune to any attack against the Jewish people ever penetrating our region, however, such a presumption was proven false in recent days. On the night of April 8 as Jewish families around the world were at home celebrating the start of Passover, Etz Chayim, the Conservative Jewish congregation in Huntsville, Alabama was vandalized with the spray painting of several swastikas, racial slurs and phrases such as “Holohoax.” “Gas Em All,” “White Power,” “Jew Scum” and the lightning-bolt “SS.” The front door and the synagogue’s sign were both tagged with a swastika and the word  “Satan.” The following night the Jewish Chabad center in Huntsville was hit in a similar antisemitic attack.

“One of the world’s best-known scholars of antisemitism, Robert S. Wistrich, referred to this hatred of the Jewish people, as “The Longest Hatred.” A brief glimpse into the history of the Jewish people confirms that antisemitism is not new but that it has its roots in the very origin of the nation of Israel. The very first mention of the Israelites as a people group is found in Exodus chapter 1. It is a story of oppression. The pages of the Bible clearly reveal that the nation of Israel has been targeted by enemies throughout history seeking her destruction. Why such hatred? Because God sovereignly chose Israel to be the vehicle for world redemption, voicing it throughout the pages of the Old Testament. If the enemy of God could succeed in destroying the nation of Israel, then God’s plan to redeem the world through her could not be realized, proving God to be a liar.

“In a similar fashion if God’s enemy could succeed in killing the Messiah then redemption would not be possible, or so it was believed, and God would be a liar. This false assumption played right into God’s hand. The enemy of God thought he had succeeded in killing the Messiah only to find out that God’s plan was to resurrect Him from the dead, the very proof needed to confirm that He was indeed the Redeemer and Messiah.

“Our history is internally woven with the Jewish people. Historically, God used the blood of the Lamb at Passover to deliver the Jewish people from the bondage of Egypt, foreshadowing how He would deliver all of humanity from the bondage of Satan through the blood of the Lamb of God, His Son Jesus Christ. It is no coincidence that Jesus was crucified on Passover.

We Cannot Remain Silent!

“We cannot be so naive to think that God would have the Ekklesia of Jesus Christ to do nothing and to remain silent as hatred of the Jewish people is ever increasing all around us. God has stated in His Word that Israel is forever. It is also no coincidence that we are living in the modern-day restoration of  the nation of Israel that began in 1948.

“There yet remains unfilled prophetic promises to the nation of Israel and once again the enemy has an agenda to make God look like a liar to prevent those promises from coming to pass. One of the primary things on his agenda is the intensifying of the “Longest Hatred,” antisemitism.

“Two attacks on the first two days of Passover in a pro-Israel stronghold, along with the previously mentioned ever increasing hatred of the Jewish people throughout the world makes it clear that this is not some harmless ideology. No we are in an outright war. This kind of war cannot be won through the conventional weapons of warfare. As important as it is for my city to provide missile defense for the nation of Israel, a greater weapon must be implemented to safeguard the nation of Israel and the Jewish people from the demonic onslaught of ant-Semitism.

The Greatest Weapon of All

“That weapon is you and I, the Ekklesia of Jesus Christ. Together, we must raise our voices to stand against the rising tide of ant-Semitism and we must raise our voices to Heaven from which our help comes from.”

If God is to prevail, He must first prevail in the hearts of Gentile Christians and their Messianic Jewish counterparts, inspiring concerted prayer, fasting and strategic action. The hunters are already active, and more hunters could right behind them. An edict has gone forth. Will Mordecai step forward to inform and to summon the people? Will the Church (the Bride, therefore Esther) beautify herself and covenant to fast and pray? Who will be bold enough to volunteer?

Would you join with us to be a “a voice to influence the world?” Would you join with us in combating antisemitism? Would you join with us in reminding God of His prophetic promises to Israel? Would you join in to be a watchman on behalf of the apple of God’s eye—Israel?

Watchmen on the Walls,

James W. Goll (with Patrick Penn)

Patrick Penn, with his wife Andrea, is the Senior Pastor of The Dwelling Place Church (dwellingplace.us) in Huntsville, AL. He is an advocate for building bridges between Israel, the Jewish people and the body of Christ.