Canada has a reputation as an open, peaceful, friendly place, but even here, this has not always been true for the Jews in the past and it is spiking up again.  Jewish people are feeling unsafe, due to a skyrocketing antisemitic incident count with 2023 coming out with a 102% increase over 2022 including a 208% increase
in violent events. Most of those additional incidents happened after October 7.  University campuses are a mess with physical and verbal abuse of students, calls for intifada are presented as though intifada is something peaceful to call for.  The increase outside of the realm of the internet is far more than that with in-person acts going through the roof in comparison to before October 7th.  It’s a normalization of antisemitism that appears to be happening again.

The situation is so bad that in their yearly antisemitism report, B’nai Brith Canada called the situation in Canada a legitimate threat to the survival of Canada’s Jewish community.

Unfortunately, Canada is not an exception, rather, the world as a whole is turning against the Jews who are among them, but even more so, those far away in little Israel.

God has used the ill feelings and actions of men against his people in the past to bring his purpose to pass and for their ultimate good.  Psalm 105 which outlines God’s work with Israel to bring them up out of Egypt and give them the land of Israel says in verse 25:

(Psalms 105:25, AV) “He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.”

This antisemitism was instrumental in bringing the people out of Egypt and back to the promised land.

Similarly, when they arrived on the borders of the promised land, God used the wickedness of the people for their own demise.

(Deuteronomy 2:30-34, AV) “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.”

There is every indication that the time of the end will be no different.  In Revelation, it is the “frog spirits” that gather the nations, which is a reference to the modern spirit of liberty equality and fraternity that came out of the French Revolution.  In Ezekiel 38 the nations come against “my people of Israel”.  Joel 3 talks of actions against his people that end in their gathering against Israel only to be destroyed.  These and others like them paint a picture of an antisemitic crusade against Israel leading to a new age of peace and grandeur for Israel and the demise of those nations.

Joel chapter 3 details specific actions performed by Tyre, Zidon and the coasts of Palestine.  It is difficult to say when these actions happen, and some of them definitely appear to be already in the past, however, at least three things are clear:  One, these are the same people who are in direct conflict with Israel today.  Two, they are actions that bring a reaction by the “children of Judah” which, in turn, brings the Palestinian’s evil reward onto their own heads and while riling the nations up to bring them to the battle of their destruction.  Three, the actions committed against the Jews involve selling children for profit, which happens to have been done on October 7th and since.  The Hamas and civilian operatives were reportedly paid for capturing people, including children, and those who guard the captives in Gaza today are paid for doing so.

God will bring judgement for the actions of past generations upon the heads of the children when the children prove that they are of the same character and behave in the same way.  

(Matthew 23:34-36, AV) “34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.”

The Palestinians have shown that they deserve the guilt to fall on them for not only the antisemitic acts they themselves have committed but also those of prior generations.  Likewise, the nations who react in their crusade against Jerusalem will demonstrate beyond all doubt that they deserve the guilt of the ages of antisemitic acts of the world to rest on them.  

We hope and pray that the steadfast loving kindness of God acts quickly to save the children of Israel from the wicked intent of the evil age of deception in which we live.

Tim Billington for the Bible in the News.