Gary Varvel: The unseen source of antisemitism

My essay on the evil puppet master

THE DEMONIC TIES OF ANTISEMITISM

What do these cities have in common? Cairo, Baghdad, Istanbul, Toronto, Seoul, Berlin, Frankfurt, Beirut, Paris, Amsterdam, Sydney, Athens, Barcelona, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Mumbai, Tokyo, Tehran, Amman, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles… — all of these cities have had anti-Israel demonstrations with tens of thousands of protesters.

On Sunday, an airport in Russia’s Dagestan region, was stormed by hundreds of Muslims protesting the arrival of an airliner from Israel.

Do you remember the worldwide protests against Russia after invading Ukraine? No? Me neither because it didn’t happen.

Police were sent to Cornell University’s Center for Jewish Living, after a series of "horrendous, antisemitic messages threatening violence" were posted on a website.

What is going on?

How do you explain this organized explosion of worldwide antisemitism? How could millions upon millions of people worldwide get so worked up by a tiny percentage of the world’s population.

The Bible’s answer? It’s demonic.

My cartoon (above) pulls the curtain back so you can see who is pulling the strings of antisemitism. Demonic influence is the only explanation that makes sense. It’s illogical to think this unified worldwide hostility was not coordinated somehow.

Does that sound like a conspiracy theory?

Look at what the Bible has a lot to say about the devil’s power to cause havoc:

1. Unbelievers are slaves of the devil.

“We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)

Notice there are two kinds of people: the people of God and people who are under “the power of the evil one.”

John 8:34 says, “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.’” Only Jesus, who paid the price for sin, is able to set us free from the penalty of sin. (John 8:36)

2. The devil’s power can spiritually blind the minds of people.

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

The devil blinds the minds of people with the cares of this world so that they cannot believe in truth. This spiritual blindness is a reason why people choose not to believe the Bible. Only Jesus can give sight to people who want to see. (Mark 10:51)

3. The devil is the deceiver of the whole world.

“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:9)

Just as Satan deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, he has the ability to deceive people into speaking on his behalf. For example, Peter unwittingly spoke for the devil once and Jesus rebuked him saying:

“…Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23)

Notice the problem was Peter was thinking on the “things of man” instead of the “things of God.”

Worldly thinking is the same problem we’re having today. Because the Biden administration doesn’t know the Scriptures and the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, 17, they think that peace can be achieved with a two-state solution. The “land for peace” argument is not God’s perspective. When politicians talk about land for peace, they are speaking for the devil.

4. The devil can fill our hearts to lie.

“But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5:3)

The father of lies is the devil. In John 8:44, Jesus told the Pharisees, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

5. The devil’s spiritually dead followers.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)

The devil’s followers are physically alive but because of their sin, they are spiritually the walking dead. They have no spiritual life and cannot respond to spiritual things. They are puppets performing for their puppet master, the devil.

This is the Biblical explanation for that explosion of worldwide antisemitism we are witnessing today.

Ever since God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham’s descendants in Genesis 12, Satan has tried to destroy Israel. If he can destroy the Jews, then God’s plans will fail.

Revelation 12 gives us a picture of the history of Israel which is described as a “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” This metaphorical language is the same thing Joseph dreamed in Genesis 37. This woman gives birth to a Son who will rule the world with “a rod of iron.”

The devil is described as a “great red dragon” who wants to devour the child. This is an obvious reference to Jesus Christ. When he was born to a Jewish mother in Bethlehem, King Herod tried to kill the child but God saved him.

Revelation 12 says “but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.” This happened after Jesus died on the cross, was buried and resurrected from the dead 3 days later and then ascended back to heaven after 40 days.

Since the devil failed to stop Jesus, Revelation 12:13 says, “he (Satan) pursued the woman (Israel) who had given birth to the male child.” This pursuit has been the history of the Jewish people. But the world doesn’t understand this for all of the reasons listed above.

Remember this when you watch the news out of the Middle East. The devil knows his time is short and in a last ditch effort he’s turning the world against the Jews. But “don’t let your heart be troubled,” Jesus said, “You believe in God, believe also in Me.”

Remember the words of Jan Markell, “The world is not falling apart, it is falling together.”

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the Jewish people.

This video compilation shows anti-Israel protests in all of the cities listed above.

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INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE

FYI: Thanks to Creators Syndicate, my cartoons are seen by millions in North America. This post was shared on Facebook from the Toronto Sun. I’m fascinated in the reach of the internet when I get requests to reprint my cartoons in textbooks in European countries.

To God be the glory. The Lord wired my brain to think, see and enabled my hand to recreate what is in my mind into cartoons.

A new HUMOR ME cartoon coming Tuesday

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My Latest Series of Essays

Part 1 — God’s 7000-year timeline: Mount Sinai, Transfiguration, Jericho and Sabbath Prophecies

Part 2 — The Rapture

Part 3 — God’s 7000-year timeline: Hosea and Woman at the Well Prophecy

Part 4 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Lazarus Prophecy

Part 5 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Job Prophecy

Part 6 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Jubilee Prophecy

Part 7 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Good Samaritan Prophecy

Part 8 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Creation Prophecy

Part 9 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Wedding in Cana Prophecy

Part 10 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Esther Prophecy

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