THE THREE FROGS: ANTISEMITISM, ANTI-ZIONISM, & ANTI-JUDAISM
“I’m not antisemitic; I’m anti-Zionist.”
We hear that disclaimer from the progressive political left, the radical alt-right, Muslim apologists, Hollywood stars, mainstream politicians, and even Christian theologians and pastors. “I’m not against Jews, it’s the political ideology of Zionism that I oppose.”
What is that political ideology? Anti-Zionism rejects the idea that the Jewish people have a historical, religious, and cultural connection to the land of Israel, and therefore have the no right to national self-determination there. It denies the Jewish people the only Jewish country in the world, the only place in the Middle East (increasingly, the only place in the world) where Jews are not persecuted for being Jews. How is that not anti-Semitism?
Given the cognitive dissonance of that logic, it’s tempting to brush such a statement aside, “Silly Rabbit, Anti-Zionism and antisemitism are the same thing! Anti-Zionism is just a politically correct way of being an antisemite.”
After all, there yet remains (in polite circles) a little bit of stigma attached to being an antisemite, but there’s big social rewards for identifying as an anti-Zionist. If you identify as anti-Zionist, you can use that platform to virtue signal moral sophistication and global consciousness. You can repackage racism as progressive moral values. Or, for the latest twist to appeal to the political right, you can repackage bigotry as patriotism: “Just putting America first!”
So it’s tempting to argue, “Anti-Zionism is just a euphemism for antisemitism,” but it’s not. It’s something else.
THE THREE FROGS
One need look no further than anti-Zionist Jews for evidence. We have progressive liberal Jews who deny the Jewish faith and therefore deny the covenant promises about the land. We find Christian Jews who deny the integrity of God’s covenant promises to Israel because they believe in replacement theology. And we see Haredi and Chasidic Jews, both in Israel and abroad, who are anti-Zionist because they object to the establishment of a secular Jewish state (or any Jewish state) prior to the return of the Messiah. None of these people are antisemitic. But setting anti-Zionist Jews aside, the majority consensus opinion of people who espouse anti-Zionism reduces to this: The Jewish people do not belong in the land of Israel.
Therefore, antisemitism is not the same as anti-Zionism. Instead, I believe, it is only one of three frogs spoken of in Revelation 16:13.
And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.[1]
I believe the three unclean spirits belched forth like frogs from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the Beast, and the mouth of the false prophet are named Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and Anti-Judaism. They are, all three, closely related; all three of them being the spawn of one father: Antichrist.
But they are not identical. When we substitute one for the other, or declare them to be the same thing, we commit serious category errors that can be easily exploited.
Anti-Zionism: Against the land of Israel
Antisemitism: Against the people of Israel
Anti-Judaism: Against the scriptures of Israel
Anti-Zionism is a philosophy against the land of Israel; antisemitism is against the people of Israel, and anti-Judaism is against the scriptures of Israel, commonly called the Old Testament. These “three unclean spirits like frogs … spirits of demons” gather the nations together for the war of Gog and Magog. They leap out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Recently, as we draw near to the culmination of things, the three frogs have multiplied like the plague of frogs on Egypt. They have swarmed up from the abyss and entered our homes and inner rooms. They have infested the houses of the peoples and polluted their ovens and kneading bowls.[2]
Watch the trends and talking points regarding Israel and you will see all three frogs leaping around social media, springing out of religious discourse, and jumping through political spheres. You will hear their incessant croaking now coming from podcasters, influencers, media personalities, religious leaders, and politicians.
The frogs move so quickly, leaping through the air, diving beneath the surface, and trading places, that it’s difficult to keep track of which one is which. But they are not the same. If you misidentify one as the other, they escape the grasp with protests of innocence.
If you want to avoid being deceived by one or more of these frogs, it’s important to understand the differences and how to counter each one. Sometimes it helps to identify the source from which they spring. Anti-Zionism prefers political discourse (the dragon). Antisemitism prefers conspiracy theory (the beast). Anti-Judaism prefers replacement theology (the false prophet).
As a disciple of Jesus, the Jewish King of the Jews who is coming to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament by redeeming Israel and gathering the Jewish people to the land of Israel, I disapprove of all three frogs. I’m proud to identify as a Christian Zionist, as an advocate of the Jewish people, and as a defender of the integrity of the Old Testament. As a Christian Zionist, I affirm the basic tenets of a faith-based (rather than secular) Zionism:
“The belief that the Jewish people are a nation with an enduring historical, religious, and cultural connection to the land of Israel, and therefore have a destiny in the land with the right to national self-determination.”
As a Christian advocate of the Jewish people, I consider the Jewish people to be part of the broader family of my faith in the God of Israel, as Jesus said, “The least of these, brothers of mine”.[3] As a Christian teacher in the field of Messianic Judaism, I labor to correct the common church error that abolishes the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Old Testament.[4]
Know your frogs. Identify them. Keep them straight. And stand against each one.
A lot of people might condemn one or two of the frogs while completely unaware that they are under the spell of the third. That’s dangerous because the ultimate agenda of the three frogs is to gather us to join the war of Gog and Magog against the land of Israel and against the people of Israel to thwart the promises contained in the scriptures of Israel. That won’t end well for those who have swallowed the frogs.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Revelation 16:13-14
[2] Exodus 8:3
[3] Matthew 25:40
[4] Matthew 5:17-19
Daniel Thomas Lancaster is a writer, teacher, and the Director of Education for the Messianic ministry First Fruits of Zion (www.ffoz.org), an international organization bringing Messianic Jewish teaching to Christians and Jews. He is the author of several books about the Jewish roots of Christianity, the Jewishness of the New Testament, and he is the author of the Torah Club Bible study program (www.torahclub.org). He also serves as the teaching pastor at Beth Immanuel (www.bethimmanuel.org), a Messianic Jewish synagogue in Hudson, Wisconsin.