Dear Friend:
I am writing to share with you some important news pertaining to my latest
book In Defense of Israel. It has come to my attention that my choice of
language and some of the interpretation being given that language in Chapter
Ten has caused some confusion and actually led some readers to question
whether I believe that Jesus is the Messiah. If people are reaching such a
conclusion, then I have clearly failed to communicate my views as well as I
should have.
I have decided to release a new edition of In Defense of Israel with an
expanded Chapter Ten. The new version will make the same point as the prior
one, but using language which cannot mislead anyone about my bedrock belief
that Jesus was and is Lord, Savior and Messiah.
I was surprised to learn that some people were interpreting my words as a
rejection of this most fundamental Christian belief that Jesus came to earth
as the Messiah promised in the Hebrew Scriptures. I have been preaching the
gospel for half a century. Almost every Sunday for the past 50 years, I
have stood in front of Christian audiences to clearly proclaim the glory of
our Lord, Savior and Messiah, Jesus Christ. For the past 30 years, these
weekly sermons have been beamed to millions around the world on Christian
television.
Given my long years of preaching the gospel to so many, it simply never
occurred to me that anyone would question my belief in the fundamentals of
the faith. I chose to use challenging language that I hoped would confront
the body of Christ to consider events from the Jewish and historical
perspective and therefore develop greater empathy for our Jewish friends.
Over the centuries, Christians have been quick to condemn the Jews for
failing to recognize Jesus as Messiah. This approach led to replacement
theology and the viewpoint of some that God has rejected and broken covenant
with the Jewish people. These ideas, in turn, opened the door to a vicious
Christian anti-Semitism that led to the Crusades, the Inquisition and
countless pogroms.
I tried to challenge this view by highlighting a distinction that has been
long recognized in Christian theology between the role Jesus played in His
first coming, and the role He will play in his second coming. Jesus came
the first time as the suffering Messiah, as exemplified by His persecution,
rejection and crucifixion. Jesus will come back as the reigning Messiah,
who will rule the world from His throne in Jerusalem as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords.
We Christians believe that the suffering Messiah was clearly foreshadowed in
the writings of the Hebrew prophets. However, most Jews have never read the
prophets in this way. The Jews were expecting the reigning Messiah. I know
this, you know this, and our omniscient and omnipotent Savior knows this.
God could have sent His Son to earth as the reigning Messiah the Jews were
expecting. Instead He chose to send Him as the suffering Messiah, who
submitted to the Cross, and I thank Him every day that He did. But I also
regret daily that this divine move has led so many of the fallen humans it
saved to denigrate and persecute the Jewish people from whom our Lord
sprang.
In the expanded Chapter Ten, I will make the same point with language that
does not hide my own perspective on the matter. The primary change will
involve how I use the word Messiah. In the expanded version, I will
clarify the clear distinction between the Suffering Messiah, the Lamb of
God and the Reigning Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!
I am deeply grieved for any confusion my writing may have caused the body of
Christ. It was never intended. I trust this letter and the expanded edition
of In Defense of Israel will clarify what I believe. I also hope that we
can return our focus to what I had anticipated to highlight all along, the
fact that we Christians must shift from condemning the Jews for what they
missed to thanking them for what they gave.
Blessings to you and those you love,
Pastor John Hagee
