January 27 is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. As a minister, I strongly encourage Christians to, in some way, mark this day as important. Some simple suggestions as to how this can be done follow, but first let me give some background regarding my challenge.
Compared to most gentiles, I see myself as well-informed regarding the Holocaust. Because I am 81 years of age and in the downscaling time of life, I no longer have the large personal library I once had. But I would estimate I’ve read at least two dozen books on this topic written by Jewish writers.
Not only do I have a head knowledge regarding what happened to some 6 million or more Jewish human beings during my lifetime, I feel deep “in my gut” the evil that was unleashed against these people.
There are all too many subjects about which I admit to being quite ignorant. But there are also certain topics on which I feel well-informed. That’s because in my adult years I’ve made it a habit to conduct in-depth studies on specific matters I believe are germane to my profession.
Being a minister with a Th.D., I’ve also studied the Scriptures in this same manner: spending months and even years looking in-depth at select books of the Bible. For example, it was about 15 years ago that I decided to work on mastering what, for me, has been one of the most difficult of all the parts of the Biblical canon—the book of Revelation. This past decade and a half, I have obviously taken breaks for a change of pace, but I believe it is fair to say that Revelation is a part of God’s Word that I now feel I know quite well.
Allow me to reduce what I see as a thrust of Revelation to a few sentences:
History doesn’t just continue on indefinitely. It is headed toward an ultimate showdown between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, God and Satan. And, according to the Apostle John’s Revelation, the villainous side wins! … But only temporarily! That’s because with the return of Christ, everything changes. And in time, He and His people come out victorious.
My personal opinion is that Revelation is an important word from Jesus to His beloved apostle, to be shared initially with the early Church. The bottom line was to encourage its members during a difficult and dark era. Believers were to remain faithful to Christ when, as either a Jewish Christ-follower or a new Gentile believer, your life was at risk.
Through the centuries, this book of Revelation has also proven comforting to Christians suffering anywhere under a despotic and degenerate ruler. Where evil tyrants have taken out their wrath on the righteous, believers have often testified that Revelation was their favorite book of the Bible.
Then I also believe Revelation to be a prophetic word from Jesus Himself to His followers who will live through what is often referred to as the end-times. This unique book will prove a great source of strength once again in the “last days,” when the thick cloud of darkness descends and the earth groans under the short but awful reign of the antichrist and his co-conspirator, the false prophet. To live as though this will never happen is to blindly ignore the specific warning signs given us by none other than Jesus Himself.
My personal belief is that being informed about what happened to the Jewish people during the Holocaust provides a check against Revelation being taught by fellow ministers with little more than prophecy charts, numerous cross-references to Old Testament predictive passages, predictions as to dates and examining various schools of thought regarding matters such as the Millennium. You see, in many ways, Revelation is a bloody book about the eventual rise to power of a truly demonic antichrist figure who will be responsible for the martyrdom of great multitudes of victims, too great to even count (see Rev. 7:9–14).
One way I know for people to get a realistic feel for what that time will be like, and for how to maybe even survive, is to be informed about the Holocaust, and by doing so, to hopefully learn from our Jewish friends.
In a short article like this, it is next to impossible to convey the magnitude of the malevolence of the enemy. But allow me to share two short quotes that have stayed with me through the years. Both come from the cover copy of the 700-page The Holocaust Chronicle (Legacy Publishing, 2009).
On a chilly morning of November 3, 1943, Nazi SS men and their collaborators rounded up Jews in Trawniki, Poniatowa, and Majdanek, Poland. They marched the men, women and children to large pits. Then, with loudspeakers blaring music to drown out the sounds of gunfire and screams, they shot 18,000 Jews to death. Proud of their day’s work, the sadist perpetrators called the atrocity Erntefest—Harvest Festival.
* * *
“It was a denial of God. It was a denial of man. It was the destruction of the world in miniature form.”
—Auschwitz survivor Hugo Gryn
The truth be told, there are an almost endless number of sickening and shocking accounts like this—many surpassing the 18,000 number of victims. All of these incidents involved individuals and families not all that unlike mine.
I admit it was difficult to read books like this and to view the carefully chosen thousands of pictures that graphically tell the story of what transpired. Quite often I had to stop reading, just to walk around and kind of clear my head. But I stayed with the learning project, and I am glad I did. It was as if it was my duty as a fellow human being created by God and in His image to be informed about what took place.
You have probably heard the often-spoken Jewish response to the Holocaust of “Never again!” I don’t blame them for such a resolve.
I do believe, however, that such events will happen again! Maybe not for the Jews, although it seems that all too often they have been a focus of satanic-inspired attacks. But my belief is that Christians around the world will be the ones next targeted (see Rev. 12:17).
I understand that more knowledge about the past doesn’t necessarily solve problems of the future. But I feel that having my eyes opened to what might realistically take place in future days is better than naïvely thinking that nothing like this could possibly happen to us because “certainly, Jesus will return and take us to be with Him before that could occur.”
I confess that confidence in contemporary Christians always being safe left me for good after I took part in filming a documentary in northern Nigeria a few years back. These men and women were long-time Nigerian believers who barely escaped with their lives when attacked by forces of radical Islam.
Their frightening experiences also made more real to me, a board member of Gospel for Asia, the testimonies of any number of our brave Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers who minister in various parts of Asia still strongly resistant to the message of Christ. Potential death or suffering is always in sight for many of them.
I believe in the supernatural. When Jesus walked this world, He communicated intimately with His Heavenly Father. He spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit. He resisted the devil, cast out demons and warned about a future battle of supernatural forces.
So I suggest that you not let this special Saturday pass without at least looking up “Holocaust” on the World Wide Web and informing yourself about the magnitude of what happened that is being commemorated on this date. Understand that the articles on the Web will center on man’s inhumanity to man. But I guarantee that most of the victims cried out to God for help. They sensed that powers greater than human were at work.
Identifying with the victims of the Holocaust has sensitized me to the ongoing battle that continues between the powerful forces of good and evil, light and darkness, God and Satan, and what could be the future ramifications of that for those I love. There are genocides enough that seem to occur in our own days and times.
I have nine precious grandchildren. The youngest are now only 10, 8 and 5. Because of my age, I know I will not be around when they are in their adult years. So I regularly pray ahead for them. I am “stacking up” prayers regarding their future when they may face terrible times. Such prayers are now in the hundreds because I not only bring their immediate needs before the Lord, but I also bring those of their future needs. This seems to be an idea a number of my older friends have appreciated knowing, and I believe that being informed about the Holocaust helps make such intercessions effectual.
When movies are released about the Holocaust, and there have been many, I make it a point to go and watch them. That’s because of this deep-seated conviction that the Holocaust is something about which ALL Christians should be conversant. Schindler’s List, a classic, was released in 1993. That’s 25 years ago. Have you seen it? You really should. And there have been many more that you can look up and now view at your convenience. Some suggestions follow: The most recent is Zookeeper’s Wife, but other titles would include the Boy in Striped Pajamas, Life Is Beautiful, Sophie’s List, The Diary of Anne Frank and Denial.
Are you a reader? Go to a library or a bookstore and find a title on the topic that catches your attention. Helpers at both places will aid you in your search. When you see a volume that calls to you, get it and read it—not just intellectually or theologically or historically, but also emotionally. Cry if you need to.
Then you can always study what Jesus said regarding the future when the antichrist will be “given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has an ear, let him hear” (Rev. 13:7-9).
The best place to discover our Lord’s thoughts about the future is in His Olivet Discourse. You have three options to study:
Matthew 24:1–51
Mark 13:1–37
Luke 21:5–7
By Dr. David R. Mains
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