Presentation of Menahem Macina’s e-booksTranslation: É milie Pécheul

1. Chrétiens et juifs depuis Vatican II - État des lieux historique et théologique. Prospective eschatologique

By Menahem R. Macina

After centuries of “the Teaching of Contempt” and attempts to capture the ecclesial promises of the prophets - considered fulfilled by Christ and now vested in Christendom (Replacement theory) - a more positive attitude towards Jews rose in Christendom. When the Second Vatican Council opened, in 1962, nobody expected the dramatic change that would occur under the leadership of Cardinal Bea, assigned by the “Good Pope John” to develop a “schema on the Jews.” This project unleashed such hostility from conservative prelates that it also aroused a reverse reaction among the Council Fathers: a positive change in the Christian attitude toward the Jewish people.We read in chapter 4 of the Declaration Nostra Aetate that “God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes” and that the Council “wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.” And again: “the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures.”Over the following decades, the seeds sown at the Council bore unexpected fruit. This is obvious when Pope John Paul II, in a speech addressed to the leaders of the Jewish communities in Germany, (17th

of November 1980) states: “the people of God of the Old Covenant never revoked by God”. This would have been unthinkable before.This book retraces the steps of the long march towards the recognition of God’s plan for the Jews and the Christians, in which I see a typological avatar of “the two families chosen by God,” of which Jeremiah (33:24) speaks. It leads the Christian reader into a spiritual reading of the Scriptures, whose many passages reveal their respective prophetic vocation and the unity to which the Church and Israel are called. Inter alia, the tale of the two sticks of wood in Ezekiel (37:17) – “Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your

hand” - or when Paul expresses the same ideal in a theological formula (Eph 2:14): “For He is our peace, He who made both one...”The book ends with the statement of the global challenge the Jewish state is confronted with, and the stumbling block it is for many Christians. The author fears that the false prophets of anti-Zionism, who accuse Israel of neo-colonialism and apartheid, stir up hatred against the people, and “might be found opposing God” (cf. Acts 5:39), ignoring His plans. This might pave the way for the rise of hostile nations, announced, inter alia, by the prophets Joel (4:1 ff.), Micah (4:8 ff.), and Zacharias (12:3), and in Psalm 2.

First published: Chrétiens et juifs depuis Vatican II . État des lieux historique et théologique. Prospective eschatologique, Éditions Docteur Angélique, December 2009, 372 pages (Postface par le Prof. Yves Chevalier, Directeur de la revue Sens ; Présentation de l’ouvrage on the Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne de France’s website; recensions by four experts: Jean Duhaime, online on the 1st of January 2010, Michel Remaud, Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne de France’s website; R.P. D. Cerbelaud, in Bulletin d’Études Juives et Judéo-Chrétiennes, Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques (RSPT), Tome 96 (2012) p. 107-132, Prof. Yves Chevalier pour la revue Sens , 2010, Paris, n° 351, p. 563-565 (in French). e-pub, éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013.

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2. Si les chrétiens s’enorgueillissent. À propos de la mise en garde de l’apôtre Paul (Rm 11, 20)By Menahem R. Macina

The first two parts of this book are an anthology of the horrors and of the consequences of the multisecular doctrinal and religious conflict opposing both confessions, clinched to each other in their mutual rivalry.Entitled “Your brethren that hate you...”, the first Part illustrates this mindset with many extracts from anti-Jewish Christian texts, from the origins to the mid-twentieth century. These extracts can be found in many religious education manuals from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and in an anthology of statements from popes, bishops, and the Catholic press, between 1870 and 1938.Entitled “Another vision: The Church rediscovers the Jewish people”, the second Part retraces and analyzes the gradual discovery by Christians, between 1920 and 1950, of the prejudicial nature of their

attitude toward the Jewish people. This examination of conscience gave rise to informal meetings and informal attempts to build positive relationships between Christians and Jews, but stumbled on the formula “outside the Church there is no salvation.”In the third Part, entitled “Resistance to apostasy,” the reader will discover that, far from being a negative rant, this book aims to show that through delays and human resistance, the Spirit of God irrevocably accomplishes His design to save all mankind, through the reconstitution of the people having reached its messianic completeness and through the merging, within His people, of the Christian nations having crossed faithfully the ultimate trial.The author wishes:– That Christian readers may discover, in the biblical narrative of the cleaving between the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah, (1 Kings 12), a prefiguration of the schism between the Church and Judaism.– That, enlightened by the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, they may understand that the reunion of “the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel” (Hos. 2:2) prophetizes the reunion of Christians and Jews to create the “Israel of God” (Ga 6:16).– That they immerse themselves within scriptural typology, asserting that both “wooden sticks” (Joseph and Judah) are reunited to “make one” (Ez 37:19), and that, “[Christ] has made us both one” (Ep 2:14), and “both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (v. 18).– That, supported by the rabbinic tradition, they believe that « All Israel participates to the world to come » (Michna Sanhedrin 10, 1), and with Paul, that “All Israel will be saved” (Rm 11:26).Finally, the author wishes to heighten the Christians’ awareness on the trinitarian typology of the unity between Jews and Christians, that Christ makes “one as [His] Father and Himself are one” (Jn 17:22), without any modification of the eternal design of the Creator, ontologically – “first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Rm 1:16) –, and soteriologically – “Salvation is from the Jews” (Jn 4:22).

First publication: Les Frères retrouvés. De l’hostilité chrétienne à l’égard des juifs à la reconnaissance de la vocation d’Israël, Éditions de l’Œuvre, Paris, March 2011, 317 pages; Recension by prof. Y. Chevalier, in Sens , n° 362 – 63ème année – septembre-octobre 2011, Paris. Recension by prof. Jean Duhaime, on the Jewish-Christian Relations‘s website ; and by R.P. D. Cerbelaud, in Bulletin d’Études Juives et Judéo-Chrétiennes de la Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques (RSPT).2nd publication, format e-pub (e-book), under the title Si les Chrétiens s’enorgueillissent. À propos de la mise en garde de l’apôtre Paul (Rm 11, 20), éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013. Recension by Prof. Yves Chevalier, “The "Mystery of Israel" and the Readjustment of Christian Theology

According to Menahem Macina” , published in French in Sens, Revue de l’Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne, n° 387, Paris, mars 2014, p. 226-227.

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3. Confession d’un fol en Dieu

By Menahem R. Macina

History in general and Church history in particular have extensively documented the disorders caused, over the centuries, by the so-called prophetic announces of the impending “end of times”, stated by persuaded-to-be-instructed-by-God preachers, to warn humanity and call it to repentance. These facts - which often had serious religious and social consequences - prove that fervor and sincerity do not preserve from error those who think they have this mission, or listeners who give faith to such announces.However, Paul, who was faced with and resisted to a premature eschatological agitation, has not drawn the conclusion that the events reported, incorrectly, as imminent, would never occur. Instead, he has confirmed the completion and detailed the circumstances of these events. And if he did not say what would be appropriate to do in such circumstances, he has nevertheless given general instructions that should not be overlooked. First of all, to everyone: “stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” (2 Th 2:15); then, to Timothy: “keep the deposit entrusted to you” (1 Tm 6:20).Other passages from the NT give clear instructions to believers who are preparing now for eschatological events. Four essential virtues required in order to not apostatize or follow the Antichrist, are mentioned: firmness, vigilance, patience, constancy. Christ himself duly warned His disciples to be vigilant and not to be surprised by the suddenness of the coming Day of the Lord. Note also the repetition in several passages of the NT (Mt 24:42-44; 1 Th 5:4-8; 2 P 3:10-12; Rev 3:3; 16:15), of the vivid metaphor of the “thief”, announcing the sudden and unpredictable nature of the coming of the Day of Lord.These quotes are a valuable anthology of New Testament texts on final events that will precede the final coming of Christ, and virtues which believers must show at all times in order not to get drawn into apostasy or follow the Antichrist when the short, but terrible period of his evil reign comes. The Apostle warned us: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will

turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Tm 4:3-4).The author invites believers to enter, through meditation and prayer, in communion with the numerous faithful who think wrongly that they are alone, like Elijah (cf. Rm 11:3 ff.) amidst a world increasingly torn apart from God and a dormant Christianity, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Ac 2, 39).

First publication : Éditions Docteur Angélique, December 2012, 142 p. (ISBN   978-2-918303-08-4 ); présentation sur le site de l’éditeur.2nd publication, e-pub, (ebook), éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013. Recension by Prof. Yves Chevalier, “The "Mystery of Israel" and the Readjustment of Christian Theology According to Menahem Macina”, published in French in Sens, Revue de l’Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne, n° 387, mars 2014, p. 223-224.

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4. L’apologie qui nuit à l’Église - Révisions hagiographiques de l’attitude de Pie XII envers les juifs. Suivi des contributions des professeurs Michael R. Marrus et Martin Rhonheimer.By Menahem R. Macina

In recent decades, many Catholic writers have tried to justify the attitude of the religious hierarchy against Jews over the centuries, especially the attitude at the time of the Holocaust. The self-justification of the Church today is, in the eyes of the author, aggravating circumstances. Among other texts, he discusses the militant position of Pope Benedict XVI supporting his distant predecessor, in a homily dated Oct. 9, 2008, for the 50th anniversary of the death of Pius XII. He invoked the radio message of Christmas (December 1942), in which the wartime pontiff lamented the situation of "hundreds of thousands of people who, through no fault of their own, but only for reasons of nationality or race, are destined to death or to a slow decline."The author believes that this long and bitter controversy is largely responsible for the exacerbation of replicas of the defenders of the ecclesial institution and its hierarchy, whose excessive apologetics often causes as much damage to the cause of the Church as the strident and sometimes unfair charges of its detractors. The author

analyses a few cases, some of which may irritate or offend, he warns, those who would like everything to go for the best in the best of religious worlds. The latter, to discredit any challenge, even sincere and documented, of the ecclesiastical institution and its prelates, accuse their authors to harm the Christian religion.He says his approach is in line with a nineteenth century Pope, writing: “The historian of the Church will be all the more convincing to bring out Its divine origin [...] that he has been more loyal to not hide anything of the trials caused by Its children, and sometimes even Its ministers, to the bride of Christ in the course of centuries [...].” He wants Christians, their dignitaries and their pastors, to enter a process of penance and repentance, sincere and complete.According to him, long centuries of excessive exaltation of the holiness of the Church and its ministers helped forge the myth that theology has the potential to shatter without undermining the dignity of the Church.To do this, says the author, rather than honor, or grant awards to enthusiastic apologists and have little regard for the choice of “evidence” they bombard their opponents with, the Church would benefit to stress and update the call to penance present throughout the Scriptures. The Church would also benefit, with the faithful, to undergo a conversion of heart and to recognize publicly what was wrong in the attitude of Christianity. This, according to him, is the only way to touch the heart of God and of our contemporaries.

1st publication, conventional format, May 2012, Cerf, 318 pages + annexes. Presentation on the editor’s website. Recension by Michaël de Saint-Cheron : « Quand l’ É glise se taisait  ». « L’ É glise catholique face au génocide  », recension by Marc Riglet, in LIRE-L’Express, July/August 2012. Recension by Frédéric Le Moal, Lelittéraire.com. Review by François Soulage, published in Témoignage Chrétien n° 3504, 7 of September, 2012 : « Église et Shoah   : après la shoah, le temps des historiens », on the web site www.temoignagechrétien.fr. Recension by Pastor Michel Leplay, in Libre Sens, Bulletin du Centre Protestant d’Études et de Documentation, n° 203 de septembre-octobre 2012; Recension by le prof. Y. Chevalier, dans Sens, Revue de l’Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne de France, n° 374 (décembre 2012), p. 836-838.

Also published in e-pub, éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013.

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5. Un voile sur leur coeur. Le « non » catholique au Royaume millénaire du Christ sur la terre

By Menahem R. Macina

The author states that the millenarianism concept he dealt with in this essay is referred to as "pre-millennialism." In this regard, he appealed to the definition of an expert: "The pre-millennial adepts profess that when Christ returns, there will be an actual kingdom of one thousand years of Christ reigning as king on earth. For pre-millennialists, the millennial reign of Christ is a present reality, the number “thousand” is interpreted as a figure of speech in the form of a synecdoche. In other words, the limited number “thousand” signifies “totality [...]”While noting that the belief in a millennial reign of Christ on earth, especially in its pre-millennial form, fell into disrepute within the Catholic Church, the author insists that it is not deemed heretic. He voluntarily limited the examination of this phenomenon to two specific types of texts: those from the Catechism of the Catholic Church related to eschatology, and a few papal statements.The imperfection or inadequacy with the given revelation of some official statements in this area required, according to the author, a development and in depth explanation. Aware that he might be considered a polemicist and challenger to the ecclesiastical institution, he asserts nevertheless that spiritual and intellectual honesty compels him to reveal several cases of blatant bad faith in some ecclesial texts and their subsequent theological commentaries, whose goal is obviously to give reason at all costs to religious authorities. Moreover, he stresses the added difficulty of the age-old conflict between Catholics and Protestants, made even more acute by the fact that the belief in a reign of Christ on earth before the end of the world is quite widespread in Evangelical and Pentecostal environments, in its most hated form for Catholicity: pre-millennialism.The author concedes that theological controversies have always existed in the Church and that there is no need to worry too much about this, and even less to worsen them: time and reflection will do their work. But he does not deny that the hostility and the hardness of the authorities’ arguments create discomfort, and suggests that something more fundamental and unspoken is at stake.His book has two purposes, one is historic and aims at outlining the genesis and development of this theological controversy. The second one is to warn pastors and theologians against the spiritual damage that they cause to the faithful by diverting them from a doctrine they do not understand or admit. By doing this, they are disparaging the doctrine of the Church Fathers, among which authors as significant and orthodox as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who in their time, considered as heretics the Christians who did not accept this doctrine, coming, according to them directly from Jesus and to his disciples and presbyters.

Format e-pub, éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013. Recension by Prof. Yves Chevalier, “The "Mystery of Israel" and the Readjustment of Christian

Theology According to Menahem Macina”, published in French in Sens, Revue de l’Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne, n° 387, Paris, mars 2014, p. 226.

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6. Le signe de Saül - A propos du sévère avertissement de Paul aux chrétiens (Rm 11, 19-22)

By Menahem R. Macina

The author believes that the individual and unique destiny of Jesus Christ and of the Jewish people are inextricably intertwined. Despite the difference in nature and excellence between the Unique divine incarnation and its multiple extension within each member of the Jewish people, they have the same historical destiny and are promised the same eschatological glory. He also believes that the suffering described and expressed in the Scriptures is common to both. To the ignominious death of the Messiah of Israel, followed by his resurrection, corresponds the horror of the Holocaust of the Jews, followed by their recovery, a fact that neither the nations nor the Church have yet realized.He is shocked by the efforts of too many clerics, theologians, and spiritual guides to deter Christians from taking seriously into account the prophecies. According to these people, Jesus has accomplished the prophecies, therefore they only relate to “the pilgrim Church towards its eschatological triumph.” Their skepticism leads to obscure the solemn warning against the one that John calls the “Antichrist”, while Paul gives him the name of “Opponent” : “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Th 2:3-4).The author sees in the depravity and violence plaguing our societies, harbingers of what will happen when iniquity shall reign supreme at the time of the reign of the Antichrist. He responds to the objection that evil has always existed and that our time is neither worse nor better than the previous ones, indicating that the problem is not only a question of degree, growing or not, of evil, but of “the time” separating us from the trial, Paul saying that “the time is short”. (1 Co 7:29). Considered a “doomsayer” by Christians for whom the greatest danger is not that “the love of most will grow cold”, nor the “increase of wickedness” (cf. Mt 24:12), but what they consider “religious hystery”, the author thinks that they are the ones concerned with Jeremiah’s

prophecy: “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” (Jr 6:14 = 8:11).The author rejoices that others take seriously the Apostle Peter’s warning : “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” (Ac 2:40). According to him, God will make “watchmen” of them, they’ll warn the Churches of the coming of the “Prince of this world” (cf. Jn 12:31 and parallel texts), and will exhort the persecuted to hope (cf. Col 1:23) until the end, as Christ said : “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Lc 21:28).

Format e-pub, éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013. Recension by Prof. Yves Chevalier, “The "Mystery of Israel" and the Readjustment of Christian Theology According to Menahem Macina”, published in French in Sens, Revue de l’Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne, n° 387, Paris, mars 2014, p. 225-226.

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7. La pierre rejetée par les bâtisseurs - L’« intrication prophétique » des Écritures

By Menahem R. Macina

The author underlines a peculiarity of the biblical text which exhibits an analogy with a phenomenon highlighted by quantum mechanics. It seems - to paraphrase a definition of the phenomenon in the world of the quanta - that, under certain conditions, two biblical passages “are in such a state of entanglement that they form a unique system in a subtle sense. Therefore, any measurement made on one of the passages affects the other, and this, regardless of [their literary differences and of] the chronological distance that separates them” (see, for instance, “Intrication quantique”).This is the case in Psalm 69:6, among several oracles prophesying the sufferings of Christ, the words of the Psalm apply to the Jewish people through this prophetic entanglement: “O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.” However, according to Christians, the Christ has not sinned. Another example: the prescription of the book of Exodus concerning the Passover lamb: “You shall not break any of its bones.” (Ex 12:46; Nb 9:12), the Gospel of John considered a prophecy which the performance takes place when the centurion, noting that Jesus was already dead, does not break his legs (Jn 19:36).

The title of this book demonstrates the radical change of perspective induced by this discovery. For Christians, Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by the builders”, of whom Psalm 118 (v. 22) - followed by the New Testament (Mt 21: 42; (Acts 4:11 ff.) - says that he “became the cornerstone”. However, it is possible that this verse has also an eschatological extent in the collective person of the Jewish people which, at a time known by God, will be, in its turn, this stone, rejected by the nations, facing the complicit indifference of Christianity (cf. Mt 5:13 and Rm 11:20.), convinced that It carries the root, beeing unaware that the root (the Jewish people) does carry Him (cf. Rm 11:18). It is written: “On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely be hurt. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.” (Za 12:3).If this peculiar element is inherent to the prophetic scope God has “endowed” the Scriptures with, it may well help Christians to enter into the “mystery [that...] has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith” (Rm 16:25-26). This is perhaps, suggests the author, the obedience Peter is talking about: “So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense’.” (1 P 2:7-8). However, Christians believe that this oracle only applies to the unbelieving Jews, while it also aimed to warn them not to reject the plan of God, “Otherwise [they] too will be cut off.” (cf. Rm 11:22), as it is written: “And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.” (Mi 5:15).

Format e-pub, éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013. Recension by Prof. Yves Chevalier, “The ‘Mystery of Israel’ and the Readjustment of Christian Theology According to Menahem Macina”, published in French in Sens, Revue de l’Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne, n° 387, Paris, mars 2014, p. 225-226.

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8. Les Églises et les Juifs (1933-1945)

By Menahem R. Macina

After discussing, in his previous books, the various aspects of the Catholic ecclesiastical resistance to Nazism, the author here extends his inquiry to the protestant world. He admits that he has long shared the opinion that the “Confessing Church” of Germany had stood up to the Nazi regime during the war, even if it could only limit the damage of the cruel repression and the sometimes deadly danger that faced the pastors and the faithful who defended and helped their “non-Aryan” co-

religionists. A more in-depth study of the documents led him to qualify his optimism.He quotes, among other examples, these lines written in 1933 by a pastor who was favorable to the Jews, that the German people “had a lot to endure because of the influence of the Jewish people, so that the desire to be released from this influence is understandable”, adding daringly: “It would be inappropriate that a pastor of non-Aryan origin has a role in the administration of the churches or a pre-eminent position in domestic missions.”He also refers to a document entitled “The Evangelical Church and its Christian Jews”, which focused on the responsibility of the Church towards them, uttering these shocking remarks: “our Church is not able to guarantee [to the Jews] legal rights; but, in Its own sphere, [It] will show brotherly love and compassion for those of our members who want to assimilate into the German national character, that is, to the people and to the race. Of course, the Church expects that these foreign brothers and sisters of the same faith actually abandon the characteristics inherited from their fathers - that are foreign to what is German - to partake in the heritage of our national identity, and that they exercise restraint in public life, so as to not impede the practice of brotherly love or to not throw the disorder in the community of life and faith of today.” In fact, there was then a denial of one of the major initial commitments of the Confessing Church - namely, the refusal to apply the exclusion of pastors of Jewish origin from the officials, according to the Aryan Paragraph. An important protestant leader of Jewish origin - who was himself concerned with the Aryan paragraph - vainly wrote on the 19th

of December, 1935, to the Council of the Church of the Reich, imploring its members “not to close [your] eyes longer on the growing internal distress of non-Aryan Christians affected by the new laws.” His prophetic warning still resonates as a scorching rebuke: “To shut up any longer would load the Evangelical Church of an inexcusable sin before the Lord of the Church.”According to the Historian Wolfang Gerlach, who is very severe towards the attitude of his Church at the time, “the ‘Jews’ topic had not only been ignored. Number of theologians treated the issue, and their reflections showed how the theological mainstream of the time prevented any solidarity with Jews.” This debate, weakening over the years, finally focused only on the “theological and exegetical aspects of the Jewish question.”The present book shows that this focus allowed the Christians to abandon to their sad fate their Jewish co-religionists, while uttering outraged speeches on this inhuman injustice and lamenting the powerlessness of the religious institution against State legislation to which it seemed impossible to oppose.

Format e-pub, éditions Tsofim, Limoges, 2013. Recension by Prof. Yves Chevalier, “The ‘Mystery of Israel’ and the Readjustment of Christian Theology According to Menahem Macina”, published in French in Sens, Revue de l’Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne, n° 387, Paris, mars 2014, p. 224-225.

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9. Dieu a rétabli son Peuple. Témoigner devant l’Église que Dieu a restitué au Peuple juif son héritage messianiqueBy Menahem R. Macina

From the outset, the author raises two questions: “How to carry a testimony that wants to be prophetic without fomenting a schism?” and “how to make heard in the church a so-called ‘private’ revelation?” He bases his answer on ecclesial authorities - including Joseph Ratzinger himself -, who recognizes the possibility of a prophetic testimony to the extent that it does not contravene the “deposit of faith” nor leads the faithful in a revolt against the Church. However, the nature of this testimony does not facilitate the adhesion to its content. Indeed, he proclaims that “God has restored the Jews in their original messianic prerogatives”, which is apparently against the Christian conception that, because of its non-recognition of the messianic personality of Christ, the Jewish people has disqualified itself and was replaced by the Church, which sees Itself as the “new Israel” (Constitution Lumen Gentium II, 9), and the “new people of God” (Declaration Nostra Aetate, 4). From an eschatological perspective, the author of this testimony and the faithful who adhere to it confess their faith in the historic achievement of the prophetic oracles announcing the revolt of the nations against the re-establishment of Israel by God, and solemnly warn Christians not to pactise with them since in the end they will connive with those “set themselves […] against the Lord and against His Anointed One,”(cf. Psalm 2:2).While recognizing that the belief in the fulfillment of the prophecies is at the heart of the message and the teaching of the New Testament and that many theological works address extensively and learnedly this topic, the author expresses his amazement that many Biblical scholars and exegetes brand as “literalists”, or even “fundamentalists” all who take seriously the oracles prophesying the gradual gathering of the Jewish people on his ancient homeland. (cf. Jr 3:14).

According to the author, “the Scripture is ensuring that the ultimate culmination of God’s plan will occur, and that the nations which already resist to this perspective, and will oppose to it still more violently when arrives “the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth” (Rev 3:10), until God finally intervenes to complete the event. “The author admits, however, that it is for the less bold to try to glimpse the practical refusal that, he foresees, the nations – among which, alas, many Christians – who “do not know the thoughts of the Lord” and “do not understand His counsel”, will oppose to this unexpected unveiling of God’s plan they had not anticipated.Basing his conviction on the surprising assertion which concludes the long prophetic warning of Paul: “For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all” (Rm 11:32), the author urges Christians to not “stumble”, in their turn, and to not refuse to believe that God is the origin of this unexpected and, for many of them, inadmissible occurrence.

Format e-pub, éditions Tsofim, Limoges, October 2013.