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In Defense of Israel, Revised Edition

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If you have read Jerusalem Countdown, then you have basically read most of this book. Hagee repeats his arguments about how bad the Church has been, especially the Roman Catholic Church, throughout history in their persecution of the Jews. This is not without merit, because what he is saying is true, but he leaves out the Jewish persecutions of the Church and always cast them in the best light possible. He does the same thing with modern day Israel. He, for some reason thinks that they can do no wrong and that they have become more important than the Church.

Hagee, has become anti-Christ in his teaching by now denying that Jesus was the Messiah. He is actually now claiming that Jesus did not think of himself as the Messiah and that he is going to be the Messiah at the Second Coming, but not at the first coming. He makes this argument in an attempt to rescue Jews from the charge of rejecting their Messiah, since they cannot reject something that was not yet offered. The word Christ or Messiah appears 515 times in the New Testament in reference to Jesus. Anyone who reads the New Testament will be able to see this grave and heretical error that John Hagee is now promoting. John Hagee has said that Jesus did not claim to be the Messiah, but merely the Lamb of God. Here is a conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well in John's Gospel that shows the error of such a teaching John 4:25-26 says "25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."

Notice that Jesus says he is the Messiah in John 4:26. Now look at Acts 2:36 "Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."

John Hagee has now crossed the line and gone way outside the realm or the gospel and is now preaching contrary to the New Testament. John Hagee needs to repent and preach the opposite today. This is shameful and it is time for evangelicals everywhere to call John Hagee on this anti-Christ doctrine that he is now preaching.

One can love the people of modern day Israel and still preach the gospel to them and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. Hagee carries dispensationalism and Christian Zionism to the extreme in this book.

Read what a leading scholar writes:


Pastor John Hagee's new book, In Defense of Israel: The Bible's Mandate for Supporting the Jewish State (Lake Mary, Florida: Front Line, 2007), was publicized by announcements stating that the book would "shake Christian theology." The following positions are explicitly laid out in the book:

* The Jewish people, as a whole, did not reject Jesus as Messiah.

* Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah.

* Jesus refused by word and deed to be the Messiah.

* The Jews cannot be blamed for not accepting what was never offered.

Statements like this must be evaluated in light of 1 John 2:22: "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ [i.e., Messiah]. Such a man is the antichrist--he denies the Father and the Son." As commentator Stephen S. Smalley explained, "The true believer is the one who accepts the Christhood of Jesus, whereas those who deny his messianic identity declare themselves to be on the side of the antichrist" (Word Biblical Commentary).

What could possibly be the motivation for teaching such error? First, In Defense of Israel desires to dispel once and for all the notion that all Jews are Christ-killers, a terrible lie that has fueled anti-Semitism in the Church for more than 1,500 years. Second, the book wants to refute the false teaching of replacement theology, explaining that, "Replacement theologians have said that `the covenant with Israel was broken because she would not accept Jesus Christ whom God sent.'" (See p. 132 of In Defense of Israel.) Tragically, in the attempt to fight against these serious errors, a more serious error has now been introduced. Yet some believers and even leaders! are buying into this error hook, line, and sinker, and some have begun to teach and preach it as well.
Since the publication of the book, Pastor Hagee issued some clarifying remarks, but the clarifications only complicate the issues and fail to renounce and remove the error.

Here are three fundamental statements that all believers should be able to affirm without hesitation:

1) Jesus came to be the Messiah. This is the fundamental message of the New Testament, which is why we call him "Christ" (meaning, "Messiah"). And it is a fundamental message of the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer and die if He was one day to rule and reign (see, e.g., Luke 24:25-27, 44-47), a biblical truth that most of the Jewish people of Yeshua's day missed, a biblical truth that most Jews through the ages have continued to miss, and a biblical truth that In Defense of Israel has now fed into as well.

In the clarifying statements that were made since the publication of his book, it was explained that Jesus came to be the suffering Messiah but not the reigning Messiah something, of course, that we all knew, and something that would hardly "shake Christian theology" but these statements have simply introduced another nuance to the error, since nowhere in the New Testament is such a distinction made.

In other words, God did not say to Israel, "It's fine that you rejected Jesus as Messiah because He did not come in the political way you expected. He had to die in order to be the Savior of the world, so you are not guilty." There is not a hint of such a message in the Scriptures, which simply proclaim him as the Messiah, period.

That's why Jesus explicitly identified Himself as the Messiah in the Gospels (see, e.g., Matt 16:16-17; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 7:20-23; John 4:25-26; 5:39, 45-47; 10:24-25) not as the suffering Messiah, whom his people were supposed to reject so that He could die, as opposed to the reigning Messiah, whom they would one day receive, but simply as the Messiah and that's why the Gospel authors frequently announced Him as the Messiah (in Greek, the Christ; see, e.g., Luke 2:11, 26; John 1:41; 3:28; 11:27; 20:31). And that's why the apostles proclaimed Him as the Messiah in Acts (see, e.g., Acts 2:31, 36; 3:18, 20; 4:26; 5:42; 8:5; 9:22; 17:2-3; 18:5, 28; 26:23).

I would encourage you to look up every reference cited here. It is all quite simple, forthright, and easy to understand, and nowhere is any distinction made between the suffering and reigning Messiah. To repeat: Jesus is proclaimed as the Messiah of Israel, period, and because He is the Messiah of Israel, He is the Savior of the world.

2) The Jewish people rejected their Messiah. Although all Jews are not Christ-killers (God forbid!), and although the entire Jewish nation did not play a role in the crucifixion of Jesus, God held the Jewish people in Jesus' day responsible for His death and, more significantly, He held them responsible for rejecting Jesus the Messiah after His resurrection. The New Testament witness is explicit and consistent on this.

That's why the apostles preached to "the people of Israel" that they were guilty of rejecting the Messiah (Acts 2:22-23, 36; 3:13-15, 17, 19; 4:10-11; 5:30; 7:52; 13:27-28; see also John 1:12), and that's why Paul spoke of Israel's hardening, breaking off, stumbling, transgression, and rejection (see Rom 9:31; 10:3; 11:7, 11-12, 15, 20 although with the full expectation of Israel's future redemption; see Rom 11:11-15, 25-26). Again, I encourage you to take a moment to look up these passages. They are striking in their force and consistency.

Because of this rejection, severe judgment came on the Jewish people in the first century, as prophesied by Yeshua with tears (see Luke 19:41-44; see also Matt 23:29-37) and as taught in his parables (see, e.g., Matt 21:33-46; 22:1-14).

As painful as this witness is, it cannot be rewritten, nor can anyone lessen Israel's guilt because it was God's will that Jesus died on the cross. To the contrary, just as it was God's will that Joseph be sold into Egyptian slavery and yet at the same time his brothers were guilty of sinning against him (Gen 44:16-45:5; 50:14-20), so also it was God's will that Yeshua die for our sins while at the same time the Jewish people, along with Herod and Pilate and the Romans, were guilty of having Him crucified (see Acts 2:22-24; 4:27-28).

It is scripturally impossible to claim that "the Jews cannot be blamed for not accepting what was never offered." A glorious offer was made and refused, and that's why Paul's heart was broken (see Rom 9:1-5).

3) Jesus remains the Jewish Messiah, and there is no salvation for the Jewish people outside of faith in Him. Although Pastor Hagee has consistently stated that he does not teach "dual covenant" theology, referring to the false concept that Jews can be saved outside of faith in Jesus, his new teaching certainly aids and abets that error. After all, if "The Jews Did Not Reject Jesus as Messiah" (as stated in bold print in his book), and if "Jesus refused by word and deed to be the Messiah" (be it the "reigning Messiah" or not), then, not only can it be said that "the Jews [in Jesus' day] cannot be blamed for not accepting what was never offered" but that the Jews in any day cannot be blamed for not accepting Yeshua.

This again is a fundamental denial of the Word of God, and although In Defense of Israel claims that the "message of the gospel was from Israel, not to Israel," Jesus, Peter, and Paul declared that the message of the gospel was to Israel first, and then from Israel to the nations (see Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8; 3:26; 13:32-39; Rom 1:16; in Paul's words to the Jewish leaders in Rome, it was "for the sake of the hope of Israel" that he was bound in chains; Acts 28:20).

To be sure, there are a number of other errors found in the critical section of In Defense of Israel (including the myth that there was a so-called cup of the Messiah, the alleged fourth cup of the Passover meal that Yeshua supposedly refused to drink), but this is not the place to address those concerns, and to focus on the smaller problems would detract from the larger picture.

In Him,

Michael L. Brown, Ph.D.


Dr. Michael L. Brown is founder and president of ICN Ministries, devoted to taking the message of repentance and revival to Israel, the Church, and the Nations. He has preached throughout the United States and in numerous foreign countries, emphasizing radical discipleship, holy living, and the visitation of the Spirit. His books, articles, and messages have been translated into more than a dozen languages. In 1996, he became part of the ministry of the Brownsville Revival, holding weekly sessions for leaders and heading up the revival's intensive two-year School of Ministry. Dr. Brown is now President of the FIRE School of Ministry located in Charlotte, NC.
As a Jewish believer in Jesus, Dr. Brown is active in Jewish evangelism and has debated rabbis on radio, TV, and college campuses. He is also a published Old Testament and Semitic scholar, holding a Ph.D in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University. In 1997, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Jewish Apologetics at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission and has been affiliated with Regent University Divinity School as an Adjunct Professor of Old Testament and Jewish Studies.

I'm stunned that Pastor Hagee would argue that Jesus isn't the Messiah.

Perhaps his fans don't understand that Messiah and Christ are synonyms. But surely his publishers and colleagues do. So it's difficult to understand how he can avoid correction for teaching that Jesus isn't the Christ. Christos, incidentally, was the Greek term used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish Bible by Jewish scholars several centuries before the birth of Jesus.

As a Messianic Rabbi, I not only love Yeshua the Messiah and the Jewish people, I also appreciate honest Biblical teaching and scholarship. This book is deficient in both its honesty and its scholarship.

Reading John Hagee's book was one of the saddest few days of my life. To think that he leads hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions worldwide, in trusting him to preach the truth of the New Testament Doctrine of Salvation by way of Yeshua's Perfect Sacrifice is heart breaking for me in light of the gross errors he proclaims. What Book and what Jesus is he preaching? I posit that he is gripped with receiving praise from the orthodox Jewish community and that he has turned his back on Yeshua completely. He is right about one thing though, "Whatsoever you do unto the least of these [my Jewish] brothers, you do to Me." So, it is obvious that in his proclamation of loving the Jewish people, he is ultimately condemning them to eternal separation from God and Messiah and this is the saddest, most heart wrenching part of his self-aggrandizement!

Certainly you can expose the "sins of the fathers" and in Christianity's hand print in anti-Semitism without re-writing the basic tenents of our faith and of their salvation. There is a better, more Biblical, more solid foundation on which to "Stand with Israel" and that is on the Rock of their Salvation--Yeshua--the Jewish Messiah and the King of the World!

I heard Hagee say in one of his sermons--"Search the Scriptures, for in them you 'HAVE' eternal life." What Yeshua (Jesus) actually said is: "Search the Scriptures for in them you 'THINK' you have eternal life; and they are those which TESTIFY OF ME."

May the Lord and the Holy Spirit bring him to humility and repentance. Amen.

"The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things."
Jesus said to her. "I who speak to you am He."
--John 4:25,26

John Hagee's claim that Jesus was NOT the Messiah and never claimed to be the Messiah is absolutely absurd. Actually it's blasphemy to deny the true identity of Jesus. The message is clear in 1 John 2:22, "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son."
You may say, 'well surely, John Hagee would not say Jesus is not the Christ', and you would be right. But to teach the heresy that Jesus is only the Christ (or the Messiah) for the Gentiles but not for the Jews is still messing with the basic Biblical doctrine---that "rock" upon which the church is being built---the revealed knowledge of 'Who Christ is'.
I fear for the number of those who have been led by Hagee's teaching to believe their Jewish heritage keeps them in covenant with God... I shudder to think how many will spend eternity in hell because Hagee has used his reputation and notoriety to convince thousands of Christians to avoid preaching the gospel to the Jews, insinuating that they (the Jews) have their own covenant with God and we should not interfere with God's plan of salvation for them... Never-mind the fact that the 'covenant' the Jews had (through Moses) is "obsolete" (Hebrews 8:13), and the only 'plan of salvation' God has for those who call themselves Jews is the same as it is for any other sinner---righteousness which comes by faith alone in Jesus Christ, who is the way, the Truth, the Life, and no one (Jew or Gentile) comes to the Father except through Him.

Before proving Hagee's apostasy from the Christian faith, it is important for the reader to understand that I stand firm in my support of Israel for humanitarian and political reasons. I love the Jewish people, delight in their music, literature and culture, and deeply appreciate that God used them to bring forth Jesus the Messiah and the Holy Bible that proclaims the Gospel of His Messiahship "to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." I condemn any form of anti-semitism as anti-christian and a sure sign of spiritual alienation from God. But I also know that you do not "show love and support" to Israel by denying that Jesus Christ is their Messiah, which is exactly what John Hagee has done.

In his book "In Defense of Israel," beginning in the section called "The Jews did not Reject Jesus as Messiah" (p. 132) John Hagee relentlessly twisted Scripture in his attempt to prove that Jesus Christ did not come "to be Messiah to the Jews." His denial of Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) cannot be overlooked as a mere "slip of his pen" because he repeated his assertion "seven ways from Sunday" as seen in this sample of seven quotes from his book:

* If God intended for Jesus to be the Messiah of Israel, why didn't he authorize Jesus to use supernatural signs to prove he was God's Messiah, just as Moses had done? (p. 137)

* Jesus refused to produce a sign ... because it was not the Father's will, nor his, to be Messiah. (p 138)

* If Jesus wanted to be Messiah, why did he repeatedly tell his disciples and followers to "tell no one" about his supernatural accomplishments? (p. 139)

* The Jews were not rejecting Jesus as Messiah; it was Jesus who was refusing to be the Messiah to the Jews. (p. 140)

* They wanted him to be their Messiah, but he flatly refused. (p. 141)

* He refused to be their Messiah, choosing instead to be the Savior of the world (p. 143)

* Jesus rejected to the last detail the role of Messiah in word or deed. (p. 145)

John Hagee's words directly contradict the central message of the entire New Testament. Indeed, John Hagee's words directly contradict the fundamental declaration that defines the Christian Faith, which is that Jesus is the Messiah (i.e. the Christ). This is what Peter declared in his first sermon to thousands of his fellow Jews gathered at Pentecost (Acts 2:36): "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ [MESSIAH]."

Likewise, this was the first thing Saul, the Jew from Tarsus, proclaimed to his fellow Jews in the synagogues immediately after the scales fell from his eyes (Acts 9:20-23): "And straightway he preached Christ [MESSIAH] in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ [MESSIAH]. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:"

Google "The Apostasy of John Hagee" (with the quotes) and pick the top link to read more of this review.

I just got finished reading John Hagee's book "In Defense of Israel", and have to throw a word of wise out to the public, in particuliar Evangelicial Christians. Pastor John Hagee has a love and passion for Israel and the Jewish people. I applaud him on this. Israel still has a place in God's heart and plan (Jer 31:34-36, Rom 10:1-2, 11:26) Mr Hagee does a good job documenting the anti-semitism in some of the Early Church fathers writings, Jewish contributions to Christianity, also in the fields of the arts, medicine, education, ete,ete. Israel will once again be a blessing to all nations in the New Millenium (Isa 66). This I do applaud John Hagee on. BUT, in Chapter 10 of "Answering Christian Critics", he says that:

1.) Jesus did not claim to be the Messiah (pgs 136, 137)

2.) The message of the Gospel was from Israel, not to Israel (pg 134)

3.) Jesus refuted Jewish" claims of being the Messiah (pgs 138, 139)

4.) The Jewish people did not reject Jesus as being the Messiah, rather it was Jesus who rejected being the Messiah to the Jewish people. (pgs 140, 141)

5.) Because Jesus didn"t take the cup of the Messiah, or the fourth cup at the Passover seder, he refused to be the Messiah (pgs 144, 145)

6.) Jesus words" of going into all nations and preaching the Gospel unto "all creatures" meant going to the Gentiles, creatures meaning "gentiles" in Greek.( pg 145)

The Bible is very clear: Jesus is the ONLY Way to the Father (John 14:6), and anyone who doesn"t beleive Jesus/Yeshua is Christ, that it is the spirit of anti-Christ (1John 2:20-26) Mr Hagee has been accused of preaching dual covenantism, this book only pours gasoline on the fires. I would not recommend this book to anyone. This book, unless John Hagee repents and recants, will bring more apostasy and confusion into the Body of Christ. I recommend anything by Joel Rosenberg, starting with "Epicenter". Maranatha!

I love pastor John Hagee, but I cannot recommend this book. My fear is that people who are not "taught" or well versed in the Scriptures will believe that Yeshua (Jesus) never claimed to be the Messiah of Israel, which is dead wrong, for He did so over and over again to them. Pastor Hagee has gone too far with this book, and I believe he will do more harm them good to the Messianic Movement around the globe by its release. He has hurt the Jews, and not helped them at all. Yeshua is the only way to God. Heaven help him. Hagee's words directly contradict the whole message of the entire New Testament. Hagee's words directly contradict the fundamental declaration that defines the Christian Faith, which is that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah (i.e. the Christ). This is what Yeshua, Peter, and rabbi Paul declares to their fellow Jews. I have to say that the apostate teachings of John Hagee in this book make me sick as a Jewish Believer. Read "Jesus the Jewish Theologian" by Dr. Brad Young, its a much better book. --Shalom, Truth never fails.

Pastor Hagee should be consistent in his practice and starting saying "Jesus not-the-Christ" in his sermons.

The heresy of Hagee must not go unchallenged. As a Messianic Jew I am extremely disappointed. Yeshua IS the Messiah.

Perhaps Spurgeon said it best...

"There shall be no new God, nor new devil, nor shall we ever have a new saviour, nor a new atonement. Why then should we be attracted by the error and nonsense which everywhere plead for a hearing because they are new? To suppose the Theology can be new is to imagine that the Lord himself is of yesterday. A doctrine lately true must of necessity be false. Falsehood has no beard, but truth is hoary with age immeasurable. The old Gospel is the only Gospel. Pity is our only feeling toward those young preachers who cry: `See my new Theology!' in just the same spirit as little Mary says: `See my pretty new frock!'"

In Yeshua haMashiach!

Claude P. Scheiner, Jr.

I cannot believe all of this rubbish being said against Mr. Hagee.... He is in no way denying that Jesus is the Messiah in his teaching..... He is saying that Jesus did not come the first time to earth to be the Messiah, but the Saviour of the World....
Upon Jesus second coming will he "DELIVER" the Jewish people and all those who fear and believe His name.. Deliverer is the definition of Messiah, "promised and expected deliverer of the jewish people" as the dictionary states.... Obviously this deliverance did not happen at the cross as Jews have seen terrible persecution and injustice in the world. (The terrible Holocaust in the 1940's is merely one example) At the second coming He will be the Mighty Warrior and Messiah and King of Kings and Lord of Lords as He eliminates the evil powers of this world and Satan. But it only gets better!! Jesus will reconcile the Jews to Himself as well. As said in scripture.... Enough is enough.... Christ is being glorified, worshiped and praised by John Hagee, and is rightfully sharing the story of how God loves his Church and His people. One does not replace the other. Thank God, we serve the Lord of mercy and how i wish it could be seen in all who bear the name of Jesus. This is my prayer to the Saviour, to the Messiah, to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus.