Objection: “What would happen to a Nazi murderer who believed in Jesus before he died? Would he go to heaven, while Jewish men, women and children he killed, many of whom were God fearing people, would go to hell?”
by Dr. Michael Brown
Answer: “Based on the teaching of the Hebrew Bible, if the Nazi could truly repent before he died, then God would accept him as righteous. But merely ‘believing’ — without true repentance — is meaningless. As for the Jews killed by that Nazi, if they died in right relationship with God, then they would go to heaven; if they died out of favor with Him, they would perish. One thing is very important to remember: The fact that these Jews died in the Holocaust does not necessarily make them ‘saints’ (even though we often speak of the six million Jewish ‘martyrs’ of the Holocaust). Our people were indiscriminately exterminated by the Nazis simply because of their ethnic background — even if they were total atheists or God-haters. Their tragic suffering in the Holocaust did not, in and of itself, transform them into godly people. To the contrary, many actually lost their faith during that time, while a large number of secular and irreligious Jews became overtly hostile to God.” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 35-42.)
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.