Why Did God Allow the Holocaust?

by Sid Roth

Why did God allow six million Jews to be murdered? Why did God allow the Holocaust? I obtained supernatural insight to answer this question from an event that happened in my life.

I am a Jew. I attended an Orthodox Jewish synagogue and was Bar Mitzvah. Although I read from the Prayer Book, attended Hebrew School, knew traditions and read selected Torah passages, I did not know the Jewish Scriptures. No one ever told me about the warnings against the New Age in Deuteronomy 18:9-12 in the Torah.

As a result, I opened myself to evil, and it almost cost me my life. (Read my full story in my book, They Thought for Themselves.) Was it God’s fault that the rabbis never warned me? No. Was it God’s fault that I opened this forbidden door? No. Ecclesiastes 10:8 says, “and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.”

I was surrounded by a wall of protection until I left God’s protection and was bitten by a serpent. The serpent represents the devil. When you see killing, stealing or destroying, it is not the character of God, but the devil.

You may be thinking, “Yes, Sid, but God had the power to stop this evil.” According to Scriptures, when we violate God’s instructions, we limit His legal ability to protect us.

“Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 78:41).

During the Passover, Jewish homes were protected from the destroyer (devil). Most people do not understand the significance of the blood. In ancient Israel, a sacrifice of an animal’s blood was poured out by the door to identify a friend. If there was no blood, it meant they were enemies.

“Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over [the blood and enter your house because you are My friend.]”

“…and when He [the Lord] sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you” (Exodus 12:13, 23).

God Himself would be in our house and no destroyer would dare enter!

When the Jewish people placed the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, they proclaimed something even greater. They fulfilled Leviticus 17:ll:

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls.”

The blood of the innocent lamb was a shadow of the blood of the Messiah.

After I had violated every one of the Ten Commandments, I limited the Holy One of Israel from protecting me. But Torah says we all have violated God’s commandments, even the most righteous rabbi has sinned.

What was God doing when I was going through so much pain and torment? He was weeping for me, but His hands were limited.

“In all of their affliction He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9).

When all was almost lost, I invited the Messiah, Yeshua — the Passover Lamb, to enter my heart (house). His blood made atonement for my sins. He protected me from the destroyer and has become my best friend. He wants to be your best friend too!

Out of the mess I had made of my life, God gave me a fresh start. It wasn’t God who punished me. When I left His protection, I was vulnerable to the devil.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis added.