Why did God allow the Jewish Holocaust to happen?
There may not be a “pat answer” to this question but we do have some light from the scriptures to help us understand. Yet ultimately, we may not be fully satisfied with the light that we do receive due to our “limited ability to grasp God’s dealings with mankind.” We read in Isaiah 55:8-9, “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are MY WAYS HIGHER THAN YOURS, and MY THOUGHTS HIGHER THAN YOURS.” This passage teaches us NOT to judge God’s dealings bases on our own human reasoning, for He THINKS and ACTS in ways that are beyond our logic and intellect.
When I read your question, I immediately thought of two other questions: “Why did God allow the Assyrians to invade the northern kingdom of Israel, which resulted in thousands being slaughtered and the rest being taken captive?” and “Why did God allow the Babylonians to invade the southern kingdom of Israel and utterly destroy Jerusalem and the holy Temple and then take those who survived captive to Babylon?” You can read about the Assyrian invasion in 2nd Kings chapters 17 & 18 and the Babylonian invasion in 2nd Kings chapters 24 & 25. Like the Jewish Holocaust, God allowed these to happen and, as we shall see, His direct will was also involved BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN AGAINST HIM. You can read about Israel’s rebellion and many sins against God in 2nd Kings 24:1-17 and then verse 18 says, “Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah” Judah escaped judgment at that time (see verse 19) but they too rebelled against God even though they had been warned of the same judgment of being invaded, destroyed and carried away captive.
Now let’s read of another invasion announced by Jesus when He walked this earth. In Luke 21:5-6, 20, 24 we read, “Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He (Jesus) said, ‘These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down…But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near…And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” This invasion took place in 70 A.D. when the Romans armies, under General Titus, besieged the city and eventually razed it and the temple to the ground. Those who survived were then dispersed throughout the nations where they are to this day. We saw that earlier invasions were caused by their rebellion and sin against God; was this the case here? Yes, and their sin was worse than ever, for they reject their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and delivered Him over to Pontius Pilate to be crucified (see John 1:11 with Matthew 26:1-5; 27:1-2). Pilate tried, in vain, to have Him released. He finally gave in to their cries, “Let Him be crucified!” and said to them, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person” (27:22-25). What was their response? Their answer to Pilate is, in part, the answer to your question, for they said, “His blood be on us and ON OUR CHILDREN.” Ever since they uttered that statement, they have suffered untold misery. As we have seen they were invaded and dispersed throughout the nations in 70 A.D., but THEIR CHILDREN, who have also rejected the Messiah, have suffered too at the hands of ungodly anti-Semites (those who are prejudiced against Jews), including the unbelievable persecutions by the Nazi regime in the concentration camps where the Holocaust took place.
One may be thinking, “Nothing like that will ever happen again.” But they are wrong, for the Lord Jesus predicted an even greater persecution against the Jews in Matthew 24:15-21 (please read that passage). In verse 21 He said, “For then there will be GREAT TRIBULATION, SUCH AS NOT BEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD UNTIL THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE.” At that time many Jews, living in the land of Palestine, will accept a “false Messiah” and under his leadership they will “worship the Beast” (the World Ruler of the Revived Roman Empire. You can read about this in 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-12 and Revelation 13 along with Matthew 24:15.
Thank God for Matthew 24:22 which declares, “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; BUT FOR THE ELECT’S SAKE those days will be shortened.” Israel’s “Great Tribulation” will come to an end, for by God’s grace many will repent during that time and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah/Savior. They are God’s ELECT, who will be ready to receive Him when He returns to establish His kingdom here on earth. They will then be richly blessed as Jesus destroys all of their enemies and makes a “New Covenant” with them (based on His sacrificial death on the cross). You can read about Israel’s coming deliverance and the blessed place they will have in Christ’s Millennial Kingdom in the following passages: Romans 11:25-29; Isaiah 59:20-21; Zechariah 12:7-10; Jeremiah 31:33-34 and Ezekiel 36:22-36. (474.3) (DO)