What About Israel?

Who is Israel? The Israel of the Old Testament Scriptures was a nation comprised of the physical descendents of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Today, Israel is a nation in the Middle East founded on May 14, 1948 as a homeland for Jews from all parts of the world. Its capital is Jerusalem and its official languages are Hebrew and Arabic. In 1897 Theodor Herzel announced the purpose of the Zionist movement “to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.” That early dream was realized in the establishment of Israel as a nation.

Who are the Jews? The Jews are descendents of Abraham through his son Isaac. The word “Jew” is derived from the name “Judah”, a son of Jacob and a tribe of Israel. Both a common faith and a common history have helped to hold the Jewish people together. Over four thousand years ago God called Abraham out of idol-worshiping Ur of the Chaldeans (modern Iraq). He was told that he would be the father of a great nation and that in him all the families of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). That nation was Israel who was to be a witness to all the nations of God’s salvation and the channel through whom the Savior of the world would come. The impact of the Jewish people upon civilization has been phenomenal. The Old Testament came to us through Israel. Jesus Christ was born a Jew. The twelve apostles were Jews and the church was born in the womb of Judaism.

Should Christians support Israel in the conflict in the Middle East? Any nation that is attacked by another nation has a moral right to defend itself (Rom. 13:1-7). So, certainly in that sense Israel should be supported as it goes to war against those who would launch a military offensive against her. We would say the same if America were attacked as it was on September 11, 2001. The basis of this support of Israel, however, is not on Israel’s theocratic mandate in the Old Testament (Deut. 20). Today God is not Israel’s “commander-in-chief” as He was when Israel functioned under the Mosaic Covenant. The nation of Israel does not exist today as the kind of nation she was when called to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Christians may differ on how Israel goes about defending herself against Islamic totalitarianism, but all should agree that a democracy, like Israel, in the Middle East is a good thing.

Is Israel’s nationhood a fulfillment of Bible prophecy? Another question is also involved here, namely, “Does Israel have a biblical claim to the land of Palestine?” There are evangelical Christians who say that Israel has a right to the land she now possesses because of the land promises delineated under God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15:18-21). Israel’s presence in Palestine is biblically significant, but is not the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The promises in Scripture regarding the regathering of Israel await their fulfillment when Israel believes at the time of the return of the Messiah (Ezek. 36:14, Amos 9:15, a Zech. 10:8). At the present time Israel is experiencing a “partial hardening . . . until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25). Some Jews are being saved, but most of Israel refuses to accept Jesus as their Messiah. But one day at the completion of God’s program with the Gentiles “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26). Ethnic Israel has a future, and it will be realized when Jesus Christ returns to earth in the splendor of His Second Coming. The nation as a whole will turn to her Messiah and believe in Him (Zech. 12:10). In summary, it can be said that Israel has the right to exist as a nation in Palestine like any nation does under internationally recognized legal rights. But there is no biblical claim to the possession of the Promised Land today. Christians are divided over how to interpret the Old Testament promises regarding Israel’s future restoration. Some say that these promises no longer apply to ethnic Israel but must be “spiritualized” and understood as applying to the church in this age. Many others believe that Israel does have a future as promised in the Abrahamic Covenant, Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. A consistent literal hermeneutic (i.e. the art and science of interpreting the Bible) points to a literal fulfillment of the land promises in the Old Testament in the “golden-age” of an earthly millennial kingdom.

Why are so many nations of the world set against the nation of Israel? The reasons are probably as varied as the individual nations. But one very real possibility is the ugly specter of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is hostility toward or persecution of Jews because they are Jews. Haman’s attempted plot to destroy all the Jews in Persia is an early example of hatred of Israel (Esth. 3:6; 9:24). Satan has attempted to eliminate the Jewish people throughout their history. He wanted to keep the Messiah from being born and now wants to keep Israel from being in a position to experience the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant in the coming kingdom (Rev. 12:1-6). Islamic Jihadists are committed to driving Israel out of her place in Palestine and have drawn many into their virulent anti-Semitism. It has been correctly observed that “the anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany became the anti-Zionist propaganda of the Arab cause” (A Historical Survey of Anti-Semitism, Richard E. Gade). One example of this is found in a ninth grade textbook paid for and published by Saudi Arabia which says, “The hour of judgment will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them.” All this is not to say that Israel is above criticism. She has no divine carte blanche to do whatever she wishes. But the way in which the United Nations so often censures Israel while ignoring atrocities committed against her raises deep suspicions.

Has the church inherited the land promises given to Israel in the Old Testament? There are some Christians (Amillennialists and Postmillennialists) who believe that because of Israel’s disobedience and rejection of the Messiah that she has forfeited her national land promises. The church, according to this view, is seen as replacing Israel, as the true Israel. The land promises are spiritualized and now belong to the church. Interestingly, those who espouse replacement theology interpret the curses upon Israel literally, but spiritualize the land promises. But such a claim as this cannot be substantiated from the biblical text. In the seventy-three citations of “Israel” in the New Testament the meaning is always ethnic Israel. The key verse used by replacement theologians, in their attempt to make the church spiritual Israel, is Galatians 6:16 (“and upon the Israel of God”). But this passage is best understood as referring to Christian Jews who realize they are no longer in the age of the Law and have not submitted to legalism. Those who believe that the church has inherited Israel’s Land promise have to rely on a spiritualization of the biblical text. Passages from the Old Testament that describe in detail Israel’s promised national restoration (Hosea 14; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 7:11-20) are turned into “symbols” and “types.” For example, The Reformation Study Bible comments on Amos
9:15 regarding the statement, “the land I have given them,” that “The physical Promised Land is but a type of the New Israel’s life in Christ; it points forward to the heavenly Jerusalem.” This kind of interpretation (in my judgment, a hermeneutical virus) has the effect of turning the Old Testament into a riddle. The prophets of the Old Testament and their original audiences would not have had a clue as to what was really being promised Israel. The Abrahamic Covenant guarantees permanent ownership of the promised land to Israel. This does not mean, however, that Israel is guaranteed continual occupancy of the land. A converted Israel (“all Israel will be saved,” Rom. 11:26) under the rule of the Messiah will renew her divine right to possess the land of Canaan.

What will be the sequence of events for the nation of Israel prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? In the first quarter of the Tribulation the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt and Israel will exist in Palestine as a nation. There will be some kind of security guarantee that will make this possible, perhaps through the covenant made with the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 11:1). In the middle of the seven- year Tribulation period the Antichrist will invade Jerusalem and will desecrate the Temple (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 13:11-15). An intense period of Anti-Semitism will plague Israel as many Jews are persecuted and killed. But many Jews will flee Jerusalem as the Antichrist launches an attack against the city. For a brief time Jewish forces will hold the city, but just when total destruction seems imminent, Jesus the Messiah will return. The remnant of Israel will be rescued, the nations will be judged, and Jesus Christ will begin His millennial rule in Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:4, 9; 14:2; Revelation 19:11-21). There are many other details to this Second Coming scenario, but from this brief outline we can see that the nation of Israel will be in the middle of international conflict during the coming Tribulation. We may also assume that the events preceding Christ’s return will cast their shadows back upon that time leading up to the rapture of the Christ and the appearance of the Antichrist. It is possible to see a kind of a dress-rehearsal for these things in current events. Israel is paying a great price at the present time to secure the safety of her citizens and protection of her borders. It seems that Israel has little support in the community of nations. Actually, there are those who want Israel to be destroyed. The world deceives itself into thinking it can create a lasting peace through diplomatic efforts and political alliances.

How should Christians pray about the conflict in the Middle East? Petition should be made to God “on behalf of all men, for kings, and all who are in authority” (I Timothy 2:1-2). We pray because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” A climate of peace creates better circumstances for the spread of the gospel. There is much evangelistic gain to be made when the nations are not at war with one another. So we should pray for peace of the kind that can exist in some measure before the Prince of Peace comes to give us lasting, justice-satisfying, truth-believing, Christ-exalting peace. Pray for the Jewish and Arab Christians that live in the Middle East. They are there and are enduring much suffering. They need boldness for gospel witness, harmony among themselves, and encouragement from their brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

As we pray we must think of how our own sins have contributed to the development of Islamic terrorism. Why has not the church of Jesus Christ sent thousands of self-denying, cross-bearing, Christ-exalting missionaries to the Muslim people everywhere? Pray that God will send revival to his church and raise up a world-impacting host of gospel-proclaiming Christians. When God revealed to Daniel that a new era in His dealings with the Jew was beginning, he had to be reminded that there is an invisible war taking place (Daniel 10). Daniel’s longing to know Israel’s future required a glimpse into the hand-to-hand combat being waged in the heavenly places. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood Michael the archangel and had delayed the answer to Daniel’s prayer. He was also told that the prince of Greece would come (Daniel 11:20). The prince of Persia and the prince of Greece are evil angels who wage warfare on behalf of these earthly kingdoms. Do we not see the implications of this? There are demonic powers at work to influence and energize nations against God and His people (Eph. 6:10). Prevailing prayer is our God-given weapon against Satan’s ongoing plan to deceive the nations and establish his own enduring kingdom. Let us pray for all men everywhere including the salvation of the Jewish people and her enemies (Rom. 10:1).

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church