Christians' view on Israel today

The question of how Christians should think about Israel is not ultimately a political question but a theological one.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a coordinated attack on the nation of Israel. According to official reports, the attack killed more than 1,400 people and injured thousands more. In the weeks that followed, Israel initiated a military response aimed at eliminating Hamas. The resulting conflict has led to tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than a million people.

Alongside the tragedy of war, these events have also reignited a familiar question among many Christians: how should we think about Israel? Many evangelicals have argued that Christians have a unique obligation to support the modern nation-state of Israel. Some have even suggested that current events are a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and a sign of the end times.

So, how should we understand Israel? How should we understand the relationship between the Bible and modern geopolitical events in the Middle East?

Why Talk About Israel Now?

In our cultural times, it has become increasingly difficult to speak about controversial issues with clarity and charity. Too often, disagreement is quickly interpreted as hostility. If we are not careful, we may lose the ability to reason together from Scripture.

That is why it is particularly beneficial to step back from the immediacy of the moment and consider these questions biblically rather than emotionally, even in the midst of complex and painful situations.

Necessary Clarifications (Christians' view on Israel today)

Before moving forward, several clarifications are necessary.

First, Christians should have genuine love for Jewish people. The gospel itself is rooted in the history of Israel, and salvation comes through Jesus, who is himself a Jew (Rom. 9:4–5). We also affirm and support Jewish believers in Christ as our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Second, we should have love and concern for all people, including Palestinians, many of whom are also Christians. We should grieve violence, reject terrorism, and long for peace (Ps. 34:14).

Third, our ultimate commitment is to Scripture. Our goal should not be to align ourselves with a political position but to understand what the Bible teaches and to think accordingly.

A Common Evangelical Assumption

Many evangelicals strongly support the modern nation of Israel because they believe that Scripture teaches a unique and ongoing role for ethnic Israel in God’s redemptive plan. This perspective is often shaped by a theological framework known as dispensationalism.

Dispensationalism is a relatively recent development in church history, emerging in the 19th century. One of its defining features is a sharp division between the Old Testament and the New Testament, particularly in how it understands the people of God.

According to this view, there are two distinct peoples of God. Israel consists of ethnic Jews who receive earthly and physical promises, while the church consists of believers in Christ who receive spiritual and heavenly promises. These two groups remain separate, and the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament are understood to apply specifically to ethnic Jews, including the modern nation-state of Israel.

This framework often leads to the conclusion that Christians are obligated to support Israel politically because they are supporting God’s covenant people.

One People of God

However, this way of reading Scripture creates a division that the New Testament does not support.

The apostles consistently teach that, in Christ, there is one people of God. In Ephesians 2, Paul explains that Gentiles, who were once “strangers to the covenants of promise,” have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:12–13). More than that, Christ has made both one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility in his flesh (Eph. 2:14). There are no longer two separate peoples (Jew and Gentile) but one new humanity in Christ (Eph. 2:15–16).

The same point is made in Galatians 3. Those who have been baptized into Christ are united to him, and “there is neither Jew nor Greek … for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Paul goes even further: “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29). This means that the promises given to Abraham—land, offspring, and blessing—are not restricted to ethnic Israel. They are fulfilled in Christ and belong to all who have faith in him (Rom. 4:16).

There are not two peoples of God, each with their own set of promises. There is one people of God, united by faith in Jesus Christ, who inherit the promises of God together.

Understanding the Land Promise

This leads to an important question: what about the land promised to Abraham?

God did indeed promise Abraham a land (Gen. 12:1–3). But the New Testament helps us understand the more profound meaning of that promise. The physical land, like many elements of the Old Testament, functioned as a type and shadow pointing forward to something greater.

Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern. The Passover points to Christ, our true Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). The temple points to Christ as the true dwelling place of God (John 2:19–21). These were real, historical realities, but they were not the final fulfillment. They anticipated something greater.

In the same way, the land points forward to the ultimate rest and inheritance found in Christ. Hebrews 11 tells us that Abraham himself understood this truth. He lived in the land of promise, but he was ultimately “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10).

All of God’s promises find their fulfillment in Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20). To insist that the land promise must be fulfilled in a modern political nation is to misunderstand the way the New Testament interprets the Old. (Christians' view on Israel today)

The Last Days

Finally, many people associate the modern state of Israel or current conflicts with the beginning of the end times. But the New Testament teaches that we have been living in the last days since the coming of Christ.

Peter declares at Pentecost that the outpouring of the Spirit fulfills what was spoken by the prophet Joel concerning “the last days” (Acts 2:17). The author of Hebrews likewise states that God “has spoken to us by his Son” in these “last days” (Heb. 1:2).

The last days are not a brief period immediately before Christ’s return. They encompass the entire time between his first and second coming. During this time, Scripture tells us to expect wars, trials, and suffering (Matt. 24:6–8). So while current events are tragic and significant, they are not unique indicators that we are entering a final countdown. They are part of the ongoing reality of life in a fallen world.

The question of how Christians should approach Israel is not ultimately a political question but a theological one. Scripture teaches that there is one people of God, united in Christ, and that all of God’s promises are fulfilled in him. This means that our hope is not found in any nation or political development but in Jesus Christ alone. He is the true fulfillment of God’s promises, the true dwelling place of God’s people, and the source of our peace.

In a world marked by conflict and uncertainty, our task is not to speculate about geopolitical events, but to remain faithful to Christ, to love our neighbors, and to bear witness to the gospel that brings true and lasting peace.

Article by Daniel Nealon / Core Christianity

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