One of the surprising outcomes of the October 7th attacks in Israel was the revelation that American support for Israel is fading quickly. Part of the reason for that is the spread of the Marxist ideas of oppression. For some reason, even though Jews have been the most discriminated against and persecuted group in history, the media and other cultural powers have successfully branded Israel as oppressors, colonizers, and occupiers. Once you are branded as an oppressor, any amount of violence against your people is considered justified. This is why college students in America quickly aligned with the Palestinians in protest.
Young Christians are also being drawn into the cultural narrative on this issue. In the past, it was assumed that Christians support Israel. However, many Christians today, out of a desire to be compassionate or fight for justice (as defined by the media and the woke mob), are actually siding against Israel. Before I dive into the biblical reasons why Christians should support Israel, let’s knock off a couple of the lies that are being told.
“Israel is oppressing Arabs and is an apartheid state”: The nation of Israel is made up of 21% Arab1. There are currently 10 Arabs serving in the Knesset2. Statistically, there are no Jews that live in Gaza.
“The conditions in Gaza are Israel's fault”: Gaza is referred to as an open-air prison camp. The implication is that because Israel maintains such a strong border, they are trapping people there in terrible conditions. In 2005 Israel conceded that part of their land and moved their people out of Gaza. In 2007 the citizens of Gaza elected Hamas leaders as their government. Israel is not responsible for how well that area is run anymore.
“Israel is occupying the nation of Palestine”: The problem with this argument is that there never was a nation of Palestine.
“If Israel would be more flexible or cease their retaliation for the October 7th attacks there would be peace”: Israel wants to live at peace, but Hamas does not. If Hamas disarmed, there would be peace. If Israel disarmed, they would be wiped from the earth.
These facts should make it obvious that Israel is not an oppressor, not a colonizer, and not an occupier. Now let’s get into the biblical reasons for Christians to support Israel.
The Jews are God’s chosen people: Deuteronomy 7:6 says, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” God chose to make and bless the nation of Israel to bring the Messiah into the world. God is not done with Israel just because Jesus has come. In my understanding of the end times, the tribulation will be a time when the Church has been removed from the world and God will draw Israel back to Himself culminating in Christ’s return and Israel’s recognition that He is the Messiah (Zech. 12:8-10). Paul makes it clear that the Jews are still God’s chosen people in Romans 11. God has not replaced Israel with the Church.
God gave the land of Israel to the Jews: God promised Abraham the land of Israel. He brought the Jews out of Egypt to possess that land. Deuteronomy 4:40 tells us that while there may be times that they may not always be in the land because of disobedience, God does confirm that it will always be their land.
God promises to bless all nations through Israel and bless nations that bless Israel: When God gave His covenant to Abraham in Genesis 12, He says that through the nation that will come from Abraham God will bless all the nations of the world. He also says that nations that bless this nation will also be blessed. The United States has always been one of Israel’s greatest allies. When we read what the Bible says about great powers in the end times, it appears none of the nations describes the United States. Maybe the reason we are no longer a significant player on the world scene is because of the turn away from Israel that we are currently seeing in our policies and population.
Satan’s plan has always been to destroy God’s chosen people: For end times events to take place, Israel had to be back in the land. In Isaiah 11:10-12 God promises that He will bring Israel back into the land a second time. The first time was after the exile initiated by the Babylonians. The second time has to be when the nation of Israel was formed in 1948. We do not know how much more time we have before “the end times,” but we do know that Satan would not be happy to see Israel back in the land. It would be a clear sign that his time is running out. “Whatever one’s views of the end times, the Jewish people embody the promises of God to redeem His world and destroy the works of the devil.”3 The fact that God has been working His eternal plans and promises through the nation of Israel throughout history is a major reason why there have been so many Satanic attacks on the Jews. It would be hard to name another group of people that has had so many genocidal attempts against them and yet are still a people. In Egypt, the Pharaoh attempted to kill all the baby boys, but God preserved a deliverer from the condemned babies. In the book of Esther, we see Haaman’s attempt to completely eradicate all the Jews that lived in their kingdom. The Babylonians tried to eradicate the Jews by displacing them and assimilating them into other cultures. Herod also had many male Jewish babies murdered to ensure that his rule would not be threatened. Hitler used all the tools of modern warfare to eradicate the Jews. And modern terrorists and terror states are now attempting to do the same.
God tells us to pray for the peace of Israel: Psalm 122:6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.” It would be easy to question whether this passage applies to us because it was clearly written to Israel originally. However, the last part of that verse says that anyone who loves and prays for Israel will be secure. Why would we not want to love and pray for the peace of Jerusalem?
Christians should always stand against discrimination based on race: Christians should set the example in the area of not showing favoritism or ill will toward a particular group based on external traits. We are also to be an example when it comes to showing love. There is nothing Christian about race-based hate. We understand that Jesus died to bring reconciliation between broken relationships and groups that are at odds. He is the ultimate unifier, and we are His followers. For all of the concern that American Christians have shown over discrimination against certain people groups, it is baffling that any Christian would now support any groups that would want to see an entire people group, attempting to live in peace, wiped from the face of the earth.
Does “supporting” Israel mean that we agree with every decision the nation makes? No. We are free to call out the nation of Israel if there are times when their decisions are not right. However, we must be careful to ensure we are getting the correct information. This latest attack and Israel’s response is a great example of how lies were immediately being spread to justify Hamas’ attack. Supporting Israel means that we pray for them. We ally with them. We have never fully agreed with any of our allies, but we have stood staunchly by them in global conflicts. Christians have a bond with the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel represents our spiritual roots. Christians also have experienced unbelievable persecution throughout history. Satan will never stop fiercely opposing what God is doing and the people He is doing it through.
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Israel#:~:text=Jews%20make%20up%20t he%20majority,are%20classified%20as%20%22others%22.
4 https://www.dailywire.com/news/congratulations-america-youve-raised-a-generation- of-terrorist-sympathizers