Israel: in Scripture, in History and in the Future

ISRAEL in Scripture, in History, and in the Future

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D h P , s n i l l ravis Co

Israel…in Scripture, in History, and in the Future Travis Collins, Ph.D. January, 2024

He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.” (Psalm 105:8-11)

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INTRODUCTION On November 8, 2023 FBC Huntsville hosted the good people of Temple B’Nai Shalom and it was a marvelous event. We were honored to hear from Rabbi Schwartz and to fellowship with so many Jewish friends. Afterwards, one of our guests thanked me for the event and described the isolation and loneliness that he and many Jewish persons have felt in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7. I’m so glad we were able to communicate that they are not alone.

As I said that evening, I display a menorah in my office as a reminder of the fact that Christians share with the Jewish people the covenant God made with Abraham. We spring from the same root, and I feel a personal connection to that beautiful root. The Jewish-Christian relationship is unique among the world religions.

And my heart breaks for the anti-Semitism that seems to be on a dangerous rise.

The present war between Israel and Hamas has re-ignited questions and opinions about the role of Israel in the Bible, in history, and in God’s plan for the future. And the query is being raised again: What should Christians’ position on Israel be?

In this booklet, I hope to offer some information that will be helpful as you wrestle with this critical topic.

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VOCABULARY Let’s begin with some of the important words and phrases…

Abrahamic Covenant God’s covenant (binding agreement) with Israel is memorialized in Genesis 12:1-7 in God’s promise to Abraham: The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

The fulfillment of that promise is recorded in Joshua 21:43-45.

So, the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

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When we speak of God’s covenant with Abraham, and thus with Israel, that is what we’re talking about. We’re talking about a special relationship between God and Israel. We’re talking about God’s intention to fulfill His purposes for the world through Israel.

And we’re talking about a land which God gifted to His people.

Dispensationalism Dispensationalism comes from the word “dispensation,” or “era,” and is a way of reading the Bible through the lens of multiple dispensations. It is believed that God deals with His people in different ways in these various periods of history.

Dispensationalism is rooted in the thought of John N. Darby in the mid-1800s.

Dispensationalism’s influence is important to keep in mind as we study the place of Israel in God’s plans for the future.

The details of Dispensationalism are hard to pin down, but most Dispensationalists believe there are seven historical eras: Innocence: Adam & Eve from creation to the Fall Conscience: The Fall to the flood Government: The flood to Abraham Promise, or Covenant: From Abraham to Moses Law: From Moses to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Grace (also known as Age of the Church): From the time of Jesus to what they believe will be a rapture of the Church (which leaves all non-Christians, including Jews, behind), a subsequent tribulation on earth for seven years (some say 3½) , and the Battle of Armageddon—the ultimate battle between the forces of Heaven and the forces of Hell.

Millennial Kingdom: Jesus’ reign from Jerusalem of 1,000 years on earth, after which God’s people live in His presence forever.

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This chart shows us Darby’s view of how time as we know it will come to an end…

The order of events (rapture, tribulation, millennium, etc.) varies somewhat depending on who is doing the predictions. However, Israel is always key to the Dispensationalist view of the end times, as we will see later in this booklet.

Israel: the land, the people, the government It is important, when we’re speaking of Israel, that we make clear whether we’re referring to the land, the people, or the government.

The land has a significance unlike any other land on earth.

Deuteronomy 4:40 reads, “Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.” Jewish people have lived in that land since the days of Joshua.

Sitting in a coffee shop in Jerusalem a few years ago a Jewish resident told me, “This land was God’s gift to our people. It is not ours to give away.” That viewpoint helps us understand why Israel has not been keen on concessions of the land.

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Many believe that land will be the physical center of God’s future Kingdom at His appointed time. Others believe the land is now merely the symbol of God’s spiritual Kingdom. I will talk later in this booklet about the land and its significance.

The people of Israel are the Jewish people, and they live all over the world. Many of these people who identify as Jewish are religious Jews, but not ethnic Jews. “Religious Jews, not ethnic Jews” means they are not Jews by birth but have embraced the Jewish faith. Conversely, there are those who are ethnic Jews (have Jewish blood) but do not practice the Jewish faith.

Here’s a question for you: When God considers “Israel,” is He considering ethnic Jews, or is He considering those who practice the Jewish faith? (Remember: every adherent of the Jewish faith is not an ethnic Jew, and every ethnic Jew is not an adherent of the Jewish faith.) So, is Israel the faith community or is it those who are Jews by bloodline? That is a hard, but important, question.

(And, by the way, I don’t know.)

When we get to the phrase from Romans 11, All Israel will be saved, we will have to ask, “What does God mean by ‘Israel?’”

After all, Romans 9:6 says, Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

The government of Israel exists for the protection and well-being of its citizens. Israel’s government is a democracy. It is not a theocracy (a theocracy is a government that gains its authority via religion) in the way that several Islamic countries are theocracies.

Distinguishing between ethnic people, faith community, and political State is important for our conversation.

Palestine, Palestinians Palestine is a name given to what we read of, in the Bible, as Canaan, or The Promised Land. It is also known today as the “Holy Land,” the territory of present-day Israel including the West Bank and Gaza.

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The words “Palestine” and “Palestinian” are rooted in a word that people familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures will recognize: “Philistia” and “Philistine.” The Philistia we read of in the Bible was the region along the Mediterranean coast.

The Roman Emperor, Hadrian, named the entire Land of Promise “Palestina” in the second century AD, probably in an attempt to erase both the name “Judea” and the memory of the Jews with whom the land was identified.

Zionism “Zion” is a biblical name that refers both to the City of Jerusalem and, more specifically, to the Mount where the Temple sat.

Zechariah 8:3 is one of dozens of examples from both the Old Testament and the New Testament that make clear the meaning of “Zion.” It reads, This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

Initially, Zionism referred to support for the migration of Jewish people back to their homeland of Palestine. Over the last century or so, it has come to mean strong and broad backing for Israel and the Jewish people, including the migration.

Zionism is not always attached to a religious conviction. Secular, or political Zionism is simply support of the State of Israel, and the return of Jews to Palestine, without any connection to a religious viewpoint. In this booklet we will concern ourselves with Jewish and Christian Zionism.

Zionism began in the mid-to-late 1800s among Jews in the diaspora (global dispersion) and is rooted in Hebrew texts such as Amos 9:14-15, “I will bring my people Israel back from exile.

They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be 7

uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God. Initially Zionism did not have widespread or enthusiastic support among the Jewish people. The more popular desire among the Jews was assimilation—assimilation into whichever society Jews found themselves. Within the last century, spurred on by the Holocaust and the desire for a safe homeland, Jewish Zionism has become increasingly popular.

“Christian Zionism” is simply the passion for the cause of Israel and its people on the part of Jesus-followers. Christian Zionism often (not always) implies the particular view of eschatology (study of the end of time) called “Dispensationalism” and the belief that Israel has a particular place in that drama.

The three motivations of Christian Zionists are: (1) A desire to secure blessings for their own nation (“Those who bless Israel I will bless; those who curse Israel I will curse,” Genesis 12:3); (2) A belief that Israel is key to God’s plan for the culmination of history, a desire to be part of that and, in some cases, a desire to speed up the end; and (3) At least among some, a genuine compassion for the Jewish people.

Christian Zionism is largely a Protestant (most recently evangelical) movement.

More about the history of Zionism later in this booklet.

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A Very Brief History of Israel, the Church, and Zionism To tackle a history of Israel, the Church, and Zionism in just a few pages is overly ambitious, so I apologize now for the events and developments I will miss.

The first sixteen centuries At the time of Christ, the Jewish people were scattered across the known world. That is evident when we read in the Bible about the influx of people from across the globe for such festivals as Pentecost.

In AD 70, the Jewish people in Judea revolted against the Romans, and the Roman response was brutal. Jerusalem was destroyed and its people scattered far beyond what we call the Holy Land. The decades that followed saw tens of thousands of Jewish people die and disperse because of Roman persecution.

In the first two centuries AD, relationships between Christians and Jews in Judea were strained. Many Christians were resentful because they intended to remain in their synagogues but were often expelled. Jews were understandably resentful that (1) Christians taught that the Messiah had come and the Jewish people hadn’t recognized him, and (2) synagogues were losing a number of their most faithful people to a new religion.

Furthermore, many Christian theologians blamed the Jews for the death of Jesus. A number of well-known early Christian theologians (i.e. John Chrysostom and Ambrose, 4th century) called for violence against the Jewish people. Unfortunately, maltreatment, even violence, against Jews by Christians was not uncommon.

Christians have, understandably, loved the land we know as Israel.

In the early centuries, thousands traveled to the Holy Land as pilgrims—a practice that was greatly hindered when Muslims took 9

control of that part of the world in the 7th century. While the reasons for the Crusades are complex (and the horrors they sparked undeniable), the fact remains that Christians valued the Holy Land enough to risk their lives and fortunes to reclaim it.

Reformation In 1517 a priest named Martin Luther initiated what he intended as positive changes within the Roman Catholic Church. The result, of course, was the Protestant Reformation and Protestant churches.

Despite all the good that came from Luther’s leadership, he had harsh words for the Jewish people. Still blaming them for the crucifixion of Jesus, Luther endorsed the violent treatment of Jews.

Antisemitism, unfortunately, was not uncommon either among the new Protestants or the Roman Catholics following the Reformation. (Anti-semitism, by the way, refers to a hatred or mistreatment of the Jewish people. The word “semitic” comes from Shem, son of Noah, and originally referred to those from the Middle East—those who speak the Semitic languages of Arabic, Aramaic, Amharic and Hebrew. In time, “Semitism” has come to refer to the Jewish people in particular.)

Zionism becomes a Movement Zionism as a movement is most often traced back to the late 1800s.

There are two arms of religious Zionism: Jewish Zionism and Christian Zionism.

Jewish Zionism If there is a name associated with early Jewish Zionism, it is Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) who founded the World Zionist Organization in 1897.

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Interestingly, Jewish Zionism took a long time to catch on.

Conservative Jews believe the return of the Jewish people to Palestine will be an act of God at the coming of the Messiah (on whom they still are waiting). They believe human efforts to encourage migration to Palestine usurp the plan of God. However, spurred on by the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel as an independent State in 1948, Jewish Zionism has increased in popularity over the years.

Christian Zionism Zionism among Christians can be traced to the 18th century restoration movement when some Christians, like some Jews, began to focus on the restoration of Jews to Palestine. William Hechler was the face of “Christian Zionism” in the late 1800s. In the early 1900s, there was a growing Christian interest in the Jewish people, their place in God’s plan in history, and their right to a homeland in Palestine. At that time, Christian Zionism was centered in England.

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) and Dispensationalism John Darby’s 19th century thought and writings introduced the way of interpreting the Bible known as Dispensationalism (see above).

His impact on the conservative Christian world of the late 1800s and beyond has been significant. Dispensationalism was one of the major influences on Christian Zionism.

Such influential Christian leaders as Dwight L. Moody (18371899) embraced and popularized Dispensationalism. It was disseminated in the 20th century by the marginal notes in the Scofield Reference Bible. Many Christians (including those of the church I grew up in) came to assume Dispensationalism is THE way of reading Scripture and understanding the future. (It is not, by the way, the only way of reading Scripture. In fact, I believe it is not the best way. I believe Dispensationalism assumes to know 11

more than we can know about the apocalyptic, figurative, language in the Bible.)

Darby’s Dispensationalism taught that the Jews would be restored to the land of Israel after what Darby believed would be a “rapture” of Christians to Heaven. Dispensationalists in the mid20th century, however, began to see Darby’s predictions a bit differently. Teachers like William Blackstone (1841-1935) believed the re-birth of Israel and the population of the land by Jewish people would occur before, and as a precursor to, the “rapture.” Moreover, Blackstone taught that Christians should actively champion the return of the Jewish people to Palestine.

Wildly popular books like Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth in the 1960s, and the fairly recent Left Behind series of novels followed the path set forth by Blackstone.

Christian Zionism and Dispensationalism are not the same, however; and some Zionists would want me to make clear that they are not Dispensationalists. Still, it is undeniable that Dispensationalism informs and encourages Christian Zionism.

The Modern State of Israel is born Almost two millennia passed between the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the birth of modern Israel in 1948. This is a summary of the last century or so in Israel’s history.

The Balfour Declaration The first major step towards Israeli independence was the Balfour Declaration. The British Foreign Secretary, Lord Balfour, wrote the following on November 2, 1917 to Lord Rothschild, a British Jewish Zionist: His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this 12

object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

One month after the Balfour Declaration (during WWI) the British, under General Edmund Allenby, captured Jerusalem from the Ottomans—Muslim rulers who had controlled Jerusalem since the 1500s. At the conclusion of WWI, in 1918, the League of Nations adopted a resolution assigning governance of Palestine to England with the assumption that Jews would find a national home in the land (though there was no mention of an independent State). The result was a growing number of Jewish immigrants to Palestine, many of whom began to buy large tracts of land. Arabs living in Palestine were not consulted on those decisions, and the influx of Jews was not welcomed by the Arabs. Conflicts were common.

The Holocaust “Holocaust” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “burnt offering.” The Cambridge dictionary says “Holocaust” refers to the destruction by fire or heat, or the killing of a large number of people. Of course, the word is most usually associated with the horrific murder of six million European Jews, and attempted annihilation of the entire race, by Nazis in the 1940s. (Jews often use the Hebrew word Shoah instead of “Holocaust.” Shoah, meaning “devastation,” appears in Zephaniah 1:15 and Job 30:3.)

The horrors of Naziism encouraged the return of Jews to Israel.

Jewish people longed for a haven, and those who cared for the Jewish people wanted a safe place for them.

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Independence At the conclusion of WWII in 1945, the stage was set for the establishment of the modern State of Israel. Although the majority of people in Palestine were Arabs, a significant percentage of the population was Jewish.

On November 29, 1947 the United Nations issued “Resolution 181” which was designed to partition Palestine into two areas— one Arab and one Jewish (Jerusalem was to be administered by a United Nations trusteeship)—with the intent that eventually these would become Arab and Jewish states. (See the map below.) The Jews agreed; but Arab Palestinians rejected the proposal, arguing that since Arabs formed a two-thirds majority of the population of Palestine, they should get more land. The result of the disagreement over the proposed partitioning was the escalation of existing conflict.

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After the Arabs rejected the UN partition plan, on May 14, 1948 David Ben-Gurion—leader of the World Zionist Society and soonto-be the first Prime Minister of Israel—issued Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

It is interesting to me that the dream of a Jewish homeland was (and remains) primarily a secular dream. As Donald Lewis put it, “Israel’s founders wanted a home for Jews, not a homeland for Judaism.” Israel’s Declaration of Independence includes the following: THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Declaration of Independence concludes with the affirmation of “placing our trust in the Almighty,” but falls far short of describing Israel as a religious state. Tensions still remain between Orthodox Jews who want a theocracy and the secular Jews who adamantly oppose that. Those tensions can be seen playing out when new leaders try to build political coalitions in Israel.

In 1948 money from the U.S. began to flow into Israel, as did Jewish people. Within three years after Israel’s Independence, seven hundred thousand Jewish immigrants arrived to the land we now know as Israel.

Zionists celebrated the rapid growth of modern Israel, and Dispensationalist Christians saw signs of the times. Jerry Falwell proclaimed May 14, 1948—the day of the Israeli Declaration of 16

Independence—“the most important date since Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.”

The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was interpreted as the so-called budding of the fig tree of which Jesus spoke in Matthew 24. There Jesus was speaking about the end of time as we know it, and he spoke of the symbol or metaphor of a fig tree budding. “When it buds,” Jesus said, “the end will come in that generation.”

We don’t know what Jesus was talking about with his phrase, “budding of the fig tree,” but some believed it was the establishment of Israel in 1948. Since a generation is generally interpreted as forty years, some believed 1988 would be the year of the Lord’s return. Of course, that year passed (as have a multitude of predicted dates of the Second Coming) and the prognosticators had to backpedal. Nevertheless, Dispensationalists were certain they were watching the beginning of the end when Israel became an independent State.

The Young Nation is tested by War One day after Israel declared its independence, the armies of Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq simultaneously invaded the new nation. Whether their intent was to protect the Palestinians or to secure land for themselves is unclear. The young Israeli army beat back the Arab forces and within seven months, by December 1948, the State of Israel secured four-fifths of Palestine (far more land that it was allotted in the previous UN partition plan). Hundreds of thousands of Arabs fled Palestine for Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.

The fate of those Arab Palestinian refugees is tragic. Instead of the Palestinians being absorbed into their new societies, refugee camps were established with the hopes that the Palestinians would be able to return to their homeland. Interestingly, those Palestinians still have not found homes in the lands surrounding Palestine. During a trip to Lebanon in 2006 I saw one such Palestinian refugee camp, 17

and the conditions were poor. My host told me that the Palestinians have not been welcomed in Lebanon.

Six-Day War (also known as 1967 War) Tensions in the region were already high. Then in May 1967, the Egyptian President closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships, moved Egyptian troops to the Egypt-Israel border, and expelled United Nations peacekeepers. (Closing the Straits of Tiran, at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, was a blow to Israel’s trade. It shut off Israel’s access to the Red Sea and thus to the oceans beyond, and constituted an act of war.) On June 5th Israel assumed an Egyptian attack was imminent and launched a pre-emptive air strike against Egypt. Jordan and Syria immediately joined the fray.

In less than a week, Israel won the war. As a result they acquired control of large territories (including East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights) previously under control of those other nations. It now exercised political and military control over a much larger area (see map below), and established itself as a major military power. Three hundred thousand Palestinians fled the West Bank and one hundred thousand Syrians left the Golan Heights. In retaliation, tens of thousands of Jews were expelled from Arab countries and ended up in Israel, Europe or the U.S. More than one million Palestinians remained in territories now under Israeli control.

I was only eight-years-old in 1967, yet I remember the euphoria of my Dispensationalist pastor over Israel’s big win. Israel’s quick and decisive victory was seen as not only evidence of God’s blessing but also a sign that prophecies of the end of time were being fulfilled. That Israel had won back the old city of Jerusalem from Jordan was particularly significant. Both Christian and Jewish Zionists were energized by this triumph.

The land Israel acquired control of in the Six Day War (specifically, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip) is 18

now referred to by many outside Israel as “occupied territories,” or “disputed territory.”

Yom Kippur War, 1973 Egypt and Syria seemed determined to regain, respectively, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights which they had lost during the Six-Day War in 1967. On October 6, 1973 Israel was attacked from the north by Syria and from the south by Egypt. Russia jumped in to support the Arab coalition of Egypt and Syria, and the 19

U.S. jumped in to support Israel. The intense conflict lasted only nineteen days until a truce on October 25.

The Israeli army was successful in turning back the assaults and even threatened to move deeper into Syria and Egypt than the Arab alliance would have imagined. Israel’s success in the Yom Kippur War helped to solidify the assumption of many that God protects the nation of Israel.

Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt in 1978 as part of the Camp David Accords signed by Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt. In 2005 Israel gave over Gaza to Palestinian control.

Peace Process Since 1973 there have been a number of attempted solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. As an example, the Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 by Israel’s Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s leader, Yasser Arafat, divided the West Bank into three areas: A (18% of the territory) —The Palestinian Authority administers security and civil matters.

B (22% of the territory)—The Palestinian Authority administers civil matters; Israel is in charge of the security.

C (60% of the territory) —Fully administered by Israel.

This division in to A, B and C was intended to be temporary but the parties have not been able to move beyond it.

You will often hear the phrases, “Land for peace” and “Two State solution.” These phrases describe the goal of many to have an independent Palestinian State alongside the State of Israel. Such a division usually has the boundaries of the Palestinian State including East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

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To this date, insurmountable obstacles such as distrust and concern for security, on the part of both Israelis and Palestinians, have prevented a resolution.

Modern Zionism Since the influence of Dispensationalism on Zionism is clear, there are three recent Dispensationalists worthy of note: Falwell, Robertson, and Hagee.

Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979. Until its dissolution in the late 1980s, the Moral Majority used its political influence to lobby for strong support of Israel.

Pat Robertson was another champion of Israel. In the 1990s his Christian Coalition and the Christian Broadcasting Network were major advocates for the Zionist cause.

John Hagee—Pentecostal pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas—founded Christians United for Israel (CUFI) in 2006. By 2021 CUFI had ten million members. CUFI events attract some major American political figures. Hagee is both a Dispensationalist and a “health and wealth” preacher, and his emphasis as a Zionist is on the blessings America will receive if we bless Israel.

An interesting question among evangelical Zionists has been whether to actively evangelize (proselytize) Jews. Some are compelled to do so; but others, including Hagee, believe support of the Jewish cause trumps the calls for their conversion.

All Zionism is not based in Dispensationalism. Gerald R. McDermott (author of The New Christian Zionism) of Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham is a leading figure in “The New Christian Zionism.” More about that below.

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Christian Zionism: An Assessment The relationship of Christians and Jews is rich, but it is complex.

Christian have a shared heritage with our “Jewish cousins,” and Christians remember that Jesus and his initial followers were Jews.

Yet there are dark chapters in the relationship of Christians and Jews. Jews have long been maligned and mistreated by Christians.

Of course, many of the German Nazis who tried to exterminate the Jews in the Holocaust claimed the name “Christian.” And many of today’s neo-Nazis fly the flag of Christianity. That so many who claim to be Christian would hate our religious kin (or people of any or no religion) is disturbing.

Our concern in this booklet is not only the personal relationships between Christians and Jews. There is also the matter of how Christians should consider the political entity we know as the State of Israel. The recent terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the deaths of thousands of Palestinians in the bombing of Gaza by the Israeli Defense Force, have brought back the question of how Christians should view the political State of Israel and its government.

Christian Zionists believe the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and the flow of Jewish people back to the land of Israel, are fulfillments of biblical prophecy. Some Christian Zionists believe the return of Jews to Israel is a necessary forerunner to the rapture of Christian believers and the eventual second coming of Jesus.

Thus Christian Zionists are active in their support of Israel, advocating for its safety and the return of Jews to their homeland.

Since Israel’s early days of independence, its leaders have understood the importance of Christian Zionism. They have courted American evangelical leaders, paying for their trips to the Holy Land, and asking for their help in lobbying lawmakers.

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Warnings Zionism is a positive movement. I share the Zionists’s love for Israel. Yet, there are some things that concern me about Zionism.

Self-serving Support of Israel It appears to me that some Zionists don’t necessarily love the Jewish people for who they are. Rather, they simply wish to see Jews return to Israel so as to hasten the so-called rapture of Christians and the return of Jesus.

Moreover, Christian Zionists often quote Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless Israel, and whoever curses Israel I will curse.” Some Christian Zionists take that verse and similar verses to mean we should support the political entity of Israel no matter what.

I understand wanting Jesus to hurry back, make things right, and take us to Heaven. And I understand the longing to secure God’s blessing. It appears to be self-serving, manipulative, and rather Machiavellian, however, to work for the well-being of Israel and the return of the Jews for the selfish fulfillment of one’s own goals.

Imprudence and Danger We all can celebrate Jewish people finding a home in Israel.

However, there are elements of Christian Zionism that I consider worse than self-serving. These elements are imprudent and even dangerous.

First, I believe it’s unwise to read too much into rather cryptic statements in the Bible about the role of Israel in God’s plan to bring history to its conclusion. Too many people have declared that some particular event was a sure sign that the end is near…only to have to walk those declarations back.

But false predictions are not what worries me most about Zionism.

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Dangerous Extremism I watched a video from Sunday, October 8, 2023, in which Greg Locke, a radical Zionist pastor in Tennessee, called from the pulpit for the complete annihilation of Gaza. “Israel should make the Gaza Strip a parking lot,” he declared while his congregation cheered. That mindset poses a real danger were it to become mainstream in church and public life.

Central to some Dispensationalist thinking is the re-construction of the Jewish Temple on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, and the renewal of blood sacrifice, as pre-requisites to the rapture and Jesus’ return.

Radical Christian Zionists would support the violent takeover of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount (where the Al Aqsa mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, now sits) even though such a move almost certainly would launch a major war. In fact, fanatical Zionists would even welcome such a war, for they believe an international conflict on that scale would hasten Armageddon, the battle referenced in the Bible as the ultimate and final war between God and Evil. Greg Locke, whom I quoted earlier, said in the same rally, “What they oughta do is evacuate up there on the hill, and get a great big missile and blow that wicked Dome of the Rock plum off the spot where it’s standing right now so we can get that 3rd Temple rebuilt and usher in the coming of Jesus.”

I don’t think I need to say how dangerous that rhetoric is.

New Christian Zionism All Christian Zionism, however, is not extremist and dangerous. I imagine most Dispensationalists would be ashamed of someone like Greg Locke.

Furthermore, a number of Zionist scholars are not Dispensationalists; they simply believe Israel remains central to God’s plans for the present and future. These “New Christian Zionists” believe the return of so many Jewish people to the land 24

of Israel is part of the fulfillment of biblical teaching of the end times. And they believe God still has particular plans for both the Church and Israel. Yet, these “New Christian Zionists” do not assume to know more than one can reasonably know about the “signs of the times.”

These New Christian Zionists believe it is right and moral for the Jewish people to have a homeland, and that their homeland be protected. Therefore, they regret what appears to be waning support of Israel.

Yet, the New Christian Zionists are more likely to criticize Israel when they believe the government’s actions are unjust or inappropriate. They also often support concessions of land by the Israeli government, and the two-State solution, as a matter of justice and for the sake of peace.

Aliyah (immigration to Israel) Zionists across the board believe it is important to help Jews from around the world return to Palestine. Many are actively engaged in those efforts. Recently, I had a visit from a representative of Operation Exodus, for example. On its website, Operation Exodus is described as “a Christian organization that exists to assist Jewish people make Aliyah (immigrate to Israel) and encourages The Church (Christians) to help.” The gentleman who visited me simply wanted me to know that he is available in case, in my interactions with the Jewish community, I come across a Jewish person who needs assistance in returning to Israel. For him and others this is a deep passion.

Pushback Donald Lewis (author of A Short History of Christian Zionism) writes of two primary Christian groups who push back against Christian Zionism. The first are Palestinian Christians.

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In 2009 I spent an entire day in the West Bank with a Palestinian Christian. He was born in Bethlehem, and he told me, “Those were my ancestors watching their sheep that night when the angels appeared to announce the Savior’s birth.” He shared, without vitriol but with deep sadness, his perspective on the IsraelPalestinian question. He described the oppressive conditions in the Palestinian territory. He wonders why his people are largely ignored by the international Christian family. I remember the same sentiment being expressed by a young Christian Palestinian lady who guided our tour of Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank) a few years ago: “It is hard to be a Christian here,” she said.

“Please don’t forget us.”

According to Lewis, the second group of Christians questioning Zionism simply don’t interpret the Bible to say anything special about the role of Israel in the present and future. Many believe the responsibilities for the fulfillment of God’s plans, and His blessings, have been transferred to the Church. Those in this camp contend that Zionism is based on biblical passages that addressed the return to Zion after past exiles—the exiles recorded in the Bible—and are not intended to be applied to a future date. No less a scholar than N.T. Wright (in my opinion, the pre-eminent New Testament scholar alive today) has stated that the idea of the return of Jews to Palestine “has no basis in the Christian reading of Scripture whatsoever.”

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Big Questions My study of Israel in the Bible, in history, and in the future has left me with some questions I struggle to answer. Here are a some of those questions.

What did the Apostle Paul mean when he wrote, “All Israel will be saved”?

One of the most intriguing sections of the New Testament is Romans Chapter 11, which has to do with the nation of Israel and its relationship with God. There, Paul notes that Israel rejected the Messiah, but that their refusal to accept him opened the door for Gentiles to receive him. It is like, as Paul wrote, branches (Gentiles) of an olive tree that have been grafted into the trunk (Israel).

In Romans 11:12 God’s words through Paul are intriguing: But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring! A number of New Testament scholars believe “full inclusion” here means being fully included in the Kingdom of God. Then there is the major declaration, All Israel will be saved, (Romans 11:26). What weighty words! What is the meaning of that mysterious phrase? It is one of the most complex questions of Christian theology.

Here are some of the more common interpretations of “all Israel will be saved”: (1) In the end, everyone in the Jewish race will be saved— redeemed and bound for Heaven by simple virtue of being born Jewish and thus being heir to God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12).

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(2) “True Jews”—those whose hearts long for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—are heirs to God’s covenant with Abraham and will be saved in the end.

Perhaps that is what Romans 9:27 means: Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. We might add Galatians 2:28-29, A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

In other words, perhaps the “Israel” Paul is referencing here is those who are Jews by religious conviction instead of those who are Jews merely by ethnicity.

Some speak of a distinction between “national Israel” and “believing Israel,” and this second interpretation refers to “believing Israel.”

3) Both the entire Jewish race (#1) and the “true Jews” (#2) will be saved as an act of Jesus’ mediation on their behalf. They will be saved “through Jesus,” even if without an awareness of his mediation.

4) “All Israel” refers to the people of God, both Jews who are part of God’s covenant people by birth and/or faith and those who have been born into the family through faith in Jesus.

5) In the last days there will be a great spiritual awakening among the Jewish people and they will turn en masse to the Messiah, Jesus, acknowledging that the One for Whom they have been waiting has been here and He is Jesus.

6) “Israel” is now the Church; the Church is the “new Israel.”

Therefore, when Paul speaks of all Israel being saved he is not talking about Jews at all; he is talking about the universal family of Christ-followers. (See below for “new Israel.”)

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7) “All Israel” means “the elect” among Israel throughout history—those descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob predestined by God to be saved.

Let’s pull over and talk about #1 and #2, for they assume that the Jewish people, whether the entirety of the Jewish race or people who are faithful to the Jewish religion, are reconciled to God (“saved”) through a means different from that of the Gentiles.

On the one hand, many would contend there are two covenants, the old and the new, and thus there is a two-track means to God— Jesus for the Gentiles and the Torah (Law) for the Jews. Some have suggested that is what Jesus was speaking of when he said to his followers, as recorded in John 10:16, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

On the other hand, it can be argued that there is nothing in the Gospels to suggest that there are two “tracks” of salvation. God inspired Paul to write that the Good News of Jesus is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile, (Romans 1:16). Moreover, Jesus said to Nicodemus, a religious Jew, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them,” (John 3:36). Those verses make it difficult to see a way to God other than through explicitly embracing Jesus as Messiah.

The late Ed Humphrey, a Baptist theologian I loved and admired, was asked, “Is everyone going to be saved in the end?” He answered, “I hope so!” And I do, too! God forbid that I hope otherwise. God forbid that I hope anyone would be eternally separated from God. Naturally, my hope includes the Jewish people.

Yes, Romans 11:26 says, All Israel will be saved. Details are not provided. Does the everlasting nature of the covenant mean those whose hearts are true to Jehovah are saved? Will there be an 29

ultimate, widespread Jewish recognition of Jesus as Messiah? Is it something else? Is there something of which I am not, and cannot be, aware? Obviously, I don’t know.

I do, however, believe the clear passages of Scripture should be used to interpret the less clear. And the following texts seem clear to me…

Judges 2:1, I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, “I will never break my covenant with you.”

Psalm 105:8-10, He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.

Romans 11:1, 28, 29, Has God rejected His people? By no means!...God has not rejected His people, whom He foreknew…

[T]hey are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

I simply believe these clear texts indicate God’s unwavering faithfulness to His covenant. And the clear texts say, it seems to me, that God stands by His binding agreement with Israel.

Besides the biblical evidence, there is historical evidence of God’s faithfulness to the Jewish people. For example, a friend sent me a text not so long ago with an interesting quote from Alexander Hamilton: The state and progress of the Jews, from their earliest history to the present time, has been so entirely out of the ordinary course of human affairs, is it not then a fair conclusion, that the cause also is an extraordinary one—in other words, that it is the effect of some great providential plan? The man who will draw this conclusion, will look for the solution in the Bible. He who will not draw it ought to give us another fair solution.

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The fact that the Jewish people, against odds, have survived exile, extreme prejudice, even genocide, and yet continue to thrive, seems to be evidence of God’s hand on them.

I know and believe Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” And, of course, I cannot love my Jewish friends, and love Jesus, and not wish that my Jewish friends knew him as I do. It would be disingenuous, and even uncaring, for me to claim otherwise.

Yet, in the end, I trust God to do what is right.

At the conclusion of a most profound and complex New Testament passage regarding the fate of Israel, Romans 11, Paul declares the glory of God and His “unsearchable judgments”: “Oh, the depth

of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord?”

Is there a “New Israel”?

In both Romans and Galatians, the Bible hints at what is often referred to as a “new Israel.” This opens the door to consideration that perhaps the ultimate restoration of Israel is actually about the Church, not the Jewish people.

Here are some quotes from Galatians and Romans that address this question of a “new Israel.” Read them and see if you believe God makes anything clear to you: Galatians 3:29, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 6:15-16, Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God. 31

Romans 4:13, It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

Opinions vary even among well-respected biblical scholars about this notion of a “new Israel.” Some contend that the Church (all believers in Jesus) is the new Israel.

Some of the biggest names among the Early Church Fathers were supersessionists, believing that the Church has superseded Israel in God’s plan of salvation, that God has transferred the covenant from Israel to the Church. The same is true of many contemporary scholars.

Along with “supersessionism,” you might also hear “replacement theology,” or “transference theology,” which mean the same thing—that the Church has replaced Israel or transferred His blessing to the Church.

Lots of biblical scholars, however, believe the Church has not superseded Israel, and that God’s blessing has not been transferred to the Church. They believe the nation of Israel and the Church exist alongside each other and complement each other in God’s ultimate plan for history.

It certainly seems like Mary believed God was not finished with Israel. When Mary was told by the angelic messenger that she would give birth to the Messiah she declared, “God has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants forever” (Luke 1:54-55). As Gerald McDermott said, “If the incarnation was supposed to turn the focus away from Israel, as the supersessionist story has suggested, Mary did not get the text message.”

I’m not a biblical scholar, of course, but I do believe Israel is still in God’s heart and in His plan. The question of a “new Israel” is a hard one.

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Will God’s forever Kingdom have its physical seat in the land of Israel?

This might sound like a strange question. In order to answer it, we need first to explore what the Bible says about the “new heavens and new earth,” and whether that means God is going to establish His eternal home on a renewed planet earth. Then we can ask, “Will Israel be the physical heart and center of that eternal home?”

First, consider the following verses that speak of the earth being renewed…

Isaiah 65:17, “Behold, I will create a new heaven and a new earth.”

Isaiah 66:22, As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and your descendants endure.

Romans 8:18-22, The creation waits in eager expectation….For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth up to the present time.

Revelation 21:1-5, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne, ‘Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”

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Is it possible that “the new heavens and the new earth” represent our present planet, eventually becoming the place where heaven and earth overlap? A number of bright, widely-revered biblical scholars think so: “The present cosmos will be renewed and purified…At the beginning of history, God created the heavens and the earth. At the end of history, we see the new heavens and the new earth, which will far surpass in splendor all that we have seen before.”

(The Lion and the Lamb, John Newport) “Biblical thought always places man on a redeemed earth, not in a heavenly realm removed from earthly existence.”

(Revelation, George Elden Ladd) “God will replace this present fallen universe with a new one.

This ‘new heaven and…new earth’ is the future hope of all who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. It will be radically different from the sin-twisted, broken and bruised world we see today….To use a film metaphor, this isn’t a sequel; it’s a completely new and different production.” (Insights on Revelation, Chuck Swindoll) “A city of indescribable beauty will descend from heaven after the present heaven and earth pass away. God will restore the world and dwell with His people in perfect harmony forever.” (A-Z Guide to Biblical Terminology, David Jeremiah) “The basic thesis is this: that the Christian hope is not simply for ‘going to heaven when we die,’ but for ‘new heavens and new earth, integrated together.’”

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“But that future, according to Revelation 21, is not that people will escape up to heaven, but that the new Jerusalem will come down from heaven, so that the dwelling of God will be with His human creatures, and that, eventually, heaven and earth will not be separated, but in being renewed, will be integrated with each other. The great claim of Revelation 21 and 22 is that heaven and earth will finally be united….The passages in the New Testament which would most naturally be called up to support the idea of ‘going to heaven when you die’ do not in fact do so.

Rather, they point to God’s heaven, God’s life, God’s dimension, impregnating, permeating, charging the present world, eventually producing new or renewed heavens or new and renewed earth, integrating each other.” (New Heavens, New Earth: The Biblical Picture of Christian Hope, N. T. Wright)

“The hope of Israel, expressed variously in the Torah, Prophets and Psalms, was not for a rescue operation that would snatch Israel (or humans or the faithful) from this world, but for a rescue operation that would be for the world, an operation through which redeemed humans would play once more the role for which they were designed. It was the hope for a renewed world in which justice and mercy would reign forever.”

“The final scene in Revelation (chaps. 21-22) spells it out: the new heavens and the new earth function as the ultimate Temple, the new world in which God will wipe away all tears from all eyes….Romans 8 describes it as the birth of the new creation from the womb of the old, weaving into that great metaphor a powerful allusion to the events of the Exodus, so that creation itself will have its own ‘Exodus’ at last, being set free from its slavery to corruption and sharing the freedom that comes when God’s children are glorified. That is the ultimate hope.” (The Day the Revolution Began, by N. T. Wright) 35

If, indeed, our eternities will be spent on a renewed planet earth as the above quotes imply, it certainly stands to reason that the center of the eternal Kingdom will be Jerusalem. Here are some words of Scripture that might point to that possibility: As quoted in Matthew 23 Jesus declared, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem…you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,’” (Matthew 23:37,39).

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,” (Matthew 19:28).

As recorded in Acts 1, it appears that Jesus’ disciples assumed Israel would play an important role in Jesus’ Second Coming. (“Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’” Acts 1:6).

Jesus didn’t correct that assumption; he simply answered “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority,” (Acts 1:7).

Then there is Revelation 14:1, “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion.”

Many believe Zechariah 14:4 predicts the return of Jesus to Jerusalem: “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem….”

In summary, some very sound teachers make a very sound argument that the eternal home of God’s people is a renewed and restored earth, with Jerusalem at its physical center. I make no claim to certainty about this, but it is an intriguing possibility.

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What about Messiah?

There are two big separators of Jews and Christians. One is the Christian belief in the Trinity, that God is One—yet Three-inOne—God the Father, Son and Spirit. That is an important matter…but a matter for another day.

The second big separator is the matter of the Messiah. Let’s take some time to consider this important teaching.

At the heart of our differences are our presuppositions, or assumptions, about what Christians call the New Testament.

Christians see the New Testament as inspired by God and thus trustworthy. Therefore, when the New Testament interprets the Hebrew Scriptures, we view those interpretations as accurate. And when the New Testament states that Jesus is the Messiah for whom Israel longed, we believe that to be true. Judaism does not, of course, embrace the New Testament as authoritative and does not see Jesus (Yeshua, in Hebrew) as the Messiah.

I’ve tried to understand why the majority of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day did not recognize him as Messiah, and why the Jewish people through history, until our day, have not recognized Jesus as Messiah. Here are some reasons why, as I understand from my readings and from insights shared with me by Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar, Jesus was not recognized as Messiah in his day by most Jews, and is not recognized today as Messiah by our Jewish friends.

It boils down to this: Jewish people would contend that Jesus did not fulfill the description or the mission of the Messiah as presented in the Hebrew Scriptures. Here are evidences they would point to…

1. Jesus did not deliver the Jewish people from Rome and didn’t bring the expected peace.

2. Jesus did not strictly follow the Law. 37

In Matthew 12 Jesus was confronted with what many viewed as a violation of Sabbath laws in the picking and eating of grain and in the healing of a man’s hand. In John 5 He healed the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. Jewish people might ask, “How could the Messiah not observe the Law?” 3. He claimed to be God. Those of the Hebrew faith believed, and believe, that the Messiah would/will be a human, not divine. That helps us understand why Jesus was not perceived as the Messiah. Jesus claimed to be, and was described as, God in human flesh. (Matthew 1:23; John 8:58; 10:30; 20:27-28; Philippians 2:5-6; Colossians 2:9.)

In addition to the fact that Jewish people don’t believe Jesus met their expectations of a Messiah, there is the deplorable treatment Jews have experienced at the hands of those who claimed to be Christians. That, understandably, has discouraged Jewish people from believing our message of love.

Present Jewish expectations of the Messiah Temple B’Nai Shalom is a Reform Congregation, which makes them more progressive than the other major branches of Judaism— Orthodox and Conservative.

In Reform Judaism, the expectation of the Messiah has to do more with a people than an individual. Many Reform Jews do not believe in a personal Messiah, but in the work for justice and peace that anyone, or any group, can do. Many Reform Jews believe the “age of the Messiah” will be brought about by the kindness and good efforts of ordinary Jews.

Orthodox and Conservative Jews are likely to anticipate a personal Messiah who will meet the descriptions of the Messiah in the Hebrew text. And on the most radical edge of Judaism there are 38

beliefs that mirror the beliefs of far-right Christian Zionists. As an example, in 1984 a far-right Jewish Zionist group was arrested in the middle of their plans to blow up the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, one of Islam’s holiest sites. They understood that their act would likely launch a religious war, but were content to do that because of their belief that such would usher in the Messiah.

So, why do I believe Jesus is Messiah?

Luke 2:26 reads, It had been revealed to him (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Then we continue with verses 29-32: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

When a Samaritan woman at the well said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming,” Jesus replied, “I who speak to you am he,” (John 4:25-26) In the early morning of the day he was crucified, the high priest, asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus, (Mark 14:61-62).

“The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus,” (John 1:42).

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah,” (Acts 2:36).

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As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of Godfearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women, (Acts 17:24).

My takeaways My recent study of Israel has been both informational and inspirational for me. And these are some things I believe even more deeply than before…

I want to love the Jewish people unselfishly.

Our commitment to Jewish friendship should be based purely on the desire for that friendship and the joy those friendships bring.

To befriend and support the Jewish people based on the belief that by doing so we accelerate the end of time and secure God’s blessings, as some appear to do, seems manipulative, disingenuous, and self-serving.

The Jewish people have a special place in my heart.

After October 7 and the fighting between Israel and Hamas/Gaza, there was lots of hatred and violence in the U.S. towards Jews, Muslims, and all people of Arab descent. During those days, I contacted the folks at the Islamic Center in Huntsville. This was my email to them: 40

Friends, I am Travis Collins, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Huntsville.

I know these are difficult days for both Jews and Muslims. I am writing to assure you of my prayers for your safety and wellbeing. I also want to offer my support if you find yourself concerned about the safety of Muslims in the area. If I can do anything that would be helpful, I am available. We want to be good neighbors.

God gives us peace.

I received from them a gracious response.

I believe it is important to be good neighbors to all people.

Furthermore, one of our Baptist distinctives is the freedom of religion. So, I always will do whatever I can to minimize hatred and violence toward any religious group. I hope you grieve with me the loss of all lives—the lives of Palestinians, Israelis, and all peoples—and that you pray with me and advocate where you can for genuine peace.

And yet it probably is not surprising that my heart aches particularly for the Jewish people. For one thing, the Jews have endured more than their share of oppression and violence. Much of that maltreatment, I lament, has come at the hands of so-called Christians.

Beyond that is the special bond that I feel with them. We are both spiritually rooted in God’s call to Abraham, and there is a deep kinship there.

It’s much like when I hear about religious persecution anywhere among any people group. I stand for religious freedom no matter the person’s religion, or lack of religion. And yet when I hear of Christians being persecuted in other lands, I hurt especially for them because they are my spiritual brothers and sisters. Similarly, because the people of Israel are my spiritual cousins as it were, there is a more tender place in my heart for them. Again, that does 41

not mean I am insensitive to violence or maltreatment towards any person or people group. It simply recognizes my (our) special relationship with the Jewish people.

I will remember and celebrate my spiritual roots that sink deeply into the story of Israel.

Matthew and Luke emphasize Jesus’ Jewish family tree. Mary, upon receiving the angelic report that she would give birth to the Messiah, recognized this was the fulfillment of God’s plan initiated with Abraham. And then when God inspired Paul to write God’s message to the early churches (and to all churches everywhere, throughout history) God inspired Paul to emphasize how deeply the roots of the gospel sink into the story of Israel.

I have been guilty of too cursory a survey of the Hebrew Scriptures. My recent studies have prompted me to dig deeper into my Jewish heritage—not only to understand the backdrop of the Gospel, but to understand the depth and richness of God’s revelation to the people of Israel.

I will remember that I do not have to be naïve and uncritical in order to honor Israel.

Our Christian faith does not demand our blanket approval of any government’s decisions, including the government of the modern State of Israel. It seems to me that the restoration of Israel, and the return over the last several decades of so many Jewish people to the Promised Land, are acts of God. (Whether they are signs of the End Times I cannot say.) Moreover, to celebrate and support Israel seems natural to me as a Christ-follower.

All that, however, does not require of me an uncritical affirmation of all Israel’s actions.

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Grey Barnhouse, a prominent American pastor declared the following in 1949. It is worth remembering today: Israel must remember there are promises to Ishmael as well as to Isaac, and they will drink a bitter cup if they continue in their cruel and heartless way. The land has been sworn to Israel, yes, but Jacob is to rule it one day in righteousness and not in cruelty.

Do you remember our discussion of the Balfour Declaration of 1917? It made clear England’s intention that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.” The question of the rights of non-Jewish communities in what we now know as Israel is ongoing. (As a side note, 2 million out of Israel’s citizenship of 10 million are of Arab descent.)

Also worth remembering are the words of British Rabbi Joseph Hertz in response to the Balfour Declaration: I welcome the reference to the religious and civil rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. It is but a translation of the basic principles of the Mosaic legislation: “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself,” (Leviticus 19:33-34).

Israel must be true to the original intentions of its founding—to be just in its treatment of all who live within her borders. And it is not anti-Semitic to express disappointment in, or criticism of, the government’s decisions when we believe they are not living up to their own standards.

The notion of “Israel, right or wrong” is idolatry.

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I choose to trust God with the future without assuming I can know more than anyone truly can know.

Israel is key to God’s work in both the past and in the future. It’s hard for me to imagine that Israel will not have some significant role in what is to come, although I confess I cannot understand what role that might be.

The foolhardy certainty with which some Christians speak about the future makes a mockery of that future. Whenever I declare that Jesus is returning I know some who hear me roll their eyes. They are jaded by the overly zealous and overly confident predictions by extremist Christians.

It is best, and it is enough, to trust God with the future without assuming we can know more than we truly can know. I am quite certain that, when all is said and done, we will all declare, “Well, I didn’t see that coming exactly, but how right and wonderful that was!”

Let’s make sure we don’t confuse the dramatic, figurative, symbolic words of the Bible—words that are open to various interpretations—with the clear and certain teachings of Scripture such as compassion and justice.

I still wish for everyone to know Jesus and will live intentionally toward people Jesus longs for.

On one of my trips to Israel I said, respectfully, to a great Jewish friend the same thing I’ve said to a friend who is a Muslim: “I wish you knew Jesus the way I know Jesus.” I cannot love someone and not wish that for all people, no matter who they are.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Tyler Bandini, Diane Singer, and Anne Stone for their help with edits and suggestions.

All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV).

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NOTES

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