The War in Israel

The current war between Israel and Hamas is tragic.  The unrest it creates for people all over the world is heartbreaking.  Sadly, it seems like conflict in that region of the world is the norm.  War seems only occasionally interrupted by seasons of temporary peace.  As Christians, we should pray for peace in the world God loves.  We should pray for peace in Israel, Ukraine, and every other region of the world where terrorism, violence, and war erupts.  Let’s pray for terrorists to be stopped, international leaders to wisely broker peace, military leaders to exercise restraint, soldiers to be protected, civilians to be spared from suffering, those who are grieving to be comforted, Jews and Muslims around the world to be spared from violence, and for the gospel to bring hope to all nations.  Whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or secular, we pray for the mercy of God to reach down into all human suffering.  

In light of the brokenness of our world, we long for the day when Christ returns to finally exterminate evil and violence in this world.  And while we wait, we pray to the God of peace who can stop armies and work his sovereign purpose amidst the tragedy of war.  

Psalm 46:7-9 – “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.” 

Even with this broad perspective in mind, the war in Israel hits Christians in a unique way for many reasons.  We read news reports about battles happening in cities and regions that we recognize from our study of the Scriptures.  Some have visited and walked these places – places where Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, and our Savior himself walked.  This land has special significance – it is the region God gave to his people Israel in the Old Covenant.  Ethnic Jews in Israel and all over the world are still “beloved for the sake of their forefathers” (Rom. 11:28), and there are many Christians in both Israel and Palestine affected by this horrible war.  

For many, the latest war in Israel brings spiritual and theological questions:  Is this war a fulfillment of biblical prophecy?  Is this a sign of Christ’s imminent return?  Is God on the side of the nation of Israel?  Does Israel have a divine right to this land?  While these are complicated issues (and I’m certainly not going to solve the entire Jewish/Palestinian conflict in this blog!), we can look to Scripture to clarify some important issues.  

Regarding the return of Christ and end of the world, while there are various biblical interpretations and theological perspectives, we need to stay grounded in what the Bible makes clear about the end times.  Jesus’s return will be preceded by an increased time of tribulation, including war, rebellion, and persecution (Mat. 24, 1 Thes. 5:1-3, 2 Thes. 2:1-12).  Of course we know that tribulation has been a part of every generation, and yet Christ tarries.  Jesus said that only the Father in heaven knows the day and hour of his return (Mat. 24:36).  When Jesus does return, he will come when we don’t expect it, like a thief in the night.  Jesus said, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Mat. 24:44).  Whether the war in Israel continues or ends, whether new wars erupt or not, whether we face persecution or not – our call is to stay alert, remain faithful, and live today like Jesus could return tomorrow.  (For more, see these Ten Truths about Jesus’s Return & the End of the World.)

Furthermore, how are we to understand the modern state of Israel?  Should we identify the nation formed in 1948 with the nation of Israel we read about in the Old Testament?  Much of the Old Testament story revolves around God’s covenant with the nation of Israel – his promise to multiply the descendants of Abraham, give them a Promised Land, and bless all the nations of the earth through them (Gen. 12, 15, 17).  

Are these two nations one and the same?  Those who hold to Covenant Theology (as the LHC elders do) believe that God’s covenant with Israel finds its culmination and fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is True Israel (see What is Covenant Theology?).  Through faith in the chosen Offspring of Abraham, those who were once outside of God’s covenant are now “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Eph 2:11-17, Gal 3:15-29).  This means that God’s covenant people – both Jew and Gentile – are now blessed and multiplied through faith in Christ, who is the mediator of a new and better covenant (Jer. 31, Heb. 8:6-13).  This covenantal perspective also transforms our expectations for the Promised Land.  At Christ’s return, God’s covenant people will receive “a better country, that is, a heavenly one” – an eternal Promised Land, the new heavens and new earth with a new Jerusalem (Rev. 21).  (For more on the differences between Covenant Theology and the alternative view called Dispensational Theology, see this seminar on Covenant & Kingdom.)

Grounded in this theology, we no longer expect God’s Kingdom to be established through the political state of Israel.  We no longer expect the prophecies of the Old Covenant to be fulfilled in the physical state of Israel, because they are fulfilled in the life, death, resurrection, and return of Christ.  That doesn’t mean the modern state of Israel has no significance. As Americans, Israel has importance as a democratic and political ally; as Christians, Israel has significance for its historical witness, worth for its spiritual heritage, and value as the homeland of many of the physical descendants of Israel.  However, we should not make a biblical or theological correlation with this modern state and the Old Covenant nation of Israel.  As John Piper writes in his helpful article on Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East, 

“The promises made to Abraham, including the promise of the Land, will be inherited as an everlasting gift only by true, spiritual Israel, not disobedient, unbelieving Israel…Therefore, the secular state of Israel today may not claim a present divine right to the Land, but they and we should seek a peaceful settlement not based on present divine rights, but on international principles of justice, mercy, and practical feasibility.”

As we read in the Old Testament, the Israelites were unfaithful to the Lord God and were exiled from the Promised Land.  Even more tragically, we read – and see – how many Jewish people have rejected Jesus as Messiah and are therefore cut off from God’s covenant.  But God is not done with the ethnic Israelites, “for God has the power to graft them in again” (Rom. 11:23).  Scripture teaches that we can expect a remnant from Israel to return to Christ one day!  

Romans 11:25-33 – “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob’; ‘and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.  For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” 

This still leaves many unanswered questions surrounding the modern Jewish and Palestine claims to the land.  Religious, political, and military leaders need wisdom from God to discern the most just way to end the conflict and bring peace to the region.  But what we as Christians can be certain of is that we need to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only hope for Jews, Palestinians, and the whole world.  Christians need to work for peace, justice, and the just treatment of all people.  And we should pray for the end of war, the advancement of the Church, and the return of Jesus to fully and finally establish his Kingdom of light to drive out the darkness (Col. 1:12-14).  

---

Note: On November 17, the one month anniversary of the war, The Gospel Coalition released three articles from three leading evangelical scholars with their perspectives on Israel and the land.  For more on the covenantal perspective, see this article from G. K. Beale on the Expected Universalization of the Old Testament Land Promises, as well as the two other articles articulating alternate views.