The Jewish people are very unique: they are the people that God first called to Himself beginning with Abraham. [1] It is strange that current views of Israel by those who call themselves Christians range widely! On the one hand there are those who think they should observe Jewish festivals. [2] On the other hand, there are those who think that Jews fleeing to the land of their ancestors are oppressing the rights of those who live there who are not Jewish. [3]
Scripture is clear that God’s people today are those that have put their hope in Jesus Christ alone for deliverance from sin’s consequences and power! Galatians 3:26 says: “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.“ And 1 Peter 2:10 says concerning all believers in Christ: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” In lieu of our blessings of being in God’s family through Jesus we are told in Romans 11 that we should have a proper viewpoint regarding the nation who was first called to be God’s people. I am speaking of the Jewish nation.
Paul tells us in Romans 11:17-36 three things to think about and commands us regarding our relationship with the Jewish nation. Fourthly God’s attitude is explained, meaning it should be our attitude toward them. Listen to this passage (Rom 11:17-36): “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. 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! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” This passage of scripture tells us:
4:30-31 says: “When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.” The Jewish people still need to believe on Jesus in order to be saved from eternal judgment, but they even now are beloved indirectly because God will bring them back to himself according to scripture! God’s calling for all of the Jewish nation to come to Him has not changed and cannot change – it is irrevocable! (verse 29) There is no room in the heart of the Christian for antisemitism. Rather through us, and because of God’s mercy to us, He will use to bring the Jewish nation back to Himself through Jesus! God will use our testimony, our faithfulness and Christ’s faithfulness to us through the 2ND coming to stimulate the Jews back to their Messiah. Today they don’t think Jesus was their Messiah, but Jesus said they will not see Him until they say, “…Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Mat. 23:39) This quote is a reference to the 2ND coming of Jesus and of the Jew’s recognition of Jesus as Lord because He would be coming then in the name of the Lord for them to understand at that time!
Some think today that the Jewish nation doesn’t really matter and that there is no continuity between Israel of the past and Israel today. But according to Jeremiah 31:35-37, the Lord says that they will never cease to be a nation and he will never cast them off for what they have done! Listen to this passage: “Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” Thus says the LORD: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the LORD.” The Jewish nation was the first people God called to himself and through whom Jesus came according to His humanity and through whom we are all saved! Listen to Deut. 7:6: “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.” Many scriptures speak of the stone that was rejected that has become the cornerstone. (Mat. 21:42-44, Acts 4:11, Rom 9:30-10:4 & 1 Peter 2:6-10) The Jewish rejection of Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament. (Isa. 8:14-15 & Ps. 118:22-23). Hosea 3:4-5 says: “For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.”
The Old Testament also foretells that nations will be added to God’s people! Listen to Hosea 1:10 which says: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” The people of God today (True Israel—Gal. 6:16) consists of all that Jesus calls to Himself whether they are Jew or Gentile. Romans 9:6-8 says: “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” Verse 24 in the same chapter of Romans 9 that we have just quoted says this: “even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” Galatians 4:28 says: “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.” The “you, brothers” here were those in Galatia who had believed on Jesus which also includes ALL believers in Jesus for eternal salvation today! And Galatians 3:26 says: “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” And then Gal. 3:29 says: “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
But one day according to scripture all the Jews in the world will become believers in Jesus! Natural Israel will become also true Israel because there will no longer be a partial hardening – there will be no hardening at all! (Rom. 11:25) Listen to Zech. 12:10: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” This is what Jesus means when He says they will not see Him until they say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” as He comes from heaven! Joel 2:32 says that right before the day of the Lord (Joel 2:30-32) the following will happen: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” (also see Obadiah 15-18) The nation rejected Him in His crucifixion but they all will accept Him in His 2ND coming! Jer. 31:34 says they will all know him from the least of them to the greatest through a new covenant – the covenant of Jesus! Daniel 9:24 says that transgression will be finished and an end to sin will come to the Jewish people.
According to scripture this will happen right before Jesus comes because they will miss the rapture and therefore will be between a rock and a hard place. They will be between the threat of annihilation of their physical existence which is from the world forces surrounding Jerusalem on that last day (Zech. 14:16, Rev. 19, Deut. 32:36) and the pending judgment of God in Jesus’ 2nd Coming because they have not obeyed the Gospel of Jesus. (2 Thess. 1:6-8) Everything will change for them in a moment when as they see Jesus coming, they will call on him to save them recognizing their error and sin for not having received him as Messiah before, but now they will acknowledge him both as Lord and their Savior! They will then NOT receive the judgment that the rest of the nations will receive but will now live on in the flesh into the Kingdom of Christ on earth that lasts 1,000 years. Listen to Is. 60:3: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children.” They have a right to exist because God called them to Himself and gave them land recorded in Genesis 12:14-15. The reason for their existence is in God Himself! Listen to Exodus 19:4: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” And He WILL BRING them back to Himself one day – completely when Jesus comes back! Remember Paul said in Romans 11:29 that “…the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”? This is why in Rev 21:12-14 That the heavenly Jerusalem is seen with 12 gates representing the 12 tribes of Israel as it says there AND also at the same time having 12 foundations each representing the 12 apostles of the Lamb!
In bringing the Jewish nation back to himself, the scripture speaks that they
will have to first come back to the land because as in times past they always returned to their land when they repented and came back to the Lord. The temple also has to be rebuilt before Jesus can come because it is said that it will be desecrated right before Jesus comes. But who would want to rebuild the temple except the Jewish nation? According to 2 Thess. 2:4-5 the antichrist will be seated in the temple before Jesus returns to this earth. Listen to this passage: “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” This is the desecration or abomination of desolation! Jesus Himself said in Math. 24:15-16 that the abomination of desolation occurs when the antichrist stands in the holy place. That verse goes like this: “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” These verses are saying that the temple must exist for there even to be an abomination of desolation which has always meant that something in the temple is an abomination! Mark 13:15 says: “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Mark 13:14”. Mark confirms that the “he” is the reason for the abomination which also is in the temple of God and also which is in Jerusalem. Only Jerusalem has been where the temple of God has been in the past, so it is where it will be again and where the abomination will take place. Even Daniel the prophet mentions that sacrifices will be restarted right before everlasting righteousness comes to the whole Jewish nation meaning there has to be a temple for there to even be sacrifices. (Dan. 9:24-27)
Again, all this is to say that for the Jewish nation to turn to Christ, they must be in the land with the temple rebuilt even though they are returning in unbelief now. There is a remnant of Jewish believers in Israel now but we are talking of the whole nation’s conversion that scripture speaks of that happens in conjunction with Christ’s Second Coming. We have seen the Jewish return to the land since the 1870s onward with 1948 being their return to the list of nations. World War II brought many of them home. Jews have been returning to the land since then and with the rise of antisemitism it will only drive more of them home. The pamphlet “The State of Israel” originally published in 1896 encouraged many Jews to consider going back to their land since it was acknowledged that they will never assimilate among the nations.[4] The writing of that book was precipitated by the “Dreyfus Affair” which wrongly blamed Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew for a murder in Paris, France.[5] Theodore Herzl, author of the above-mentioned pamphlet, later said that the Dreyfus Affair made a Zionist out of him.[6] Theodor Herzl, speaking at the first Zionist Congress of August 1897 in Basil, Switzerland uttered the following: “We want to lay the foundation stone,” he declared, “for the house which will become the refuge of the Jewish nation. Zionism is the return to Judaism even before the return to the land of Israel.”[7]
Mark Twain in his book written in 1869 “The Innocents Abroad” says that there were very few people living in Israel when he toured the holy land in 1867. Others also have said that there were few living there at about the same time.[8] It has been shown by Alan Dershowitz that returning Jews paid high prices for land bought and when they returned, three fourths of the land sales between 1880 and 1948 was from absentee mega-landowners.[9] The British Balfour Declaration of 1917 stated that there should be land set aside in Palestine for a home for the Jewish people.[10] And then on November 29, 1947 the United Nations voted to allow the partition of Palestine into Arabic and Jewish states called Resolution 181.[11] Then came May 14 1948, when Israel became a state. President Harry Truman recognized Israel as a state the same day.[12] In 1967 during the Six Day War, the temple mount in Jerusalem was reclaimed but later it was returned because of the fear that it might cause a major war because of a Muslim holy site on the temple mount.[13] And on May 14, 2018, 70 years exactly after Israel was reborn, the US embassy was moved to Jerusalem and Jerusalem was proclaimed the Jewish capital by a U.S. President.[14] Against all odds what seemed could never happened has happened in the favor of the Jewish nation and the fulfillment of scripture! All that seems to be left is that the temple be rebuilt. Then sacrifices will certainly be re-instated. The scriptures are being shown true through the Jewish nation as Israel moves ever closer to their Messiah, Jesus in a progression of events!
Never has one nation endured … and endured so much! It was Paul that said that some of the branches were broken off from the native olive tree referring to natural Israel in Romans 11:17-24. And in chapter 9:30-33 he says that they “stumbled over the stumbling stone” which is Jesus because they pursued righteousness through a law and not by faith. (Jesus in Mathew, Mark and Luke), Peter and Paul all quoted this Old Testament passage (Ps. 118:22-23, Isa. 8:14-15) of the predicted Jewish stumbling over the stone laid in Zion in Math. 21:42-44, Mark 12:10-11, Luke 20:17-18, Acts 4:11, Romans 9:32-33 & 1 Peter 2:6-8. The reason they have been scattered among the nations is because they did not recognize their visitation from God in their Messiah Jesus! Listen to Luke 19:41-44: “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’” The Lord had said in Deuteronomy that if they went into idolatry that they would be scattered among the nations and that is what has happened to them! Listen to Deut. 4:25-28: “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (See also Deut. 30:15-20). Deuteronomy 28:65-66 tells how difficult their experience will be wondering from nation to nation all because of disobedience. Listen to this passage: “And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life.” This has been their experience exactly as the Lord said it would!
After the Jewish nation rejected Jesus as their Messiah through His crucifixion, they became increasingly obsessed with the externals of their heritage. Jesus had told the leaders in His time on earth that they clean the outside of the cup and the plate but inside they were full of greed and self-indulgence.[15] He said in that same verse that they should first clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. They had increasingly forgotten through time, that their identity was the Lord himself! So, when they rejected Jesus, they were rejecting their internal reality of who they were! The only thing they had left were the external things of their culture. Jesus had said in Matthew 23: 38 the following words: “See, your house is left to you desolate.” He also said quoted earlier in Luke 19:41-44 that what makes for peace is hidden from their eyes. Peace was hidden because they rejected repentance which is the path to God’s peace! The appointment of the Jewish high priest had been taken over by the Romans before the death and resurrection of Jesus. [16] The Romans had done things to add fuel to the fire after the Jewish rejection of Jesus such as burning a copy of the Old Testament scroll, trying to put a statue of Caesar (Caligula) near the temple and then at one point stealing large amounts of silver from the temple in AD 66. [17] There was a Jewish group called the Zealots who had been around for a while who were people opposed to Rome’s presence in Israel and believed that anything should be justified to have independence from Rome. [18] It is no wonder that through the Jewish focus on externals how these provocations led to the Jewish Revolt of AD 66-70. [19] The Jews at first defeated the Romans in 2 separate battles but the might of Rome came and eventually they defeated the Jewish nation and, in the process destroyed the temple. It was said that 1,000,000 Jews died in the revolt against Rome! [20] And then there was a second revolt against Rome in 132 AD called the Bar Kokhba Revolt. [21] This time Jerusalem was renamed [22]and the whole area of Israel was renamed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to be Palestine. [23] [24] This whole renaming was to spite and rid the Jewish people of their identity. [25] What became their focus after rejecting Jesus was what they lost. They have not had a place to call home until May of 1948.
They were first oppressed by Egypt through outright slavery and then delivered through the miraculous Exodus culminating in the crossing of the Red Sea. They were later threatened with annihilation by Assyria but were delivered from that situation also by a miracle. [26] Also, in the time of the Persian empire their existence was threatened by a man named Haman who was an Agagite and a high court official to the Persian King. They were saved by the divine intervention mentioned in the Bible in the book of Esther. Their deliverance came through Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai as they prayed for God’s help and His help did come! [27] They have endured the destruction of their temple and land twice! That destruction came from the Babylonians and the Romans. Added to this were the Greeks who through Antiochus Epiphanes in the 2nd century BC desecrated their temple by offering a pig on the altar there. He tried to stop them from the worship of their God. The rededication of the temple from the Greek desecration is celebrated through the Hannukah holiday even today.[28] They have endured the inquisition of the Middle Ages which ended in their mass expulsion from Spain which may have been as many as 200,000.[29] They have endured the Pogroms: the organized massacres of them in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Iraq, and Palestine.[30] They endured Kristallnacht in Germany on Nov. 9-10, 1938, which left 7,500 Jewish businesses destroyed, 267 synagogues burned, 91 Jews killed and 30,000 Jewish men sent to prisons and concentrations camps.[31] World War II left 6 million of them dead, known as the Holocaust, because of Nazi hatred for them.[32] It was Martin Luther who became angry at the Jews for not converting to Christ in his day. Adolf Hitler used this attitude as one of the reasons to justify his final solution for the Jewish question as he put it.[33] They have experienced persecution in all parts of the world. There are today some groups that appear to be pro-Palestinian but really are anti-Israel such as CMEP (Churches for Middle East Peace). They said that there should be a cease-fire soon after the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and have been known to condemn Israel for “ethnic cleansing”! [34] This group is funded by the same man who also gave $15,000,000 in support of Hamas rallies that happened after October 7, 2023 in the U.S. [35] Hamas is the group in control of Gaza who have said that they want to eliminate the Jews. They had said this clearly in their earlier document before their 2017 “Document of General Principles and Policies” which also is anti-Israel. [36] There has been support from countries to Hamas one of which is a large donor to American universities. It has been estimated that this large-donor country gives Hamas between 120 to 480 million yearly. [37]
But where hatred for the Jewish nation has existed there has also been a hatred for those of faith in Jesus as well as a resistance to the Gospel. World War
II showed us this truth by Hitlers actions in Germany toward the church. Adolf
Hitler is quoted in Erwin Lutzer’s book called “Hitler’s Cross” as saying that
“making peace with the church won’t stop me from stamping out Christianity in Germany, root and branch. One is either a Christian or a German. You can’t be both”.[38] We have always known of the 6 million Jews that were killed in the holocaust of WWII but little has been known of the persecution of believers in Germany at that time. Listen to Revelation 12:17: “Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.” The woman in this passage is the Jewish people. The dragon who is the devil persecutes both the woman (national Israel) and those who are believers in Jesus! If anybody had a reason to be antisemitic (anti-Jewish) it was the apostle Paul since he says that it was the Jews who stirred up the authorities in the many places he went to preach the Gospel (1 Thess 2:14-16, 2 Cor. 11:24). Yet Paul, who had more dogs in the hunt than anybody, was the one in scripture that we are quoting here who says that they are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs!
Those that have despised Israel have never had it go well for them even when Israel was in disobedience! Listen to Ezekiel 28:24-26: “And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD. “Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.” This passage was when Israel had gone in exile to Babylon because of their idolatry and still God held those who mistreated them responsible. (See also Jer. 51:5, 11, 24, 49; Ezekiel chapter 35 & Obadiah) Since the Lord is watching over Israel to keep them intact as a nation (Jer. 31:35-37) and since they will be cared for in the future tribulation spoken of in the woman being cared for in the wilderness (Rev. 12:13-16), it will be a serious thing if a nation or people chooses to despise them. Jeff Myers says in his book “Should Christians Support Israel?”, that he went to Israel after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas to see first hand what had happened. He says that one Israeli soldier told him that Hamas does not want to only kill them. He said that they want to un-holy us. This soldier said that Hamas wants to incite the whole world against them. [39] In his book, Jeff Myers also met Rabbi Doron Perez who said this: “Israel is the only one of the 193 member nations of the United Nations whose right to exist is regularly challenged.” [40] Jeff Myers also points out that since 2015, the UN has passed 140 resolutions against Israel and only sixty-eight against all other countries combined.” quoting the timesofisrael.com. [41]
God watches over anybody who is picked on since His justice always prevails (Rom. 2:6-11, Ps 7:15, Gal. 6:7), but Israel is His chosen that He plans to bring back to Himself and restore their land! History showed us how it went with Haman the Agagite, Babylon[42] & Nazi Germany! They were all devastated and destroyed. Genesis did say in 12:3: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This “blessing is talking of Jesus who came to earth as a Jew who will bless all who come to Him by faith. (Gal. 3:8) Israel is not perfect today but God is watching over them! (Ps. 121:4) They have a right to exist like any other people! Anybody who would hurt Israel puts himself in the company of evil people as well as the devil himself! Two plus two equals four …and four minus two equals two. Zechariah 12:2-3 says the following: “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.” The world will be obsessed leading up to the time of Christ’s return with the Jewish people! The armies of the world will gather in Jerusalem against national Israel and then Jesus will appear and they will be delivered! (see Zech. 14:1-16, Rev. 16:12-15: 19:11-21) Even though Israel is not perfect, many today in the international world are put out with Israel thinking they are committing genocide against the Palestinians when in fact they are only defending themselves against terrorism. [43] Alan Dershowitz explains in his book, “The Case For Israel” that Israel gets singled out today for so called oppression when other peoples who are oppressed are not talked about with the same concern. [44]
Anybody who is blessed through Jesus will want to bless those through whom Jesus came even though they have not yet received Christ’s blessing of forgiveness! For it was the Jew’s rejection of Jesus with Gentile help that brought salvation to us all! (Rom. 11:11). Any believer should want to do whatever possible that salvation might come to the Jewish people through blessing them. Romans 1:16 goes like this: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Our presence and actions should “make Israel jealous” (Rom 10:19; 11:11) that some might come to Christ! It is very interesting that scripture says God is using us through the mercy shown to us that the Jews might find mercy themselves in Rom. 11:31! Here is what it says: “so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.”
Even though the scripture teaches that Christ will return to vindicate believers (i.e. “for the sake of the elect” – Math. 24:22), it will end in Christ returning to Jerusalem because of the Jewish return to the Lord. His reign will be for 1,000 years according to Rev. 20:4-6. Zech. 14:16 says the following: “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.” (See also Jer. 3:16-17 & Eze. 48:35) Isaiah 11:4-9 describes that time as an era that cannot be earth now as we know it neither heaven as it is described in scripture – listen to it here: “but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” The wolf and the lamb can’t lay down together now and get along because the wolf will eat the lamb! So, this can’t be our type of time we live in. But neither is it heaven because in this same time that is talked about in Isa. 65:17-25 there will still be death and babies being born – things that do not happen in heaven!
Ezekiel says of that time that they will have security, something they do NOT now have. Listen to Ez. 39:22-29: “The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.” They will return to their land finally for good never to be driven out and will have peace! (See also Exo. 32:13, Eze. 37:21-28)
The nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah (Lord and Saviour) and that according to scripture is why they have suffered so much and have been scattered among the nations. But there is a more important issue since God’s people today are those that have put faith in Jesus to change them by being their Lord and Saviour: do you know that YOU belong to Jesus? We are called to belong to Jesus because of the great work He has done for us in that He died for us on a cross, was buried and then rose again for us. [45] You can know that you are a child of God because scripture says in Romans 8:16 that the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. [46] Why not make sure of this now if you have a doubt by calling on Jesus through prayer to forgive and save you? [47]
But now in our era, we should never be anti-Jewish because anti-anybody is wrong and will bring God’s retribution! But those whom God calls beloved should be beloved by us as well – “for the sake of their forefathers” and the truth of scripture about them! We as believers most of all, are to take the Gospel to the Jews AND the rest of the world! Paul says in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Where is our compassion for those who have every incentive to believe on Christ? They were the first people that God called to Himself and that has not changed because his calling is irrevocable according to Romans 11:29! (Gen. 12:1, Ex 19:4, Deut. 7:6; 14:2 & Rom 11:29) God has said that they WILL come back to Him eventually because EVERYTHING will work toward that end. They will return either through the Gospel now or through Christ’s return. They will return because God has said he will be faithful to the covenant He made with them—He will do whatever it takes for those that will listen! (Deut. 4:30-31, Zech. 13:8-9) So today, they above all have the most incentive to come to faith in Christ, but we must not leave ANY people out of the proclamation of God’s Gospel through Jesus! We are commanded to take the Gospel to ALL peoples! (Mat. 28:18-20) God is able to take the Jewish nation’s rejection of their Messiah and use it to bring the world to Himself through Jesus AND at the same time to use the world’s reconciliation to bring the Jewish nation back to Himself both climaxing in the return of Christ! (Rom. 11:30-36) As Paul would say in this context in Rom. 11:33a: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”
*Scripture underlines and brackets are mine
[1] Gen. 12:1-2 says: “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”; see also Exo. 19:4-6; see also https://youtu.be/f7-RQZavU3U
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/Hebrew-roots.html accessed 1/16/2026
[3] https://cmep.salsalabs.org/062322webinar/index.html accessed 1/15/2026 also see https://christatthecheckpoint.bethbc.edu/ accessed 1/16/2026
[4] The State of Israel by Theodor Herzl 1988 1st published 1896 pgs. 96, 156-157
[5] Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “Alfred Dreyfus”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Dreyfus Accessed April 29, 2024
[6] Ben-Gurion, David. “Theodor Herzl”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Apr. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodor-Herzl Accessed April 29, 2024
[7] Ibid
[8] The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain (New York: Oxford University Press, ©1996) pgs. 349, 366, 375, 441-442 as quoted by / also The Case For Israel by Alan Dershowitz ©2003 pgs. 22-28
[9] The Case For Israel by Alan Dershowitz ©2003 pg. 25
[10] Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “Balfour Declaration”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Balfour-Declaration Accessed May 1, 2024
[11] Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “United Nations Resolution 181”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/United–Nations–Resolution–181. Accessed May 6, 2024
[12] “Press Release Announcing U.S. Recognition of Israel (1948)” by editors of archives.gov, https://www.archives.gov/milestone–documents/press–release–announcing–us–recognition–of–israel#:~:text=At%20midnight%20on%20May%2014,on%20January%2031%2C%201949). Accessed May 6, 2024
[15] Math. 23:25
[16] “Ancient Jewish History: The Great Revolt (66-70 CE)” accessed at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-great-revolt-66-70-ce 0n 1/6/2026 also “The High Priest: Office of, Made Annual by the Romans” accessed at https://biblehub.com/topical/ttt/t/the_high_priest–office_of,_made_annual_by_the_romans.htm#:~:text=Changes%20Under%20Roman%20Rule,in%20the%20New%20Testament%20era on 1/6/2026
[17] Ibid
[18] Ibid
[19] Ibid
[20] Ibid
[21] “The Bar-Kochba Revolt” accessed at https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Bar-Kochba_Revolt on 1/6/2026
[22] Jerusalem’s new name at this time given by Emperor Hadrian was Aelia Capitolina. “Discoverying The Biblical World” revised edition pg. 275 by Harry Thomas Frank, by Hammond Incorporated ©1988, 1975
[23] “Origins of the Name ‘Palestine’ and Palestinian Nationalism” accessed at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/origin-of-quot-palestine-quot on 1/6/2026
[24] It is also stated that many Ottomans and Arabs living in “Palestine” under Ottoman control during the Ottoman Empire (1517-1917) and up until 1919 thought of the area as Southern Syria at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/origin-of-quot-palestine-quot accessed 1/12/2026
[25] Ibid
[26] 2 Kings 19:32-37
[27] Esther 8:1- 9:32
[29] “Expelled From Spain : July 31, 1492” by Paola Tartakoff, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/exploringhate/2022/07/26/expelled–from–spain–july–31–1492/#:~:text=Long%20before%20July%2031%2C%201492,were%20baptized%20at%20sword’s%20point. Accessed May 6, 2024 Also “Modern Jewish History: The Spanish Expulsion” by Joseph Telushkin, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/thespanish–expulsion–1492 Accessed May 6,2024.
[30] “Pogroms”, by History.com editors, https://www.history.com/topics/european–history/pogroms Accessed May 6, 2024.
[31] Ibid
[34] “Should Christians Support Israel: Seeking a Biblical Worldview in an Impossible Situation” by Jeff Myers, Ph.D. ©2024 by Summit Ministries pg. 92, 102 also https://cmep.salsalabs.org/231012letter?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=37277e08-eeb2-45d0-9836-c1030a64a614 accessed 1/12/2026 also https://ngo-monitor.org/ngos/church_for_middle_east_peace_cmep_/#:~:text=In%20August%202021%2C%20CMEP%20signed,in%20the%20event%20of%20annexation accessed 1/12/2026
[35] Ibid pg. 102 showing George Soros as the donor to both parties also https://ngo-monitor.org/ngos/church_for_middle_east_peace_cmep_/#:~:text=According%20to%20its%20website%2C%20Churches%20for%20Middle,from%20the%20Foundation%20for%20Middle%20East%20Peace. Accessed 1/12/2026 also https://nypost.com/2023/10/28/metro/soros-funneled-15-m-plus-to-groups-rallying-for-hamas/ accessed 1/12/2026
[36] Ibid, pgs. 70-71
[37] Ibid, pgs. 77-78
[38] Hitler’s Cross by Erwin Lutzer, ©1995 pgs. 113-114
[39] “Should Christians Support Israel: Seeking a Biblical Worldview in an Impossible Situation” by Jeff Myers, Ph.D. ©2024 by Summit Ministries pg. 15
[40] Ibid pg. 31
[42] Video on You Tube called “Exploring Babylon and the Prophecies Against Her by Joel Kramer –https://youtu.be/QtUNHjDmGOY?si=YxWFiF–KGEMEkIBA
[43] The Case For Israel by Alan Dershowitz ©2003 pgs. 140-153
[44] Ibid pgs. 158-165
[45] “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,” Romans 1:5-6
[46] “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” Romans 8:16
[47] “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Romans 10:12-13