In Matthew 24:6 Jesus says this: “And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

This passage is part of a bigger section of Matthew 24 in which Jesus is responding to a question his disciples posed about the signs of the end of the age.

Jesus develops his answer to explain that these signs are linked to his return and which will be preceded by many similarly disturbing occurrences, but one of which will be ‘rumours of wars’.

Which set me thinking.

Throughout my life I’ve been aware of numerous wars springing up across the world. As far as I can recall, these have invariably been prefaced by much sabre-rattling - the mobilising of ground troops, military planes or warships preparing to attack - but not what I’d call ‘rumours of wars’. Intangible suspicions or a vague sense that an enemy might be up to something, be that traditional warfare or of the cyber variety.

But these ‘rumours’, although perhaps based upon observations and intelligence, are nevertheless still only speculation and conjecture. Nothing concrete, which is generally the nature of a rumour.

These rumblings aren’t just confined to political predictions.

It’s interesting to note that Pete Greig (24-7 Prayer) and Steve and Esther Uppal (All Nations Church, Wolverhampton) have recently been sharing with the wider church their prophetic sense of something looming on the world stage.

The headline for Pete Greig’s prophetic dream related to this was, “Prepare for war”. (Read the full text by clicking here.)

The headline for Steve and Esther Uppal’s download from the Holy Spirit was that “major disruption is coming”. (To watch it in full click here.)

How are we to process these warnings, be they secular or spiritual, and do they have any biblical basis?

With regard to prophetic words we are charged to weigh them with consideration. (1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 John 4:1). To do this we have the Holy Spirit, the Bible and the body of Christ to ensure the necessary checks and balances.

I’m sure that Pete, Steve and Esther will be in full agreement with this.

It’s also worth doing a bit of groundwork to find out if any other prophetic voices are saying similar things. My experience is that when God wants to communicate something significant to a wider audience he’ll confirm it through a number of prophetic voices.

I’d also add that the Holy Spirit will have been preparing our hearts for receiving such words in our personal times with him. These are not the days of the Old Testament prophets - all Christians now have the Holy Spirit to speak to us, lead us and instruct us. We all get to participate!

Which is all by way of saying, whether or not such predicted or prophesied events happen - and they may well do so - they still fall into the category of ‘rumours of wars’.

And that makes them one of the signs of Jesus’ return!

Meaning, not only is it wise to prepare in practical ways for potential disruption or wars but we must be prepared spiritually as well. The need to live consecrated and set apart lives, resulting in holiness and resilience. Not just for the reason of surviving but so that we can thrive and shine brightly in the ever-increasing darkness.

The ultimate goal in this is seeing beyond the signs and their outworking to what they point to, which is the return of Jesus.

You may think I’m over-reading this but it was only when I asked the Holy Spirit’s help to process these predictions and prophecies mentioned above that I was drawn to this aspect of ‘rumours of wars’.

Reading the Bible with the Holy Spirit will give us the understanding and insight we need to keep our feet on solid ground in these tumultuous days and avoid being swept along with the fear and uncertainty that is swirling all around us.

You may still be thinking that ‘rumours of wars’ is too vague a sign of Jesus’ return but if you haven’t read my previous blog, ‘How NOT to be ready for the return of Jesus’, can I encourage you to do so. It makes the point that the return of the Jewish people to their historic Israel, in our day, is an emphatic End Times sign and which therefore gives validity to the sign of ‘rumours of wars’.

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But imagine if I’d ignored all of the clues that Christmas was approaching, such as: the festive decorations that adorned our house, the carols we sang in school assembly, the Christmas cards that arrived through our letterbox, the queues to visit Father Christmas in the department store, or the seasonal dates and nuts that suddenly appeared on our sideboard.

This is the kind of the picture Jesus painted when he spoke of ten virgins waiting for his return, but five of them completely missed the moment. (Matthew 25:1–13).

The Apostle Paul uses the analogy of a thief in the night to warn us not to be caught off guard when Jesus returns.(1 Thessalonians 5:2).

There are other Bible passages which also urge us to live ready for Jesus’ return.

The good news is that in the same way I was able to be ready and waiting for the arrival of Christmas Day - by being alert to the signs or clues - so the Bible has told us ahead of time what to look out for so that we don’t miss his coming.

Here’s a handy list of some of them.

Wars.

Rumours of wars.

Famines.

Earthquakes.

Pestilence.

Increase of wickedness.

Persecution[of Christians].

Lawlessness.

Global evangelisation.

Cosmic disturbances.

The return of the Jews to Israel.

All but one of these signs could be attributed to almost any time in history but the last one, not. After many centuries of being dispersed to the four corners or the earth, Jews began returning to their biblical homeland in the late 19th century in an organised way (Aliyah). But it was the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 that ramped things up.

This home-call was prophesied extensively by nearly all of the Old Testament prophets and here are just three examples:

“I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. Amos 9:15

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.” Ezekiel 36:24

In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Isaiah 11:11-12

Just for clarity, none of these refer to the historic exiles of the Jewish people that we read about in the Old Testament because this particular return is global in nature.

From a population of around 717,000 in 1948 the Jewish population is now fast approaching 8 million. This indisputable sign of Jesus’ return gives immediacy to all of the other signs listed meaning we can now validly apply each of them to current history.

Which is why the Church needs to take note of the return of the Jewish people to Israel.

In Matthew 24:32-33 Jesus underscores that this specific sign is an indicator of his imminent return with a pictorial teaching.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

In the Bible the fig tree is often used to symbolise Israel. The Church must take heed that the nation of Israel is blossoming before our very eyes - what I call ‘the fig tree factor’ - the key sign of the return of Jesus Christ. (Check out the film I Am Israel film to experience a visual taste of this.)

If we don’t approach the return of Jesus through the lens of Israel and the Jewish people our perspective of it will be blurred and lack the clarity needed to understand the days in which we live.

Let’s now develop this understanding by discovering why the return of the Jewish people to their historic homeland is a key aspect of Jesus’ return.

In no particular order, firstly we have Zechariah 12:10.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”

This Bible passage tells us two important things. There will be a day where the Jews recognise, en masse, Jesus as Messiah. And the place where this will be revealed to them is Israel.

Next up, we have two Bible passages which come as a set.

Acts 1:9-12 in which Jesus returns to heaven.

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.

And Zechariah 14:4 which confirms the previous Bible passage.

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

If there was no expectation of Jewish people seeing Jesus return to the Mount of Olives this would seem to be unnecessary information to give them.

Joel 3:1-2 is rather more sober reading for those who have refused to recognise God’s unfailing love for the Jewish people and his promise to restore them to both himself and to their land.

“In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.”

Prior to Jesus establishing his rule and reign on the earth there is prophesied a time where all nations will come against Israel for one last time before their destruction.

It is not only referenced in Revelation 16:16 but also in Zechariah 12:3:

“On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

Many Christians have a reasonable knowledge of how the world began and the sweep of biblical history that ensues - from Genesis to the birth of the Church and its formative years - but fewer have an understanding that the biblical narrative continues beyond this.

What Jesus calls ‘the times of the Gentiles’ is simply a pause in the story.

Which is why the 700 or so verses in the Old Testament which foretell the return of the Jewish people to Israel [before the return of Jesus] must be embraced.

Without an acknowledgment of them - and therefore an understanding of the homecoming of the Jewish people as an End Time sign - the Church will be up a creek without a paddle, to use non-biblical terminology.

Without a correct biblical understanding of how this era of history draws to a close she will be cast adrift. The Church [those within in it who have chosen to ignore the return of the Jews to Israel] will inevitably have little or no understanding of why the world is in tumult (see Matthew 24) and therefore be unprepared when Jesus returns.

For those who have made biblical truth secondary to political, ideological or preferential beliefs, it is time to wake up and see what God is doing before our eyes with the return of the Jewish people to Israel and how this biblically signals the return of Jesus.

And all for the reason of the Church being the fitting Bride that the Bridegroom has longed for.

Since the inception of the Church, our call as Christians has always been to live as those ‘in the world, but not of the world’, in readiness for the return of Jesus. The clear sign of the Jewish people returning to Israel in our day should add an urgency to our pursuit of this aspiration.

*There is much debate about the return of Jesus, be that the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) or the beginning of his millennial reign (Revelation 20:4–6). Whichever way your theology falls, the bottom line truth that all Christians need to be mindful of is that we need to live in readiness of Christ’s return.

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“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back;
lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” Isaiah 54:2

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” Isaiah 60:1-2

If you read these in context, they are all clearly addressed to the Jewish people.

And yet, many of us have built these (and others) into our personal canon of scriptures which we put faith in for their inherent spiritual truths to be outworked in our lives.

I would suggest that there’s nothing wrong with this.

God reveals things about himself in these particular type of scriptures that can also be truths for Gentile believers, because they relate to his character and his nature.

We also know that God loves the kind of faith that seeks to lay hold of something from him, even when it was intended for someone else. I cite the Syrophoenician woman - not a Jew - who begged Jesus to deliver her daughter from a demon. (Mark 7:24-30). Although we know from Jesus’ own lips, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”, he nevertheless responded to her faith and set the girl free.

So, getting back to the topic, while it may be okay to draw upon a scripture about Israel and the Jewish people, and apply the spiritual truths to our own lives, I would propose that it lacks biblical integrity to do so without acknowledging first who these Bible passages were spoken to.

Hence the title of this blog, which is in fact a line from the Frank Sinatra song, ‘Love and Marriage’. We can’t take all the benefits of Bible passages addressed to the Jewish people without acknowledging that they belong to them primarily.

We can’t have one without the other.

The tragic reality is that over the centuries the Church has erased, consciously or unconsciously, not only much of the Jewish roots of our faith but also the future hope for the Jewish people, be that in Nicene Creed or through the teachings of Replacement Theology. (The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has sought to correct the failings of the Nicene Creed with ‘A Jerusalem Affirmation of the Nicene Faith’ - click to read).

Ignoring the primary application of the numerous Old Testament scriptures about the future hope for Israel and the Jewish people simply compounds this slippery slope.

What I have raised in this article may have caused you to reflect on something you’d never previously considered. That’s okay, but if you have been appropriating Bible passages that were addressed to Israel and the Jewish people without acknowledging their primary application, can I implore you to revisit them and this time allow the Holy Spirit to show you God’s heart and plans for the Jewish people before laying claim to them for yourself.

As you will know, this blog is all about biblical truth, which isn’t just about believing what the Bible says but also understanding why it is being said. To bypass the primary meaning of a large number of biblical texts which refer to the future hope of Israel will leave us with a weakened faith and a poorer understanding of both God and of the Bible.

Below are few more scriptures which highlight the point I’m seeking to make.

My hope and prayer is that it will illuminate other passages in the Bible which you may also have innocently appropriated for yourself but which you have now come to understand relate firstly to Israel and the Jewish people. Allow this fresh take on scripture to expand your understanding of the bigger picture for God’s covenant people.

Here are the scriptures:

“No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.” Isaiah 54:17

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:1-2

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Deuteronomy 7:6

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Their inclination to believe the narratives of the people who carried out the barbaric attacks on October 7th, rather than the narrative of the Jewish people to whom they are indebted and spiritually bonded, I find incomprehensible.

In this regard, a consistent refrain I have noted - from personal experience and on various media platforms - is that of, “But Israel…”. The essence of this being that having listened to all that someone may wish to say in defence of Israel - biblically or factually - none of this matters because, bottom line, Israel is the guilty party. Case closed!

In truth, that’s the way it’s always been for Israel, so no surprises there. The surprise being the increase in Christians - those spiritually related to the Jews - now assuming this stance.

Interestingly, these critics of Israel never, or rarely, seem to want to question the actions of Hamas, or for that matter, other nations who are perpetrating evil. Their focus is predominantly on Israel. I can’t recall ever hearing, “But the Palestinians…” by way of critiquing their actions.

This unhealthy fixation with the internal workings of Israel whilst appearing to have little or no critical interest in the inner working of other nations reveals, I would suggest, an anti-Israel bias. The assumed right to critique Israel and to hold it to account in a way that they would do so for no other nation is very telling.

To all intents and purposes, for many people, it is Israel and Israel alone who are in the dock.

I can’t answer why this apparent anti-Israel bias exists in the hearts and minds of some Christians but what I’d like to do is share some biblical truths about Israel and the Jewish people that may help us in this.

Our Saviour is Jewish. Matthew 1:1

Our Bible is Jewish. (Okay, the Gospel of Luke may be up for grabs, but you get my point.)

Our God is described in the Bible as: “the God of Israel”. Exodus 5:1

Our God is described in the Bible as: “the God of David”. 2 Kings 20:5

Our God is described in the Bible as: “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. Matthew 22:32

Our Saviour is described in the Bible: “the King of the Jews”. Matthew 2:2

Our God is described in the Bible as: “the King of Israel”. Isaiah 44:6

Our God only ever stopped the sun for a Jewish man - Joshua. Joshua 10:12-14

Our God only ever made the sun go back in its tracks for a Jewish man - Hezekiah. 2 Kings 20:8-11

Our God has only ever given one people group a land in which to inhabit - the Jews. Genesis 12:7

Our God is called: “the Holy One of Israel”. Isaiah 41:20

Our God calls Jerusalem his “Holy City” and it is from where he will rule during his millennial reign. Isaiah 52:1, Revelation 21:10

Our God has determined that the names of the 12 Jewish tribes and the 12 Jewish apostles will be on the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:12-14 (From God’s perspective, Israel and the Jewish people not only have a future but they are central to his eternal plans and purposes.)

Our God has only ever made covenants and laws with one nation - Israel. Genesis 17:7, Jeremiah 31:31

Our God has chosen the nation of Israel to be the location of his return. Zechariah 14:4, Acts 1:11 (Could this be why Satan is so invested in that little patch of land in the Middle East?)

Our Saviour is described as: “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” and “the Root of David”. Revelation 5:5

Our Saviour describes himself as: “the root and the descendant of David”. Revelation 22:16

Our God will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. Isaiah 24:23 (The land of Israel is clearly going nowhere.)

Our God has stated regarding Israel: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3 (No Israel, no blessing.)

Our God has stated regarding Israel: “For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined”. Isaiah 60:12 (This speaks for itself.)

Our God gave the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people.

Our God has established a New Covenant through Jesus Christ, but it is first to the Jews because theirs was also the Old Covenant. (Think on that statement for a moment.)

Our God calls Israel: “my glory”. Isaiah 46:13

Our God calls himself: “the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One”. Isaiah 49:7

Our God says of Israel: “I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Isaiah 49:15-16 (Christians and others may seek to discard Israel, but God never will.)

Our God calls Jerusalem: “the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel”. Isaiah 60:14

Our God has said of Jerusalem: “I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Isaiah 62:6-7 (It is not the Jewish people who have established the modern state of Israel, but God himself. God is a Zionist!)

Our God says of Israel: “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.” Isaiah 66:22 (It couldn’t be clearer.)

Our God will one day judge all nations with regard to how they have divided up the land of Israel. Joel 3:1-2 (A sober warning for proponents of a two-state solution.)

Our God says of Israel: “whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye”. Zechariah 2:8 (You come against Israel, you come against God.)

Our God says of Israel: “Israel is My son, My firstborn”. Exodus 4:22 (God is relationally invested in Israel, not just contractually by covenant.)

Our Bible calls Abraham: “the father of all who believe”. Romans 4:16

Our God calls Israel: “a holy people chosen out of all nations on earth to be His special treasure”. Deuteronomy 7:6 (A chastening warning to those seeking to bury God’s treasure.)

Our God hasn’t finished with the land of Israel: “In days to come Jacob will take root,
Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.” Isaiah 27:6

Our God hasn’t finished with the Jewish people: “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:25-26 (Remember that ‘pride comes before destruction’.)

Our God is restoring the Jewish people to their biblical homeland: “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 uprooted from the land I have given them.” Amos 9:14-15 (The State of Israel is God’s doing.)

Our God is very much invested in modern-day Israel: “He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is his name: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.”Jeremiah 31:35-36 (Israel continues to remain a nation before God. Nothing has changed from his perspective.)

Our God says of Israel: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow”. Isaiah 62:1-2 (Governments, institutions and individuals may seek to come against Israel, verbally or physically, but God is Israel’s primary defender.)

Our God has ingrafted us - Gentile believers - into the Jewish root. We owe them our allegiance. Romans 11:17-21

Our God warns us against a having an ungodly attitude towards the Jewish people: “You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either”. Romans 11:19-21

Our God had commanded us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and to love her. Psalm 122:6 (Do we?)

Our God has commanded us: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem”. Isaiah 40:1-2 (Do we?)

These passages of scripture, which speak of God’s eternal and unchanging love for Israel and the Jewish people, only scratch the surface of what is to be found within the pages of our Bibles.

My aim in this blog isn’t to convince anyone because of my comments but because of what the Bible says about Israel and the Jewish people.

My hope and prayer is that they are enough to bring revelation and understanding where it is needed.

As God’s enemies continue to speak maliciously against Israel and the Jewish people it’s time that more Christians didn’t just amplify these lies but instead, inspired by biblical truth, responded with, “But God…”.

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Or call 01277 367124 or email Michele at mpitt@nctuk.org

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Earlier this year I wrote a Substack blog using the above title. I recently presented this as a talk at my church - with some changes - but thought that you might wish to listen to the recording of it and perhaps even find it useful to share.

Essentially it covers the same topic which looks at the biblical evidence for the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

With church denominations increasingly rejecting this truth, we certainly can’t ignore this subject but more importantly, we must know what the Bible has to say about it.

Here’s the audio.

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For a change, you get to listen to what I have to say on a subject rather than read it. This was recorded recently at my church.

I hope you find it informative and, if necessary, challenging.

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A while back I met up for a coffee with a Jewish friend who spends a lot of his time seeking to garner support and friendship for his fellow Jews from Christians. It was a mutually beneficial meeting because that’s something I’d been actively pursuing.

During our conversation I surprised him by saying that although I understood God’s heart for the Jewish people, and was intentional about standing with them, I didn’t actually have a thing about the Jewish people and Israel as a singular obsession or a main priority. My support for them wasn’t because I had some imbalanced fixation - it was actually because I had a thing about the Bible.

What I said grabbed his attention, as I hope it does yours.

You’ll note the image of a compass that accompanies this blog. The Bible is the source of all spiritual understanding and when we choose to believe what it says - and live accordingly - we protect ourselves from deviating off course from all that is true and trustworthy.

In submitting to the truth of scripture, by default we will gain insight and understanding with regard to Israel and the Jewish people. By that I not only mean God’s dealings with Israel in the past but present and future as well.

I’d propose that we can’t truly call ourselves Bible-believing Christians if we reject or put to one side the biblical truths which reveal God’s ongoing dealings with Israel.

It would appear that many Christians are avoiding (or ignoring) the wealth of scripture relating to modern-day Israel which puts them in danger of being knocked off course from biblical True North. Put it another way. If something of such cosmic and biblical importance as Israel can be sidestepped, what other parts of the Bible can be jettisoned or glossed over?

An intriguing spin on this is that I’ve many times heard Christians reappropriate Bible passages that are specifically about Israel for themselves.

This proves that they know these scriptures are in the Bible! They just choose to overlook their application to the Jewish people.

In the interests of transparency, this is something I have occasionally done - applying to my own life a scriptural truth or principle that is primarily directed to the Jewish people. The difference being is that I’ve recognised that the primary application of the Bible passage isn’t to Christians. Often, what God said to the Jewish people or how he revealed himself to them, enriches my understanding of the God I serve - but that’s a wonderful byproduct.

Let me give you some examples of scriptures that are appropriated by Christians but are actually aimed primarily at Israel and the Jewish people:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

Jeremiah 31:3

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”

Isaiah 60:1

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.”

Joel 2:25

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:19

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Isaiah 43:1-2

All of these scriptures were directed at the Jewish people. Some of them simply convey God’s heart for Israel and others declare his future intentions. Once more, it lacks integrity to put faith in them for our own lives while denying their application to the Jewish people.

We can’t have our cake and eat it!

If we are unable to (or don’t want to) acknowledge God’s present and futures plans for Israel and the Jewish people, as revealed in the Bible, these filters may also hinder us from seeing other biblical truths. The prejudices and preferences we apply to one area of God’s word can easily seep into others. When we move away from biblical True North by one degree - for example with regard to Israel - we may well find ourselves another degree off, and then another, because of other biblical truths we also prefer to overlook. It’s a slippery slope!

For which reason I will keep talking about Israel because my goal is to encourage the Church to stay true to God’s word. Our attitude to scriptures about Israel and the Jewish people will serve as a litmus test as to whether or not we have deviated from biblical True North.

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Similarly, the Holy Spirit has had me re-looking at Matthew 25:40. I thought - or was taught - that it meant one thing, but the more I’ve looked at it the more I’m now convinced it means something completely different.

These words of Jesus sit within an extensive teaching in the book of Matthew about the time preceding his return. We drop in on the narrative as Jesus has returned to earth to establish his millennial kingdom. For the purposes of this article I’m sidestepping Rapture/Second Coming debates because it’s not relevant to the main point I want to make. What we do need to take note of though is that at this glorious coming Jesus dispenses his final judgement upon all nations.

To discover what people will be held accountable for, let’s read some more of Matthew 25.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:31-40.

I would say that the most popular interpretation of this passage is that Jesus is simply highlighting to Christians the importance of charitable acts. But now I’m not so sure that this is what he is saying.

In fact I’ve since discovered that what I believe this passage actually means is shared by other Bible teachers, not least Derek Prince. I’m in good company, albeit as a late adopter!

With regard to the acts of charity Jesus speaks of I would say that most Christians I know are very kind and attentive towards the needs of others. Giving money to missions, supporting the persecuted church, prison ministries, food banks, fostering and adoption, homelessness and the poor. When the average Christian sees need and disadvantage they respond.

So why would Jesus even be raising this matter with the righteous if they were those who had done what was good and right? It would appear from their response that they are asking the same question.

I would suggest that Jesus is using this as an opportunity to teach them (and us) some specific expectations he has of the righteous.

The righteous in this Bible passage may have not fully understood how they’d done the right thing, but it would appear that they had.

So what can we learn from this?

The answer is found in understanding from whom these acts of charity weren’t withheld. Jesus refers to this people group as ‘the least of these my brothers’.

In the light of what I’ve just said [about the default of Christians to be charitable] this can’t be talking about our fellow brothers (and sisters) in Christ.

Most of us tick many of the ‘acts of charity’ boxes, be that towards fellow believers as well as others with need in our society. Which would suggest that although Jesus is addressing the righteous, he appears to be speaking to them about a different group of brothers from whom charity is withheld. If he’d been meaning it was from other believers surely he would have said something like, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of your fellow Christians, you did it to me.’ But he didn’t.

So, if not Christians, who?

I would suggest that there is only one conclusion we can come to. It is our Jewish brethren. The people to whom we are ingrafted. These are Jesus’ brothers by heritage and covenant.

To underscore the point that Jesus couldn’t have been meaning Christians in this regard he identified those overlooked as ‘these my brothers’ (my emphasis). He’s clearly talking about an altogether different group of people. If not, he would have said, ‘you, my brothers’, referring to the righteous cited in the passage.

Joining some biblical dots, the prophet Joel also spoke of a day when the Lord would execute judgement against those whose treatment of the Jewish people was found wanting.

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.”

Joel 3:1-2

As well as there being Christians who have been passive with regard to the Jewish people - called out by Jesus in Matthew 25 - there are others who have been complicit in seeking to divide the land of Israel and standing against the Jewish people as prophesied by Joel.

In both Bible passages we read of God’s judgement against those who have failed the Jewish people.

Reading on in Matthew 25 we find out the fate of those whose response to these ‘brothers’ was not favourable and who didn’t lift a finger to help them. Who turned their back on the Jewish people in their time of need.

Whilst the events in Matthew 25 probably occur at the close of The Tribulation and apply to believers who lived during that period it doesn’t get believers living prior to this event off the hook with regard to our treatment of the Jewish people. Jesus’ words should, in fact, be a timeless reminder of the gravity of mistreating the Jewish people - by omission or by active enmity.

This truth has held true since the inception of the Jewish people and which we find in Genesis 12:3.

“I will bless those who bless you [Israel], and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

And the most chastening aspect of this is the understanding that what we do to the Jewish people is considered done to Jesus.

We each of us get to choose how we treat the Jewish people but Isaiah can help us make the right decision.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 40:1-2

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Sadly, many get distracted by world events and worldviews which draw their focus away from this truth. Social media, news reports, politics and the like can easily cause us to take our eyes off what God is still doing so we end up seeing things with earthly eyes, not spiritual ones. The narratives recorded in the Bible might have come and gone but God’s clock is still ticking.

So, the ‘wake-up call’ is for the Church to be alert to the nature of the times in which we live. To be like the men of Issachar ‘who understood the times’ (1 Chronicles 12:32). How we represent Jesus in our local settings must be embedded in an understanding of the bigger biblical picture.

For the Jewish people in the days of the Tenakh (our Old Testament) God’s clock was ticking inexorably towards the revelation of their Messiah.

Once Jesus had arrived, fulfilled his mission and returned to heaven the clock was then reset by God, in a manner of speaking, in readiness for Christ’s return.

One clear lesson we can learn from the Jewish people with regard to living in readiness for Jesus’ second coming is that whilst the Jewish scriptures were quite detailed in preparing them for the arrival of their Messiah, many nevertheless missed the moment. Absorbed with their own ideas of what their Messiah would be to them they took their eyes off the scriptural pointers to his coming. The fact that others recognised the arrival of the Messiah through scriptural understanding simply highlighted how distracted they’d got from what God was doing.

The Church of today is in danger of this same error.

In the same way that there were markers giving clues and indications about the coming Messiah, likewise the Bible gives us many pointers about Jesus’ return. Without paying attention to these we will be unprepared.

Having written about the Second Coming previously, in this article I want to specifically focus on why I believe that the clock on God’s timeline is almost up, and by that I mean with regard to the return of Jesus.

I would propose that the biggest indicator that the clock is ticking apace towards the imminent return of Jesus is what’s happening in and around Israel. In the same way that the Bible gave geography to the chronology of the arrival of the Messiah, the same is true of Jesus’ return. Scripture informs us that the land of Israel will once again be the epicentre of this cosmic event.

Of course there are other indicators of Christ’s return which the Bible outlines, such as moral decline, natural disasters and wars. But whilst it may be argued that these have worsened/increased in the last few hundred years the Israel indicator narrows things down to a shorter timeframe. I’m not speaking here of antisemitism, which has been a constant since the inception of Israel, but the re-establishment of Israel as a nation and the return of the Jewish people to their biblical homeland.

This is probably the no.1 ‘wake-up call’ to the church!

Israel is not only a pointer to where we are within the chronology of God but it can also serve as a handy alarm clock - if we will allow it - to awaken us to the imminence of Christ’s return. Jesus is returning for his bride and our readiness is imperative.

If we aren’t alert to this reality [with regard to what is happening in Israel] then it may well be an indication that we’re not as switched on to the return of Jesus as we should be. If that’s the case we could well fall into the category of those who are asleep, blissfully unaware of what God is doing in these days, where things are at with regards to his End Time chronology and in being prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom.

This might be because we’ve knocked the whole subject of Israel into the long grass because we’re not comfortable with it and it because it doesn’t fit within our worldview. But if we dismiss the Israel indicator we may well be in danger of missing the other ones as well.

This was certainly one reason many Jews missed the coming of their Messiah. They didn’t like what they saw and it didn’t fit with their preconceived ideas.

On the subject of the sleeping church, the apostle Paul says this.

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6.

He also says this, in Ephesians 5:14.

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Jesus not only told a parable about ten virgins, five who were slumbering, but in his appearance to John he spoke these chastening words to the church at Sardis.

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”

Revelation 3:1-2.

Whilst the call to “wake up” in scripture has different applications, the principle of remaining spiritually alert is common to them all.

It’s vital that in these increasingly dark days we, the Church, are conscious of what God is doing in the outworking of his chronology and not allowing the narrative of the world, or our preconceptions, to seduce us into a spiritual stupor.

None of us know the time of Jesus’ return but the Bible does arm us with enough information to recognise the signs of his coming. We may think that such matters are of little concern to the average Christian - the local Church being our main focus - but I would say otherwise.

Living intentionally prepared for the return of Jesus Christ will not only shape our personal walk with the Lord - we will not be found slumbering - but it will propel our witness to the unsaved with a greater sense of urgency and passion.

Let us be a people who are fully awake and alert to what God is doing in these days and therefore fully ready for Jesus’ return.

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Israel and the Jewish people are foundational to our understanding of God’s redemptive purposes for all humanity.

We have a Jewish Bible and a Jewish Saviour. Israel and the restoration of the Jewish people are central to the return of Christ and his ultimate rule and reign on earth. Replace Israel with the Church - as Replacement Theology would have us do - and the foundations of our faith crumble. In fact, Jesus warned about such things in a parable of two builders. In it he stated that lack of obedience/adherence to the word of God would result in catastrophic personal consequences.

And with regard to Israel, the Bible has much to say about how a right understanding of it is fundamental to the foundations of our faith.

That said, many in the Church are nevertheless ignoring this truth and seeking to distance themselves from the people God has covenanted himself to. I fear that this will lead them into an expedient erasing of Israel from the narrative. The Israel of the Bible that they read about in their church services doesn’t seem to be problematic but increasingly, the restored Israel - also to be found in their Bibles - seems less comfortable.

But the relational covenant between God and the Jewish people is more than simply a contractual arrangement that can be annulled for the purposes of drafting a new agreement with the Church.

It is that of a father and a son. It is relational not just legal.

Here are a few scriptures which confirm this truth.

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son.” Exodus 4:22

“When Israel was a child, I loved him and out of Egypt I called my son.” Hosea 11:1

“For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.” Jeremiah 31:9

There are plenty more scriptures to be found which underscore my point that God’s relationship with Israel is that of a father to a son. Which leads me to the premise for this article that if Replacement Theology is to be accepted - the belief that the Church has superseded Israel - it would essentially mean that God had discarded his beloved son, Israel, in favour of a new model. Hence the title, ‘The Divine child swap’.

You may never have considered this aspect of God’s dealings with Israel before, but can I encourage you to ponder on it. It will not only help you better comprehend the love God has for his chosen people but also his love for you.

Think on it. If we believe that God would discard his son, Israel, it will inevitably chip away at our belief in who God is - compassionate, faithful and merciful. If he is not those things towards Israel, could we be in danger of being rejected also?

Clearly the answer is no because the Bible tells us otherwise, but we can’t have it both ways. Being okay with God apparently being uncompassionate, unfaithful and unmerciful to his son, Israel and yet not being those things towards the Church.

The Bible isn’t just a book which teaches us how to live rightly [before almighty God] but it’s a book which reveals to us who God is and that he wishes to relate to us as a father.

We are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer which confirms to those of us who are Christians this wonderful truth of God’s fatherhood, but it doesn’t negate, or overwrite, God’s fatherly affections towards Israel.

In Jeremiah 3:19 we read these poignant words addressed to the Jewish people.

“I thought you would call me, My Father”.

This is, and always will be, God’s covenant heart towards his firstborn son. The Bible tells us that God is good and what good father would ever discard their son?

To reiterate. God’s covenant with the Jewish people is more than just a legal contract, it’s a commitment of his heart. If God has not replaced his beloved son, Israel, then what audacity for his Gentile children to view things differently.

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Firstly, let me set this article in context. Since October 7th 2023 the world has become increasingly polarised with regard to Israel and the Jewish people. Before then antisemitism clearly existed but it was not the rampant tsunami of Jew hatred that has subsequently swept the globe, engulfing even those would have considered themselves sympathetic to the horrors visited upon the Jews in the Holocaust.

But there’s another factor running alongside side all of this which specifically relates to the church, and it is this. Whilst we understand [from scripture] that the Jewish people and Israel are foundational to our Christian faith there appears to be a disconnect for some followers of Jesus between the Israel of the Bible and modern-day Israel.

It’s this particular sticking point that I wish to address in this blog.

The Bible has much to say on the final return of the Jewish people to their historic and biblical homeland. What seems to be a problem for some is that they don’t equate what is happening in Israel at present with what was prophesied about in the Bible.

The outworking of distancing themselves from modern-day Israel has led many Christians to either sit on the fence in this whole matter or worse, been readily sucked into believing the newsfeed of Israel’s enemies and thus demonising Israel.

So, why the belief that the Israel which is taking root in the Middle East isn’t the Israel that we read about in scripture?

I’d suggest that one answer is that the people who believe this haven’t given much thought as to what the promised restoration of the Jewish people to their biblical homeland might actually look like.

I think that some of the confusion comes from the fact that the re-establishment of Israel appears, in the main, geopolitical i.e. majoring on the political governance of the land. Before I give a brief overview of how modern-day Israel came about its worth noting that the Israel we read about in the Bible was also geopolitical in nature.

Yes, God was at the heart of the nation but that didn’t negate the need for governmental structures, be that during the eras of the tribes, the monarchies, the judges and beyond.

I understand the concerns that those who take issue with modern-day Israel have, that God seems to often take second place - or no place at all - to political priorities. This train of thought is rightly shaped by an understanding of the Israel we read about in the Bible in which God was foremost in all things - from the call of God to Abraham, the establishment of the sacrificial system under Moses, the Davidic lineage and much more. Israel was synonymous with God and in fact he was known as ‘the God of Israel’.

So, taken at face value, what’s happening in modern-day Israel doesn’t appear to match up to this truth. There are, of course, those within it who do observe Jewish laws and practices but for many Israelis God is not a present or necessary reality. Which begs the question, if God isn’t at the heart of the nation as he was in biblical times should we be expected to give our allegiance to Israel?

I’d propose that what we need to understand about the modern-day restoration of Israel is that it’s effectively happening in reverse to that of biblical times. God is still its architect but at the moment it manifests primarily as a political initiative. The Bible makes clear that there will be a day when the Jewish people turn back to God - when their spiritual heart is restored. At present though, as the apostle Paul informs us in Romans 11:25, 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.

If we are looking for a restoration of Israel that follows the pattern of how things were in the Old Testament I believe that we could find ourselves in danger of missing what God is doing before our eyes. We will be those who Paul deems ‘unaware’.

As an aside, for those who view modern-day Israel as just a geopolitical aberration there is a problem. Presently there are well over 7,000,000 Jews living in Israel. What to do with them if this modern-day Israel is an interloper? Are they to be evicted?

I’ll leave that question hanging there while we look at a very brief overview of how modern-day Israel came about.

*In the late 19th Century Theodor Herzl, sought to re-establish a Jewish homeland due to rising antisemitism in Europe.

*After WWI, Britain controlled the area under a League of Nations mandate. The 1917 Balfour Declaration expressed British support for a Jewish national home. This British Mandate lasted until 1948.

*In 1947 the United Nations proposed dividing the territory into separate Jewish and Arab states. Jewish leaders accepted the plan, but Arab leaders rejected it, leading to civil war.

*As a result of Arab aggression, on May 14th 1948, as the British Mandate ended, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel.

*Following Israel’s independence in 1948 neighbouring Arab states invaded. Israel survived but aggression from their Arab enemies has continued to this day.

Against all the odds Israel’s population has grown from around 600,000 in 1948 to over 7,000,000. Some of this is down to natural population growth but well over 3,000,000 of these are Jews who have made Aliyah (immigrated) to the land of their ancestors. It is hard not to see the hand of God on this home-call.

The Bible has much to say about the return of the Jewish people to their homeland as well as Israel’s End Time restoration.

In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:11-12

“I will be found by you”, declares the Lord, “and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:14

The Bible also has much to say about the restoration of the land of Israel to which those making Aliyah are returning.

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:24-28

“I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. Amos 9:14-15

There are plenty more where they came from and as you read them it’s hard to ignore the biblical narrative of God’s commitment to restore Israel.

When you run these scriptures alongside the emergence of modern-day Israel it’s also hard to dispute that these are one and the same thing.

Which brings me back to the title of this blog, ‘Zionism isn’t a dirty word!’ Zionism has certainly become a pejorative word for many with an implied but undeserved imputation of aggressive Jewish colonialism. Zionism may have become tarnished with negative meanings because of its beginning as a political movement but in fact it’s a biblical aspiration with biblical foundations. It begins way back in Genesis 12 and God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham and the nation he would birth.

Zionism is no more than the belief in the Jewish people’s right to return to their God-given homeland. A Christian Zionist would therefore be defined as a Christian who supports the Jewish people’s right to return to the land of Israel.

By way of explanation, Zion not only means Mount Zion on which King David built his citadel - Jerusalem - it also figuratively refers to the people of Israel as well as God’s spiritual kingdom. There are over 150 mentions of Zion in the Bible encompassing these understandings.

On the basis of what I’ve just outlined it could be said that God is a Zionist in that he has purposed the restoration of the Jewish people to their historic homeland.

I’d propose that one of the biggest proofs that modern-day Israel is the real deal is the unremitting hostility and aggression that’s been shown to it since its statehood, not only by the nations surrounding it but by the obsession with Jew hatred that has ramped up around the world.

You’d be hard pressed not to see the hand of the devil behind this singleminded and disproportionate focus on this tiny Middle Eastern land. Some Christians may not recognise the hand of God on modern-day Israel but the devil certainly does!

In conclusion:

Why understanding Israel is essential for the church.

1. Believing what the Bible says about Israel and the Jewish people, past, present and future is a litmus test of our trust in the word of God. Dismissing the vast number of scriptures relating to Israel, the Jewish people and their End Time restoration which don’t align with our personal worldview indicates that we have elevated opinion - and perhaps prejudice - over biblical truth. It also indicates that we may have been listening to the wrong newsfeeds regarding Israel. This was the error made by Adam and Eve and we do well to learn from their mistake. Satan has always been hot on distorted propaganda but we can avoid his deceptions by inclining our ears to what God says in his word about Israel.

2. To deny the prophetic biblical perspective of modern-day Israel and the Jewish people is to deny our Christian heritage as those grafted onto the root of the Jews (Romans 11:11-31). We remind ourselves that Abraham is called the ‘father of faith’ or ‘of all who believe’ (Romans 4:16). To sideline the Jewish people also smacks of arrogance, as the apostle Paul makes clear. The Bible tells us that for a time the majority of Jewish people will have their hearts hardened towards God, but there will be a day in which their hearts will be softened to receive Yeshua as their Messiah. If we’re not careful Christians can be guilty of this same hardness of heart towards our Jewish brothers and sisters. We have a God-ordained responsibility to align our hearts and our voices with God’s chosen people - not their Arab, Islamic or ungodly enemies. Isaiah 40:1-2 instructs us in this:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her sins.

3. It gives us a prophetic understanding of the ‘big picture’ - God’s End Time dealings with humanity. Without an understanding of Israel and the Jewish people in these days we are in danger of being cast adrift as Christians. Israel is at the epicentre of God’s End Times plans and to deny this is to deny God. Ephesians 4:14 speaks into this: Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Understanding Israel and the Jewish people, and aligning our hearts with them, anchors us in biblical truth and positions us at the centre of God’s will.

If you are on a journey of getting to grips with understanding Israel, my hope and prayer is that you will allow the Holy Spirit to take the scriptures I've cited, as well as others in the Bible that speak of the restoration of the Jewish people to their biblical homeland, to enable you to come to your own revelation of these things.

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The Bible also has something to say about the human inclination to ignore the truth, even when it’s right before our very eyes.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:20-21.

For which reason I’ve entitled this article, ‘There’s no such thing as an atheist’.

In the Bible passage the apostle Paul explains that the natural world and all its wonders are evidence enough that there is a creator God. As if to underscore the point, he adds that people know this.

They may seek to suppress the knowledge of God, as Paul goes on to say, but I would like to suggest that such people are not as a closed to God as they would have you believe. Which is the premise of this article.

Invariably, when someone finds out that I’m a Christian, if they aren’t one themself, they’ll typically tell me that they’re not religious by way of attempting to close down the conversation. For myself, this is actually the opening I’ve been looking for and I’ll often come back with something along the lines of, “Nor am I but I’d like to propose that we’re both spiritual”.

Cue a perplexed look on their face.

Before I go on to explain to you where I go next, I’m excluding from this approach people who are already involved in overt spiritual practices such as tarot, reiki, ouija and the like. They’d certainly class themselves as spiritual, albeit pursuing a God-less spirituality.

The people I’m looking to help review their lack of belief in God are those who assume that they only have a material worldview - ‘what you see is what you get’. My direction of travel is to help them realise that they are more open to the immaterial world than they imagine.

To get things started I ask them, in no particular order, if they ever say “RIP” or “They’ve gone to a better place” when someone has died, cross their fingers, touch wood, read horoscopes, light a candle for the dead, believe in fate, have superstitious rituals or fear ghosts. (Not an exhaustive list but enough to be going on with.) Each of these examples is designed to tease out the fact that they indicate a belief in something beyond the material world. For the purposes of the conversation I call this the spiritual realm.

Each of these examples can easily be developed to draw out the person’s belief in a realm or a force beyond our physical world. It sometimes takes a little gentle persuasion to help them get what I’m saying but when they eventually give me that nod of agreement that they understand it then opens up the opportunity for me to share my spiritual beliefs.

The fact that I’m talking about God not superstition, or whatever, matters not. We’re now both engaged in a spiritual conversation and therefore belief in Jesus doesn’t sound quite so far-fetched.

It also knocks into the long grass the “I’m not religious” get-out clause, by which they mean, “I’m not interested I going to church”. This isn’t the conversation we’re now having.

Of course, people may still reject Jesus in favour of their [now called out] spiritual beliefs but it makes talking about God easier.

What I’m proposing might sound frivolous but consider the closed door that follows someone’s declaration that they’re an atheist or they’re not religious. The conversation has ended before it’s begun.

Not so, when you try this alternative approach.

It comes with no guarantees but it does piggyback Paul’s assertion that everyone has an inherent awareness of God - there’s no such thing as an atheist - which is borne out by this overt or subconscious leaning most, if not all, people have towards something beyond the natural.

Next time you’re in conversation with a declared atheistic, why not give it a go.

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It’s like the Nativity is Act One of a two act production.

I’ll explain what I mean by that shortly, but something worth noting about the Christmas story is location, location, location being an important part of the narrative, specifically Israel i.e. Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem.

From God’s perspective, it wasn’t that Jesus’ birth could happen anywhere.

God had been preparing the world for the arrival of Jesus since the time of Abram - although God had this in his heart from the beginning of time - and his predetermined location was going to play a significant role in all of this.

I call this ‘the Divine reset’ in which God not only chose a man [Abram] to make it possible for humanity to return to him, but also a place [Israel]. This mirrored how things were at the outset of Creation, also with a man [Adam] and also with a land [Eden].

My guess is that if Adam and Eve hadn’t disobeyed God, Eden would have remained the fulcrum of God’s interactions with the world. It was where it had all begun and, more than that, it was a place personally cultivated by God. This isn’t to suggest that God wouldn’t haven’t interacted with subsequent humanity but Eden was certainly where Adam and Eve initially encountered the Creator. In the beginning, Eden was heaven’s HQ on earth.

I say all of this to help us visualise how I believe God sees Israel.

Our Bibles are saturated with understanding about the importance of the land of Israel in God’s plan to bring salvation to all the world. In the same way in which it was from Eden that God’s kingdom would be extended throughout the whole world, so it would be from Israel that, once more, the world would be able to experience relationship with God - ‘All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ (Genesis 12:3).

So, that’s why I say that what we typically rehearse each Christmas is only half the story.

Let’s talk about Christmas - the sequel.

The Bible not only informed people in advance that Jesus was coming to earth first time round but it also informs us that he is returning a second time.

Where’s the location for this? No surprises that once again it’s Israel.

I say this to make the point that the land of Israel - the location - remains key for the consummation of God’s plans for humanity.

With the exponential rise of antisemitism over the past two years it’s clear that many people the world over not only have a problem with the Jewish people, in and of themselves, but they also have a problem with the Jewish people returning to the land of Israel.

Those who say that they’re okay with the Jews being a nation but not a state simply don’t get it.

According to my sources, a state is a political entity with defined territory, a permanent population, and a government with sovereignty, whereas a nation is a group of people bound by a shared culture, history, language, or identity. Therefore, a state is a legal and political structure, while a nation is a socio-cultural one.

Those who want to limit the Jewish people to just being a nation - albeit dispersed throughout the world - miss the point that the Jews and the land are intertwined.

Jesus is returning to Israel but he is also returning to the Jewish people in that land. The Bible is absolutely clear on this.

Which is why it’s essential that there is a state of Israel for Jesus to return to. A physical land, inhabited by the Jews.

The Bible is laden with prophetic promises that this will be so.

At the time of year when many of the prophetic words foretelling the life of Jesus are retold it’s time for Jesus’ church to add to this a retelling of the prophecies of him returning to the land of his birth.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Isaiah 11:10-12

And 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 uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God. Amos 9:14-15

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. Zechariah 14:4

Micah 4 is another Bible text that’s worth checking out to understand the fullness of God’s plans for both Israel and for the world.

These and other Bible passages should bring to an end any rejection of the Jewish people having their own land and also an understanding of the importance of the Jewish people being established in their own land.

Putting aside the fact that many people get their distorted views about Israel from its enemies, when in biblical history was Israel not geopolitical? The Jews have always been a nation of people who belong to a land - the land of Israel - as well as a people who belong to God.

In conclusion, at a time of the year when we have no qualms about recounting the biblical truths about Jesus’ first coming, can I encourage us to also recount the biblical truths about his second coming - once again to Israel and once again to the Jewish people.

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If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while you’ll be aware of my mantra that the Bible is ‘true and to be trusted’. But there are Christians who don’t hold this view. It’s articulated in various ways, such as…

“We’re now living in a different world to that of the Bible writers. Our theology has to change to fit our culture.”

“Scientific understanding that wasn’t around at the time the Bible was written corrects things we’ve previously believed to be true.”

And so on.

The Orange Juice song from the 1980s - referenced in the title - would be a fitting anthem of such people who call into question the veracity or validity of various parts of the Bible.

I probably need to get out more but until a couple of years ago I’d never heard the expression ‘deconstructing Christianity’. Essentially it has to do with questioning and re-evaluating core beliefs and doctrines, leading to finessing the Christian faith or even rejecting it.

It puzzled me why anyone would want to take God’s word or the Christian faith apart. But then again, I reminded myself that questioning God’s word is as old as Adam and Eve. This is rooted in the pride of the human heart which somehow can’t quite believe that God knows better than me. And probably a lack of a fear of God to accompany it.

I guess it sits alongside those misguided statements people make which go something like this - “when I get to heaven I’m going to have a word with God about…”. As if God somehow needs their input. Methinks not!

Let’s remind ourselves of some biblical truths about the unchanging nature of God and his word.

Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Psalm 119:89

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8

Some of these attempts to remodel core Christian beliefs are overt, such as those debated/contested by certain church denominations. I’m sure you’re aware of what these are.

But others are more subtle.

They begin with the unquestioned acceptance of worldly beliefs which can then easily lead to a more dangerous embracing of unbiblical beliefs. For example, I recently heard a well-respected Bible teacher refer to The Big Bang as if it were an accepted biblical truth when [in truth] it actually isn’t. In allowing it to slip into his vocabulary, deliberately or unintentionally, it gave credence to an extra-biblical view about Creation.

Whether someone is attacking scripture with gusto or simply allowing the word of God to be subtly undermined, the end result is the same. Our thoughts are exalted above God’s.

The Bible warns us against meddling with God’s word.

Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you. Deuteronomy 4:2

Whilst this relates to certain parts of the Old Testament it also sets a principle which is reiterated in the New Testament.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16.

What should be our response? The Apostle Paul had this to say.

Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Acts 20:30-31

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Whilst I’m not saying that every message preached is to be received without question or consideration there should at least be the expectation that when the Bible does say something clearly and categorically we take God at his word.

Put it another way - and this is something I bang on about consistently in these blogs - the Bible is true and to be trusted.

So why doesn’t every Christian have an appetite for the truth of God’s word as a baseline in their lives, such as that guy who disagreed with me?

Cue Adam and Eve. This couple were the world’s first exponents of this disposition.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:15-17

They not only knew what God had said [about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] but they also knew God himself. Adam and Eve had received God’s word firsthand and yet, when push came to shove, they still chose to believe the lies of Satan over what God had said.

It’s a bit like being offered piano tuition from Lang Lang but opting for a YouTube tutorial instead.

If we can understand what caused Adam and Eve to incline their ears to deception perhaps it can help us.

So why did they?

My best guess is that they didn’t like what they’d heard so they were open to another narrative. Whether they’d taken exception to God’s command at the outset or it took Satan’s subtle undermining of this to flip the switch, who knows.

Either way, they opted to trust the voice of someone who they were probably unaware was an enemy of God and who had zero interest in their well-being.

By highlighting these traits I’m exploring whether a fickle disposition regarding God’s word can then make us more susceptible to deception out in the big, wide world.

What I mean by that is if we are easily persuaded to disbelieve scripture, perhaps this tendency will position us for being easily swayed regarding other things.

I’m impressed by the leadership of King Hezekiah when threatened by the Assyrians (Isaiah 36:1-22). Outside the walls of Jerusalem their military commander taunted the Israelites that their trust in Hezekiah - and therefore God - was misplaced.

But instead of being taken in by these wily words, those within earshot responded like this…

But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, ‘Do not answer him.’ Isaiah 36:21.

Hezekiah had prepared his people to know how to respond to the lies of the enemy. And that’s the key in all of this.

I would propose that we also need to be prepared to kick back at untruth. If we have established in ourselves a foundation of trusting in God’s word, I think that this is a great starting point for discerning deception elsewhere.

What begins with an appetite for biblical truth then extends to us having an appetite for truth in other things. Unlike Adam and Eve, we check our sources.

It’s true that sometimes the word of God will speak directly into worldly circumstances but at other times we will need to lean into the Holy Spirit for wisdom, discernment and understanding rather than just accepting what we’re being fed.

Christians are a called-out people so we must be cautious of being drawn into worldly thinking.

I think that it gets back to the condition of our hearts. If we already have a fixed narrative about something running through our heads and our hearts - as perhaps did Adam and Eve - it can potentially set us up for deception.

So, let’s be those who have an appetite for truth in the Bible and truth in the world.

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I’ve heard modern-day Israel referred to as a political iteration of the Jewish people and not to be confused with the ethnic people group who were dispersed among the nations at the end of the biblical era.

So, have those Jews who’ve made the strip of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea their home got ahead of themselves, and of God?

As you would expect from this blog, I’m turning to the Bible - and not to the popular worldview - to unearth the truth of this important subject and to discover whether the State of Israel is an interloper or if the Jewish people who have made it their home have done so by God-given right.

This whole issue raises as many questions as it does answers.

For instance, with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, had God finished his dealings with the Jews? That would certainly make an evaluation of the situation in the Middle East much simpler.

But if not, what sort of future did God have mapped out for them?

We know from the Old Testament that God always provided a way back to him through repentance. But once Jesus had been brought forth from this appointed nation what further need could God have of Israel?

Many Jews assimilated into the Christian communities that were springing up across the known world. Was this God’s ultimate plan for them - Jews and Gentiles becoming one people under God and therefore no need for the nation of Israel anymore? That’s certainly what those who subscribe to Replacement Theology believe.

That said, there are many Bible passages which tell us that God hasn’t given up on the Jewish people, but in this blog we’re looking specifically at the biblical evidence for its restoration as a physical nation.

Let’s take a look at a couple of strong threads from the Bible which will help us in this.

The first relates to an era when Israel will once more blossom and flourish.

Here are a few Bible passages which point to this.

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.” Jeremiah 30:3

In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit. Isaiah 27:6

“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 uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God. Amos 9:14-15

Whilst there were times in Israel’s history when God brought the Jewish people back from exile and restored them to their land, you’d be hard pressed to apply these particular passages to those days. For example, ‘never again to be uprooted from the land’ speaks of both finality and permanence.

So, is this referring to modern-day Israel?

Certainly not when Mark Twain visited the land in 1867. He described it as: “. . . a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds—a silent mournful expanse. . . . A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. . . .”

And yet, fast forward 150 years or so and the land of Israel is increasingly and amazingly taking the form of those ancient prophecies.

The other thread which would indicate that God hasn’t finished with the nation of Israel isn’t so upbeat.

It has to do with Israel being at the epicentre of antisemitic hatred the like of which the world has never seen. Here are a a couple of Bible passages that tell of this.

“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.” Zechariah 12:2-3

A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. Zechariah 14:1-4

It’s not hard to believe in the fulfilment of these prophecies in our day when we see the surge of Jew hatred that October 7th unleashed. Once again, there is a finality to these prophecies aligning them with the return of Christ.

Here’s the thing. Whether it’s to enjoy the prophesied prosperity or to experience the enmity of the nations, the Bible makes clear that Israel must be established as a nation for these things to happen, and it will be God’s doing.

Having dipped our toe into the wealth of scriptures about this subject, those who still resolutely hold to the belief that the present State of Israel isn’t the outworking of these Bible prophecies - but hold to the belief in the eventual restoration of the nation of Israel - have a massive problem on their hands.

To date, over 7 million Jews live in modern-day Israel. (That’s around half of the world’s Jews). 3 million of these Jews have emigrated to Israel - made Aliyah - since 1948 when the State of Israel was established. Are we to believe that they are all mistaken in a sense of call to return to their Jewish homeland? The Bible very much speaks of a day when Jews from around the world will be drawn back to Israel.

He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Isaiah 11:12

“However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.” Jeremiah 16:14-15

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:5-7

(I’d also suggest checking out Isaiah 60 and 62 - they hold wonderful promises of God’s plans of restoration and hope for the Jewish people.)

With antisemitism increasing at a rate of knots, the land of Israel flourishing in a way that hasn’t been seen for thousands of years and Jews returning unstoppably to their homeland, viewing the State of Israel through a geopolitical lens seems flawed and difficult to square with what I would suggest is the clear outworking of biblical prophecy in these days.

Which leaves us with a conundrum, should we continue to dismiss modern-day Israel as an aberration.

If we believe from scripture that God will one day restore the nation of Israel - just not the one that exists right now - what’s to be done with those presently living in the land? Are they to be evicted?

Additionally, preparing the land for an Israel its present opponents feel happier about would necessitate holding at bay the rampant rise in global antisemitism until God creates a more palatable End Times Israel.

And it would mean wiping the slate clean of all the astounding fruits of the flourishing Israel we are seeing in this day. This would include its superlative technological, medical and scientific advances which have changed our world, along with the countless other contributions the nation of Israel has made to the way we live. You may be surprised at how indebted you are to modern-day Israel for your quality of life.

These scenarios may sound absurd but this is the choice those who reject modern-day Israel have to make.

If you are someone who sees the State of Israel through a geopolitical lens can I encourage you to re-read the above scriptures - and others - that speak of God’s End Time purposes for Israel as a nation.

When we see Israel through God’s eyes - through a biblical lens - we will understand that whilst the people of Israel are a work in progress, God has covenanted himself to both them and to the land.

We will also see much clearer who the real enemy is in the present turmoil in the Middle East - the devil - and how he has duped so many into taking a stand against God’s special nation and siding with its enemies.

A right and biblical appraisal of modern-day Israel will preserve us from joining in the defamation and demonising of the Jewish people that is sweeping the globe.

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3

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The Bible tells us that, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1. Clear-cut. And yet Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is posited as a viable alternative.

The Bible tells us that, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. Clear-cut. And yet Universalism - the belief that all humans will eventually be reconciled with God, regardless of their actions or beliefs during life - has seeped into the church.

The Bible tells us that, So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27. Clear-cut. And yet new “truths” about gender and sexuality have set themselves up against this absolute.

From my perspective, none of these Bible passages requires us to know their context or anything about the culture in which they were written. To me they are easily understood. They are clear-cut. There will be other bits of the Bible which also illustrate the point I’m making.

This line of thinking - calling into question the veracity of clear-cut scripture - is nothing new. Right from the outset, mankind began to challenge God’s word.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:15-17.

There was no mistaking God’s instruction but, as we know, Adam (and Eve) ignored it. Which leads me to the premise for this particular blog. When so much of the Bible is plain for all to see, why are there Christians who still reject certain things that God says?

One answer could be that there are parts of the Bible that don’t fit in with a person’s ingrained opinions, philosophies, lifestyles or biases and it therefore offends them. That may be so.

But I’d like to suggest that there’s another way of looking at this and it is that they are deceived. They’re not choosing to dismiss a clear-cut scripture because it falls foul of their personal worldview. They genuinely believe that what they’re reading isn’t to be believed, doesn’t say what we think it does or is not to be taken at face value.

We see how this outworked in the account of Adam and Eve. What God said to them couldn’t have been clearer but when another voice entered the narrative it caused them to doubt the truth which they’d heard. If Satan could deceive Adam and Eve, in all their pre-Fall perfection, we need to be aware of the danger the Deceiver poses to us.

Which is all by way of saying, I’m convinced that many of those who contest clear biblical truth are actually under a shroud of deception. That’s not an accusation, just an observation.

Why else would someone call “black” “white” and still be so certain that they are on the side of right?

If we fast-forward to the end of the Bible in Revelation 20 we are reminded who it is that has been deceiving the nations - Satan, the one who has contested God’s word from the beginning. He has blinded people to the truth. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells what he’s been up to.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

In this respect, Satan’s tactics seem to be two-fold. Firstly, the veiling of people’s minds so that they are unable to recognise truth - this applies to unbelievers and believers. And secondly, providing an alternative narrative to the truth of God’s word which people are then more readily inclined to believe.

Should my line of reasoning not resonate with you, perhaps the book of Proverbs will convince you that there are two voices consistently vying for our attention. Proverbs calls them Wisdom and Folly. One is the voice of God, the other the voice of the Deceiver.

Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks. Proverbs 1:20-21

But Proverbs 9:13-15 tells us that Folly is also to be found in these same places.

The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way.

There were also two spiritual voices in Eden - God’s and the Deceiver’s - and those same two voices continue to speak to us thousands of years later.

Which raises the question - how do we avoid being deceived?

Proverbs 1:7 comes to our aid.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

To fear the Lord involves humility on our part. It’s that simple! We bow before Almighty God, acknowledging his awesome greatness, and lay down everything of ourselves before him. In doing so we open ourselves to his wisdom and instruction and close the door on the Deceiver. This may also necessitate actively renouncing the spirit of deception just to make clear whose voice we are choosing to believe.

Should we consider ourselves immune from deception, Jesus warned that in the last days there would be those among his own followers - the elect or chosen ones - who would be deceived. Perhaps it’s this delusion that Adam was under. That of being immune to deception.

We are all aware of the saying, ‘pride comes before the fall’ - based on Proverbs 16:18 - but somehow, and for some reason, Adam thought he knew better than God which, I believe, primed him for Satan’s strategic deception.

But I don’t believe that this needs to be so for us as followers of Jesus. We can learn from his tragic error.

With our hearts permanently humbled before the Lord they will also be readily inclined to hear his voice and his alone.

The question for each of us is this:

Will we be those who read the Bible with the attitude of “Did God say?”, or will we be those wise ones who fear the Lord and who humbly say, “I believe”?

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Historically, the Jewish people have sometimes had a hard time from the church, be that through negativity or passivity towards them. Since October 7th 2023 it feels like this has increased in some quarters. To that end, I thought that it would be helpful for us to see what God has to say on the matter.

To achieve this I’m going to lead us on a step by step journey through the Bible with the aim of presenting Israel and the Jewish people from God’s perspective.

It’s certainly not comprehensive but I believe it is an attempt at an integrous overview and which I hope will prove helpful. The format will be stepping stone scriptures accompanied by my comments.

Step One

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.” Genesis 12:1-3

I often refer to God’s call to Abram as the Divine Reset when God, in his mercy, chose to reinstate his plans, begun in Eden with Adam and Eve, for the influence of heaven to overspread the earth. In similar fashion, God appointed both a land and a people.

Step Two

The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” Genesis 13:14-17

God made a number of covenants with the Jewish people - both conditional and unconditional. Within this he gifted them a permanent land in which to live and from which he would fulfil his redemptive purposes for all humanity.

Step Three

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1

Fast forwarding through Israel’s history - beyond Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - God gave the Jewish people the prophetic promise of a Messiah who would proceed from the lineage of King David.

Step Four

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2

In God’s perfect timing, the prophesied Messiah was born. We know from God’s promise to Abram that through Israel all nations would ultimately be blessed, but both here and at Jesus’ crucifixion, we are informed that Jesus’ kingship would begin first with the Jewish people.

Step Five

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Matthew 24:1-2

We know from scripture that many Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah. The destruction of Jerusalem and terrible persecution at the hands of the Romans might be interpreted as the consequence of this. Whichever way you view these events the result of them was that the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the wider world and this trend continued into modern times.

Step Six

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:25-26

Although the consensus of many throughout subsequent history was that God had given up on the Jewish people - because of their general rejection of Jesus - the Bible corrects this misapprehension. It tells us that God had not given up on Israel and therefore neither must we - be that in our attitudes towards the Jewish people nor in our empathy with their enemies. Paul also makes clear to us that those of us who are Gentile believers owe a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people. We, the Gentiles, are ingrafted into their heritage. Without the Jewish people we would have no salvation!

Step Seven

This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the Lord Almighty is his name:“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight, declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.” Jeremiah 31:35-36

Another assumption people make is that because of the assimilation of Gentiles into the church after Pentecost, the era of Israel had ended. Not so! The above passage reminds us of how God sees things. Our personal ideology must never overwrite God’s faithfulness to his covenants.

Step Eight

“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.” Ezekiel 36:24-31

Whilst there are scriptures that pertain to the restoration of Jews to the land after their various regional exiles, this and others speak of an ingathering from many nations. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, millions of Jews from across the world have returned to their God-ordained homeland. We must take care not to dismiss these prophecies about the final return of the Jewish people to their homeland whilst accepting the others. Another Bible passage that speaks into this is Amos 9:15

“I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.”

Step Nine

“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.” Zechariah 12:2-3

If it wasn’t already apparent that this isn’t primarily a battle between Israel and its enemies, this and the following passages reveal to us its true nature - that of a battle between the spiritual adversaries of God and God himself. Having been restored to their God-covenanted homeland, the Jewish people find themselves at the epicentre of Satan’s final lashing out, masquerading as unrestrained hatred for Israel. Without this spiritual perspective there’s a danger we might find ourselves at odds with God by being cheerleaders for Israel’s adversaries.

Step Ten

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. Zechariah 14:4-5

Newsflash! It will be to Israel that Jesus returns. It’s no wonder then that Israel is landlocked by enemy opposition. If anyone was still in any doubt of the centrality of Israel to God’s redemptive purposes, check out Revelation 21:1-2.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and there was no sea anymore. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, , prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

The importance of Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth doesn’t stop there.

Verse 12 tells us that the twelve tribes of Israel will continue to have a significance in God’s eternal plans and purposes.

The city had a great high wall with twelve gates with twelve angels at the gates, and on each gate was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel

Check out verse 14 where the twelve Jewish apostles also get a namecheck.

And, to those who have sought to extinguish the light of Israel from the face of the earth we are then informed where God delights to indwell for all eternity.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the city’s temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God is its light, and the Lamb is the city’s lamp. By its light the people of the world will walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. The city’s gates will never be shut on any day, because there is no night there. The glory and the honour of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing unclean and no one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever go into it. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city. Revelation 21:22-27.

In concluding this brief biblical journey, my hope isn’t primarily to solicit empathy with the Jewish people - although this would be a wonderful outcome - but to encourage trust in God’s word. In doing so we will align ourselves with the Lord God Almighty and his eternal purposes, and which will include how we view Israel and the Jewish people.

Does our attitude to Israel and the Jewish people really matter? Well, I’ll allow the prophet Joel to have the final word.

“In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.” Joel 3:1-2

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Which tees me up neatly for this post that revisits a subject I’ve written on before, but from a different angle. It’s all about being duped.

As always, the heart of this blog is the desire to help people to have complete confidence in the Bible. But it’s one thing to dismiss certain parts of God’s word because we don’t like or believe them, another to fall foul of this disposition because we’ve embraced another narrative.

To posit this as a question: Are words from another source trumping God’s word?

My reason for coming at this subject again is because of something that has been vexing me for quite some time, and it is this: the apparent enmity that some Christians have been displaying with regard to Israel and the Jewish people. Much of this was probably under the radar before October 7th, 2023, but not so now. This enmity also hides behind passivity - sitting on the fence and saying nothing in defence of the Jewish people.

Just to say, this is not going to be the place where we dissect the minutiae of the details surrounding that tragic massacre, nor the ensuing events, but a place where we explore why some Christians falter when it comes to the Bible being their primary source. I’ll be using the example of the situation in the Middle East to explore this.

So, the thought that runs round my head is this: why do some Christians find it easier to believe the narrative expounded by Israel’s enemies than that which the word of God has to say about his Chosen People? I’m not talking here about specific events which people will have different views on. These things are already fuelling heated debate the world over.

What I am talking about is having a baseline biblical empathy/loyalty towards the Jewish people - before any ‘if, buts or maybes’.

By way of underscoring my point let me suggest that most followers of Jesus wouldn’t give the time of day to the dubious propaganda churned out by Putin, Bashar al-Assad, Kim Jong Un et al. But when it comes to Israel’s enemies, it’s a different story. Why such readiness to listen to their propaganda?

I would propose that the answer is to be found in understanding that this is a spiritual battle and that Satan, the Archenemy of Israel, is once again up to his old deceptive tricks.

At both the outset of the Bible and towards its end we are told that Satan is a deceiver. What seems clear is that he has little interest in duping the world when it comes to the evil tyrants of the world, the likes of whom I just referenced. This is evidenced by the dearth of global protest movements against them on the streets of our cities or in university campuses.

What Satan is focused on is throwing up a smokescreen around Israel in an attempt to slow down the return of Jesus and therefore his own demise.

Portraying Israel as the bad guy is along the lines of the “Did God say?” deception in the Garden of Eden. That’s when Adam and Eve fell hook, line and sinker for Satan’s smooth talk and it skewed their thinking about God. In that Israel and God are intertwined by covenant, skewed thinking about Israel is once again skewed thinking about God. Can you see history repeating itself?

It is therefore no surprise that Satan is also seeking to sully the bride of Christ in readiness for Jesus’ return. A deceived church, which puts its efforts into championing the enemies of Israel, is sidetracked from praying for the salvation of the Jewish people, of receiving the blessings associated with standing alongside Israel and inadvertently adding fuel to the fire of Satan’s destructive ambitions towards the Jewish people - without whom they would have no salvation!

The lesson Christians should have learned from Satan’s sweet talk to Eve in the Garden of Eden is that hell’s PR department is really effective, so woe betide us if we make the mistake of opening up Satan’s mail when we should be putting it in Junk.

To quote the first line from that 60s classic by The Chiffons:

Sweet talkin’ guy, talkin’ sweet kinda lies

Don't you believe in him, if you do he'll make you cry.

Or, as it says in 2 Corinthians 11:14:

Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

If you’re presently conflicted about whose narrative to believe with regard to Israel and its enemies, below are some Bible passages that give us a helpful overview from God’s perspective. These are just for starters - there are countless more to discover which enable us to build a biblical understanding of Israel, the Jewish people and how we as Christians should respond.

Armed with biblical truth, any questions we might have about what is happening on the ground in Israel and the Middle East will then be rooted in scripture, not propaganda.

When we approach the Bible with preconceived ideas and prejudices, its is harder to see things from God’s perspective. Laying these down in deference to hearing God’s voice - through his word - positions us to see things the way he does and therefore respond to them in accordance with his will.

So, if Israel is presently a stumbling block for you, my prayer is that the following Bible passages about Israel and the Jewish people will bring enlightenment:

Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you [Israel], and whoever curses [despises, treats lightly] you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 13:14-17 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Jeremiah 31:35-36 This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord,“will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.”

Jeremiah 30:3 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,” says the Lord.”

Joel 3:1-2 “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.”

Romans 11:1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means.

Romans 11:18 Do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches [Israel]. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

Romans 11:25-26 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.

In fact, I would suggest reading Romans 11 in its entirety.

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