Does the Bible command Christians to support the State of Israel?

[Hentenza]

Well, if you are supporting the current Israel because you think God will bless you if you do and curse you if you don't, then that is wrong theology.

Glad you got that out of your system.

 

[XrxrX]

Well, if you are supporting the current Israel because you think God will bless you if you do and curse you if you don't, then that is wrong theology.

Wow, we agree!

 

[Guojing]

Wow, we agree!

I already said Israel has fallen today, that is why salvation has come to us gentiles (Romans 11:11)

 

[XrxrX]

I already said Israel has fallen today, that is why salvation has come to us gentiles (Romans 11:11)

I would argue that's not "why".. God doesn't do "plan Bs". The prophesies make clear the WORLD was always the plan.

 

[trophy33]

The prophesies make clear the WORLD was always the plan.

And the words of Jesus and of the apostles. J 3:16 is a verse being displayed almost everywhere and still so many Christians do not seem to know it.

 

[Guojing]

I would argue that's not "why".. God doesn't do "plan Bs". The prophesies make clear the WORLD was always the plan.

I didn't say it was plan B. God already knew it would happen.

But that does not mean it allows one to conclude that, therefore the Body of Christ is equal to Israel.

One will rule the heaven, the other will rule the Earth (Ephesians 1:10).

 

[Guojing]

And the words of Jesus and of the apostles. J 3:16 is a verse being displayed almost everywhere and still so many Christians do not seem to know it.

John 3:16 is a commentary from the author and not Jesus's actual words.

 

[XrxrX]

I didn't say it was plan B. God already knew it would happen.

But that does not mean it allows one to conclude that, therefore the Body of Christ is equal to Israel.

One will rule the heaven, the other will rule the Earth (Ephesians 1:10).

And THERE we have the error. The Kingdom of God... and The Kingdom of Heaven, are the SAME.

 

[Guojing]

And THERE we have the error. The Kingdom of God... and The Kingdom of Heaven, are the SAME.

You like to jump into irrelevant points.

Even if these 2 terms were, depending on how you define them, you cannot then conclude that heaven and earth are therefore the same locations (Ephesians 1:10).

 

[johansen]

But that does not mean it allows one to conclude that, therefore the Body of Christ is equal to Israel.

One will rule the heaven, the other will rule the Earth (Ephesians 1:10).

No.

 

[XrxrX]

You like to jump into irrelevant points.

Even if these 2 terms were, depending on how you define them, you cannot then conclude that heaven and earth are therefore the same locations (Ephesians 1:10).

No, this is a crux of your theology.. which your Dispensationalist brethren have HAD to delineate because of this very claim you cite. Specify, are the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God the same Kingdom?

 

[trophy33]

John 3:16 is a commentary from the author and not Jesus's actual words.

Both is possible. But I said "Jesus and the apostles".

 

[Guojing]

No, this is a crux of your theology.. which your Dispensationalist brethren have HAD to delineate because of this very claim you cite. Specify, are the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God the same Kingdom?

I made no mention of these 2 terms, you were the one who brought them up

 

[Guojing]

Both is possible. But I said "Jesus and the apostles".

Notice I said the author and not John?

But never mind, that will be off topic.

 

[ViaCrucis]

So the beast and false prophet are nobodies to you?

The beast who comes out of the sea died in 68 AD and has nothing to do with what happened to Jerusalem in 70 AD. St. John was writing during the reign of Domitian, and was pointing out that the same imperial power that raged against the Church in the 60's (Nero, aka the beast whose name is 666) is still raging against the Church in his own day.

John was writing to his contemporaries, not to a future generation of people who think they know better than all Christians before them.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Guojing]

The beast who comes out of the sea died in 68 AD and has nothing to do with what happened to Jerusalem in 70 AD. St. John was writing during the reign of Domitian, and was pointing out that the same imperial power that raged against the Church in the 60's (Nero, aka the beast whose name is 666) is still raging against the Church in his own day.

John was writing to his contemporaries, not to a future generation of people who think they know better than all Christians before them.

-CryptoLutheran

So is it a Lutheran belief that Nero was the beast?

 

[The Liturgist]

Does the Bible command Christians to support the State of Israel? This is an important question for our time.

Let me answer the question from the outset: No. Christians are not under a biblical command to support Israel. However, they are under a biblical command to not be arrogant towards Israel. Whatever one thinks of Israel, Christians are absolutely under the biblical command to love Jews, just as they commanded to love people of any race. Christians are called to love their neighbor and their enemies (cf. Matt 5:43-48).

But why is this even a question? What is behind all of this?

For those paying attention, there’s a growing number of Americans taking an anti-Israel stance, and with this comes an all-out assault against any thinking that inclines one to believe that Christians have a biblical obligation to support Israel. “The Church is Israel,” they’ll retort! The message is, “God’s chosen people are Christians. Love the Church! Not the State that rejects Christ and was responsible for His very crucifixion!”

Coupled with this is a strong stance against Dispensationalism that teaches that Israel remains “God’s chosen people.” It follows a literal approach to the text — when God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3); meaning if Christians bless Israel, they’ll be blessed, and if Christians don’t, they’ll be cursed. No one wants that, right?

Continued below.

Does the Bible command Christians to support the State of Israel?

All of this is relevant to the question because the Bible is concerned with our attitude that stems from what we should believe about Israel, rather than the political stance we take regarding them

www.christianpost.com

If it does, it is to the same extent we are required to support other states, in that civil government provides a benefit.

Additionally, in the case of the State of Israel, several important centers of Christian pilgrimage are located within its actual borders, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Monastery of St. Mark in the Old City of Jerusalem, and Mount Carmel in Jaifa, near Tel Aviv, and still more within areas under its control, such as the Church of the Nativity and the adjacent Church of St. Mary on the site of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. A number of Roman Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Greek Orthodox Christians live in Jerusalem, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, some of them Israeli citizens and some citizens of the Palestinian territories.

Thus the status of the Christians in Israel and on the West Bank, and their safety, is of extreme importance to us. Thus, peace in the region is good for Christianity.

Interestingly the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) meets on land owned by and legally leased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

I encourage all Christians to neither hate the State of Israel or align themselves with movements which seek to displace its citizens, nor to regard supporting all policies of its secular government as a religious obligation, because neither is the case.

By the way, demographic shifts in the Jewish population in favor of Charedi Jews who do not wish to engage in military service and who are less specifically nationalistic have the potential to result in either a peaceful long term settlement in about 50 years time, or on the other hand, could engender an undesirable Islamist takeover of the area, which would be very bad for Christians, and even worse for members of other religions who have a presence therein, for example, the Bahai State and the Druze (as witnessed by the recent genocidal acts against the Druze, Alawis and Christians following the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria).