Why Evangelicals support Israel
Nine months following my own arrival into the world the modern state of Israel was born on May 14, 1948. Gathered together with Israeli pioneers in the Tel Aviv Museum, David Ben-Gurion, who would become Israel’s first Prime Minister, pronounced, “We hereby declare the establishment of the Jewish State in the land of Israel.” Then, to the mesmerizing strains of Hatikvah, which would become the new state’s national anthem, the group of founders and observers began to sing together as their minds were filled not only with the euphoria and jubilation of the moment but also with the still seared scars of the recent horrors of the Holocaust and a thousand pogroms which had been propagated upon them in hundreds of places. Israel and I have grown up together…through childhood…adolescence….young adulthood… and now into an age of maturity and experience.
Fifty years ago I made my first journey to Jerusalem. From the moment I set my foot on the tarmac at the old airport at Lod I had the mystical sense that I had come “home.” Across this past half century and after almost one hundred return trips that feeling has never left me. I love the Jewish state and I love the Jewish people. To say that “some of my best friends are Jewish” is not for me some type of condescending, racist attempt of self promotion or self justification. It is the honest truth as many Jerusalemites I’ve come to know and love across these past decades can readily attest.
The support of Israel by evangelical Christians like me is a complex and complicated phenomenon. It is not lost on me as I pen these words that many of our Jewish friends are skeptical of our support and for several reasons, some justified and some not. For those so small in number among the nations who have fought and sacrificed so much for a place to call “home” the keeping of their Jewish identity and heritage is, rightfully, of utmost importance. History has recorded many attempts down through the centuries of persecution at the hands of the church and blatant forced attempts at conversion which has led to skepticism on the part of some Jews to any acceptance of Christian support. Understanding the enthusiastic and unconditional support of evangelicals for the state of Israel still feels for some an uneasy and unhealthy alliance.
It is at this very point that a definition of an “evangelical” is in order. Who are “evangelicals?” After all, they number almost 100 million in America and when Africa is added into the mix they account for almost a half billion people worldwide. Evangelicals are followers of Jesus Christ. The very word derives from a Greek word appearing in the Christian Bible which means bearers of good news. They are not Roman Catholics, although a very small percentage of Catholics may identify as such. They are not main line Protestants, although a minute and diminishing number of mainline Protestants identify as such. Evangelicals are unashamed followers of Yeshua, believing that He is the promised Messiah. They adhere to a more literal interpretation of scripture believing that both the Hebrew and Christian Bible (Old and New Testaments) are divinely inspired and as Solomon proclaimed, they believe “Every Word of God is pure” (Proverbs 30:5). They hold to an eschatology that insists that God is still in covenant relationship with the Jews especially as it relates to the land of Israel which the Almighty gave to the Jews as “an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8). Evangelicals of my own bent outright reject any form of replacement theology which suggests that the promises God gave to the Jews are now bestowed upon Christians. It is true that the essence of evangelical commitment is faith in Christ and in His life, death, burial and resurrection. I often share with my Jewish friends who wish for me to not speak of this gospel that they are asking me to do something I would never think of asking them to do. That is, I would never ask a Jewish friend to stop being a Jew and I would hope they would not ask me to stop being a Christian for the sharing of our faith is the essence of our own spiritual experience. In the end I do not ask my Jewish friends to convert to my religion because I feel I have converted to their’s in my own belief that Yeshua is the promised Messiah. In the end we must ultimately leave this discussion with the words of the Torah, “Shall not the Judge of the whole earth do what is right?” (Genesis 18:25).
Why do evangelicals support the state of Israel? Evangelical support of Israel is multi-faceted and finds its roots in four areas; historical certainties, political concerns, theological considerations, and Biblical convictions. This list is not by any means exhaustive but provides a bit of a road map into evangelical thought and the motivation behind their unqualified, unwavering, and unconditional support or the Jewish homeland.
Historical Certainties
In the modern debate over the land of Israel and especially its eternal capital of Jerusalem, evangelicals understand that history stands firmly on the side of the Jew. Apart from the Bible and its numerous validations of this point many extra Biblical indicators including a multitude of archeological discoveries validate the fact that King David established Jerusalem as the Jewish capital three thousand years ago. No serious historian would deny that the Jews occupied Jerusalem for hundreds of years until Titus and his Roman legions destroyed the city in 70 A.D. Then, after being dispersed for almost two millennia and seeing one of every three Jews in the world annihilated in Hitler’s ovens during World War II, they returned to reestablish, completely rebuild, and repeatedly defend their ancient homeland. History is on the side of the Jew.
Evangelicals appreciate these historical certainties and quietly played a part behind the scenes in various and sundry ways particularly with the establishment of the modern state. The first nation to recognize Ben Gurion’s declaration of the new state of Israel in 1948 was the United States of America. History records that among others working behind the scenes of President Harry Truman’s recognition of Israel was an evangelical Baptist pastor in Texas named J. Frank Norris. Norris was the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Fort Worth which had for decades been recognized as one of the largest and most influential churches in the country. Late in 1947 Norris began a letter exchange with Truman laying out the scriptural, ethical, and moral grounds for the legitimacy of the establishment of a Jewish state. Basing his arguments on biblical texts like Deuteronomy 30:3-5 in the Torah Norris persuaded Truman, himself a Baptist, that God was in covenant relationship with the Jews and that the Bible foretold of the reestablishment and regathering of the Jews from the ends of the world to Jerusalem. After several exchanges Truman invited Norris to the White House to participate in a conference specifically related to Israel and the Middle East conflict. Norris’ persistent and persuasive communication with the leader of the free world resulted in the United States de facto recognition of the new Jewish state within minutes of Ben Gurion’s proclamation. The list of evangelicals supporting Israel goes on and on including the British colonel, Orde Wingate, whose deep evangelical faith during the years of the British Mandate motivated him to the task of training the Israeli armed units who became the forerunners of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). All this is not to mention the multitudes of evangelicals like the Ten Boom family in Holland who hid and saved Jews during the dark days of World War II sacrificing their own lives in the process. Many of these evangelicals are remembered as “Righteous Gentiles” at Yad Vashem, the memorial to the holocaust in Jerusalem. The Holy City is also host to the Friends of Zion Museum, which tells their stories in an engaging interactive manner and has become one of the most visited museums in Jerusalem.
These historical certainties and thousands of others like them add weight and bring validity to the explanation of evangelical support of the modern state of Israel. Evangelicals support the state of Israel because of plain historical and factual certainties. History is on the side of the Jews.
Political Concerns
While not a primary driving force of evangelical support of Israel, political concerns in the region do play a part. Many evangelicals view Israel as a key ally in the Middle East and appreciate the fact that it is the only democracy in that entire part of the world. Evangelicals have shared values with the Jewish state particularly as it relates to the rule of law and religious freedom. In a region that is daily front page news around the world due to its conflicts and wide spread instability these political concerns play a significant role in the commitment evangelicals embrace towards the Israeli people. Common values and interests on issues such as opposition to radical Islamic extremism strengthens the bond between evangelicals and the Jewish people. The infamous events on the dates of September 11, 2001 and October 7, 2023 have solidified this bond. It is for these political concerns that evangelicals see Israel as a resilient and democratic nation, always in threat of its very survival, and for these reasons deserving of their support.
Theological Considerations
If we were to trace back the evangelical’s historic support of Israel we would find the most significant reason rooted in their interpretation of scripture of both the Hebrew and the Christian Bible. Evangelicals believe in a literal interpretation of Biblical prophesies. For the most part they have adhered to an eschatology that is dispensational in nature acknowledging that God divides history into a theological framework of distinct periods or dispensations. Because of this view many evangelicals see the regathering and the reestablishment of the Jewish state with its capital in Jerusalem as a significant marker in God’s own divine plan of the ages. Hence, they believe the promise related to Israel and the Jews found in Genesis 12:3-“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you and in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” Evangelicals see a Biblical mandate to “comfort” God’s people Israel (Jeremiah 40:1). They also appreciate the reality that in these days God has raised up Israel and made her “a light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6) through literature, the arts, science and innovation. Theological considerations far to numerous to mention here play an important role in the continuing support of Christian evangelicals for the state of Israel.
Biblical Convictions
Being rooted in a conservative Biblical hermeneutic is the leading issue in the unwavering support Israel continues to receive through the generations from evangelical believers. One of the greatest tangible proofs that the Bible is true is the way prophecies are made and fulfilled and the way promises are made and kept within the pages of holy writ. And, the most obvious of these prophesies and promises are the ones God has made and kept with His chosen people, the Jews. Evangelicals are well known for adding to the Israeli economy by their taking millions of people to the Holy Land annually. They know that if you are looking for proof that God will keep His promises a trip to Israel and an observance of the miracle of a people dispersed among the nations for almost two thousand years who have returned to their promised land, made the desert bloom again, and against all odds re-emerged as a world leader is proof positive. Evangelicals primarily support Israel because of their strong Biblical convictions.
Way back in the unfolding chapters of the Torah God made a promise to Abraham saying, “Get out…to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation…and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). Next the Lord enlarged this promise by giving them a land saying, “I will establish My covenant for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants…also I will give you and your descendants after you the land…as an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:7-8). God repeated this promise of the land to Abraham’s son Isaac and to his son Jacob as well, “The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants…and in you and your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 28:13-14). And God kept His promise.
Israel became a world power under the kingships of David and Solomon. But, they began to follow after other gods. God repeatedly warned them He would not tolerate the worship of other gods by warning, “You will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you…you shall find no rest” (Deuteronomy 4:27). True to His word the Jewish people were scattered after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
For two thousand years they lived as an often despised and persecuted people without a land to call their own. Against all odds these chosen people maintained their identity and lived generation after generation with the constant hope that they would celebrate their annual feasts “next year in Jerusalem.” God promised them in scripture that there would come a day when He would regather them from the four corners of the earth, bring them back into their own land and reestablish them as a nation. He promised, “I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all the countries, and bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24). And what He long ago promised He performed…and, I have been blessed to witness this within my own lifetime. Never in recorded human history has a nation been reborn in such a fashion. Two and a half millennia earlier through the Prophet Isaiah God had promised, “It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people…assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:1-12).
On Christian pilgrimages to Israel today evangelicals walk the streets of Jerusalem and see Russian Jews who fled persecution and pogroms, dark skinned Ethiopian Jews some believe to be descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Sephardic Jews from the surrounding Arab nations, and Ashkenazi Jews with their black coats and long beards from Eastern Europe all blending together, just as God so long ago promised, into one Jewish state, God’s own chosen people. No wonder evangelicals call it the “promised land.”
Evangelicals primarily are staunch supporters of Israel because of their Biblical convictions. After all, if God did not keep His covenant promises to Israel what reason do we have to believe that He would keep His covenant promises to us?
Evangelical support of Israel is not going away…not now…not ever. Evangelicals worship a Jewish Messiah and we can not love Him without loving the Jewish people. Evangelicals read a Bible that is a Jewish book and we can not love it without loving the Jewish people. Regularly in our churches we “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). And, we confidently join the prophet in affirming, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep quiet; for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be silent” (Isaiah 62:1). Evangelicals stand with the God of the Bible and His chosen people the Jews…now…and forever!
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O.S. Hawkins is a graduate of TCU (BBA) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv; PhD) and is the former Senior Pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He is the author of over 50 books including the best selling Code Series of devotionals including the Joshua Code and the Bible Code published by HarperCollins/ThomasNelson with sales over three million copies.Visit him at oshawkins.com
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