Israel, Islam, and the Church
I’m somewhere between two extremes. On one side are the people who support modern-day Israel without blinking, often because of a thing called dispensationalism. If you’ve never heard that word, here’s the simple version: it’s a theological system that believes God has separate plans for Israel and the Church, and that modern geopolitical Israel is still at the center of God’s prophetic timeline. This often leads to uncritical support of Israel in military conflict, assuming it’s always tied directly to end-times prophecy.
That’s not where I land.
I believe God’s covenant is now extended to all people through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 3:28-29; Eph 2:11-22). There is one new humanity, not two. That doesn’t erase Israel, but it does recenter Jesus as the fulfillment of everything Israel pointed toward (Rom 10:4; Heb 1:1-3).
At the same time, let’s not pretend Hamas or radical Islam in Iran isn’t evil. They bunker underneath schools and use civilians as shields. They target the innocent. That’s wicked, period. And in a fallen world, evil sometimes gets dealt with in ways that are gut-wrenching. The judgment of God is not always clean and poetic. It often looks like pain and fire and loss. Just ask Egypt. Or Babylon. Or even Jerusalem.
When I read the Old Testament, I see decades—sometimes hundreds of years—of divine warning and long-suffering. Then I see judgment fall. But I read that in about 30 minutes. History condenses into chapters. Meanwhile, we’re watching our own 30-minute snapshot unfold in real time on the news. This is how history is made: events happen, leaders act, and kingdoms rise or fall.
Here’s what I know: God is just. Always. He sees clearly. He judges rightly. And sometimes what we’re witnessing is exactly that: judgment.
But I also know this: God is Judge. Not Israel. Not America. Not a dad in Alabama writing on the Internet.
The New Testament reveals the deeper layer. God is no longer gathering His people by ethnicity or national borders, but through Christ. The dividing wall is down (Eph 2:14). The promises to Israel find their Yes and Amen in Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). That doesn’t mean we erase the people of Israel or ignore God’s heart for them. It just means that any true hope for Israel’s future—or Iran’s, or America’s for that matter—will come not through military strength or reclaimed land, but through the confession that Jesus is Lord (Rom 10:9-13).
That’s not replacement theology, and it sure as heck isn’t anti-Semitic. It’s the Gospel. And I’m praying for Jewish people to encounter Jesus. I’m praying for Palestinians and Iranians to encounter Jesus. I’m praying that the bloodshed will stop, but more than that, that hardened hearts will soften.
Because here’s the reality:
This isn’t about end-times charts.
This isn’t about team red vs. team blue.
This is about evil being confronted by a Holy God on all sides.
And in the middle of it, the Church isn’t called to be experts in warfare or politics—we’re called to be faithful witnesses (Rev 12:11).
I’m not writing this to convince you. I’m writing this to ask you to pause. Open your Bible. Pray your guts out. Intercede for the region. Discern what’s happening not through headlines, but through the Holy Spirit.
Yes, God still judges nations (Jer 18:7-10; Acts 17:26-27).
Yes, He still saves individuals (John 3:16).
Yes, He still calls His people to holiness (1 Pet 1:15-16).
So be careful siding too quickly with kingdoms of this world.
The kingdom of God operates on a different timeline.
We don’t need less discernment right now—we need more.
We don’t need to shout louder—we need to listen better.
And above all, we need to be the kind of people who know what to do, because we’ve spent time on our faces before God.
May God have mercy.
May Christ be exalted.
And may we not waste our moment to be light in the middle of war.
Scripture References:
Galatians 3:28-29
Ephesians 2:11-22
Romans 10:4, 9-13
2 Corinthians 1:20
Ephesians 2:14
Jeremiah 18:7-10
Acts 17:26-27
1 Peter 1:15-16
Revelation 12:11