Heart for Israel

Is Israel Everything?

At a recent Christian Pro-Israel conference that I attended, one of the Keynote speakers made the statement that Israel was not just one issue; Israel is everything. In other words, Israel should be everything we do in our lives and ministry. As I pondered the statement, I began to question its validity.

Just to be clear, I am very pro-Israel and have always been my whole life. I do believe that Israel is very important in numerous areas, particularly in Eschatology. In fact, in eschatology, Israel is central and vital.

So, in thinking about this concept, let’s begin with the Doctrine of God. How is Israel related to the Attributes of God? If there were no Israel, would God still be God? The answer is yes. God is not dependent on Israel, but Israel is dependent on God. Therefore, God is everything; Israel is not everything.

Next, the Doctrine of Christ. The doctrine of Christ could be called the doctrine of the Messiah. The Messiah is fully man and fully God. As man, the Messiah is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In His humanity, He is ethnically Israeli. He came and is coming again as the King of Israel. He will rule from Zion (Ps.2).

This doctrine connects to Israel. However, in the atonement for sin, He came and died for all of humanity, not just Israel. As the church age began, the disciples were to go to the nations to call all people to repentance and faith.

The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit connects back to the New Covenant, which is a Jewish Covenant (Jer. 31:31; Gal. 3:14). The Promise of the Spirit through faith in Gal. 3:14 relates back to the Jeremiah 31 passage. Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, and their bodies are the new Temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 6:19-20).

The Doctrine of Man. Man (both male and female) is created in the Image and Likeness of God. They bear the attributes of purpose, will, emotion, and intellect, to name a few. In this doctrine, we do not see Israel.

The Doctrine of Sin. This doctrine begins with the fall of man, and it is portrayed throughout Scripture. There are lists of sins, such as in Galatians 5:19-21 and Romans 1:21-32. In this doctrine, we do not see anything regarding Israel.

The Doctrine of Salvation. The basis of salvation is Rom.5:1, justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, apart from any human works (Rom.3:20-31; 4:1-5). In this doctrine, we do not see anything regarding Israel.

Under the doctrine of salvation is the doctrine of sanctification. The idea of progressive sanctification entails our walk with God and our spiritual growth. None of this is dependent on our relationship to or our understanding of Israel.

The Doctrine of Angels. In this doctrine, Michael the archangel is the guardian of the nation of Israel (Dan. 12:1; Rev. 12). There is also the Angel of the LORD in Old Testament passages, who is the pre-incarnate Christ. This angel is connected totally to Israel.

There are many angels, both fallen and elect. Fallen angels and Satan try to obstruct anything Biblical. If Israel and the Jewish people are still the chosen people of God, one can see the evil in today’s antisemitism as being Satanic. The Church is also under attack by unseen forces (Eph.6:10-18). This doctrine is connected to Israel.

The Doctrine of the Scriptures/Bible. This doctrine deals mostly with the inspiration and inerrancy of the Word of God. It deals with the power of God’s Word in the life of the believer (Heb.4:12-13; 2Tim.3:16-17). It includes 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Both the Old and New Testaments say much about the nation of Israel.

The Doctrine of the Church. Several New Testament books deal a lot with the nation of Israel/Jewish people. For example, in the Epistle to the Romans, Paul uses chapters 9-11 to address the question of Israel. The book uses many references and examples throughout, quoting the Old Testament. All four Gospel accounts deal with Jesus’ life in Israel and his identity as an Israelite. The Epistle to the Hebrews, James, and 1 & 2 Peter are all written to the Church but have a Jewish flavor. Paul often mentions Jews and Gentiles together in the Church. Not everything, but some connections to Israel in this doctrine.

The Doctrine of Eschatology. Clearly, of all the major doctrines in the Bible, Israel is central to this doctrine.  The Abrahamic Covenant, along with 3 other Jewish-based covenants (Land, Davidic, New), is critical to end-times doctrine. Israel’s repentance and call for the Messiah, the design of the Messianic Kingdom government, and the Temple are all related to Israel.

Dealing with the topic of Israel is everything is not a very accurate statement. The individual who made this statement is probably a very sincere and godly man. He seems to be very zealous for his Christian faith and is a man of prayer. Israel is very important in Biblical Theology, but Israel is not everything.