Before we begin, let me remind you that you can access previous articles by going to my Archive at: www.fromstuart.com/archive
“If most Jews in Israel do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, why should Christians support Israel?”
A growing number of Christians are asking this question:
At first glance, the question seems reasonable. If Israel remains largely in unbelief, doesn’t that undermine claims that the modern State of Israel has prophetic significance?
The answer is found in Bible prophecy itself.
The prophets never predicted that the Jewish people would return to their land as a believing nation. Instead, they repeatedly foretold a physical regathering first, followed by a spiritual restoration later.
Israel’s present condition is therefore not a contradiction of Scripture—it is exactly what Scripture said would happen.
The Jewish people are back in their ancient homeland, but largely in unbelief. According to the prophets, that is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of the final chapter.
The Miracle of Israel’s Return
For nearly two thousand years, the Jewish people were scattered among the nations.
Moses warned that this dispersion would occur because of Israel’s disobedience:
“The LORD will scatter you among all peoples” (Deuteronomy 28:64).
Yet Moses also promised that God would one day bring them back:
“The LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you” (Deuteronomy 30:3).
Centuries later, Isaiah expanded the promise:
“He will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12).
Today, after centuries of exile, millions of Jews have returned to Israel from nations across the globe. Nearly half of the world’s Jewish population now lives in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Historically, this is astonishing.
Biblically, it is precisely what the prophets predicted.
The Prophetic Pattern: Return First, Repentance Later
The crucial point many Christians overlook is that Scripture presents Israel’s restoration in two distinct stages.
Stage One: Physical Regathering
God first brings the Jewish people back to their land.
Ezekiel writes:
“I will take you from among the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24).
Notice that the return to the land comes first.
Stage Two: Spiritual Restoration
Only after the regathering does God promise spiritual renewal:
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you... I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:25–27).
The sequence is unmistakable:
Regathering to the land.
Spiritual cleansing.
National renewal.
The prophets consistently present this same order.
Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones and Modern Israel
Ezekiel 37 provides perhaps the clearest illustration of this prophetic pattern.
The prophet sees a valley filled with dry bones, which God identifies as “the whole house of Israel.”
The restoration unfolds in stages:
First
The bones come together.
Second
Sinews, flesh, and skin cover them.
Third
The breath of life enters them.
The first two stages restore a national body, but there is still no spiritual life.
Only afterward does God’s Spirit enter them.
Many Bible teachers see a remarkable parallel with modern Israel.
The Jewish people have been regathered.
The nation has been restored.
Hebrew has been revived.
Israel is thriving and functioning as a nation.
Yet most Israelis still do not recognize Jesus as Messiah.
In Ezekiel’s imagery, the body has been restored, but the final breath of spiritual life is still future.
Zechariah’s Vision of Israel’s Future Conversion
The prophet Zechariah describes a future moment when Israel, already living in the land, experiences national repentance.
“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10).
Notice what is already true when this event occurs:
The people are living in Jerusalem.
The nation is back in the land.
Israel has been regathered.
Only then does God open their eyes.
Once again, the prophetic order remains consistent:
Return first. Conversion later.
Paul’s Confirmation in Romans 11
The New Testament affirms exactly the same pattern.
Paul acknowledges Israel’s present unbelief while insisting that God’s covenant purposes remain intact.
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).
Paul explains that Israel is currently experiencing a temporary hardening:
“A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25).
Yet he immediately points to a future national salvation:
“And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
Present unbelief does not mean God has abandoned Israel.
Rather, it means God is continuing to unfold His prophetic plan exactly as He promised.
Why Israel’s Unbelief Does Not Negate God’s Hand
Many Christians assume that if God is working through Israel today, then:
Israel’s government must be righteous.
Israel’s leaders must be godly.
Israel’s people must be spiritually faithful.
Scripture never makes those claims.
Throughout biblical history, God continued working through Israel despite repeated seasons of rebellion, unbelief, and disobedience.
If national faithfulness were the standard by which God’s activity was measured, one would have to conclude that God was absent during much of Israel’s Old Testament history.
The Bible teaches the opposite.
God’s covenant faithfulness is not dependent upon Israel’s perfection.
The modern regathering demonstrates God’s faithfulness to His promises, not Israel’s worthiness.
Israel’s Place in the Future Prophetic Program
Numerous prophetic passages indicate that Israel must exist as a nation before end-time events can occur.
Scripture anticipates:
Israel dwelling once again in the land.
A future covenant described in Daniel 9:27.
A period of tribulation and refinement.
National repentance.
The return of the Messiah.
The ultimate restoration of Israel.
The existence of Israel in unbelief is therefore not evidence against prophecy.
It is a necessary element within the prophetic sequence itself.
A Christian Response to Rising Antisemitism
One troubling trend in recent years is the growing belief among some Christians that because Israel does not yet believe in Jesus, support for Israel is unnecessary—or even wrong.
But that conclusion ignores what the prophets plainly taught.
The Bible anticipated:
Israel’s return in unbelief.
International hostility toward Israel.
Growing pressure from the nations.
God’s preservation of the Jewish people.
A future national turning to Messiah.
Christians should reject antisemitism in all its forms.
We can acknowledge Israel’s imperfections while still affirming God’s continuing covenant purposes.
Supporting Israel does not require believing that every government policy or military action is correct.
It means recognizing God’s faithfulness to His promises and opposing hatred directed toward the Jewish people.
What Should Christians Do?
The biblical response is neither blind nationalism nor indifference.
Instead, Christians should:
Rejoice in God’s faithfulness to His Word.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).
Oppose antisemitism.
Love the Jewish people.
Share the gospel with Jewish people.
Pray for Israel’s future national salvation.
The Jewish people need Jesus just as every other nation does.
Supporting Israel should never diminish our commitment to proclaiming the gospel. Rather, it should increase our anticipation of the day when Israel recognizes her Messiah.
The Bigger Picture
When we step back and view Israel through the lens of biblical prophecy, the modern Jewish return to the land becomes difficult to ignore.
The Bible predicted:
A worldwide regathering.
A return to the land in unbelief.
Continued spiritual blindness.
Increasing hostility from the nations.
A future outpouring of God’s Spirit.
National repentance.
Israel’s ultimate salvation.
The sequence matters.
The prophets did not foresee a regenerated nation returning to the land.
They foresaw a nation returning first—and then being transformed by God.
The bones have come together.
The nation stands once again in the land.
But the final breath of spiritual life—the great turning to Messiah described by Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Paul—still lies ahead.
For Christians who believe the Scriptures, Israel’s present unbelief is not a reason to withdraw support.
It is one of the strongest evidences that God is keeping His Word exactly as He promised.
—Stuart
Jesus wants us to love our enemies. If we open our discipleship only to Christians, aren't we only "preaching to the choir?" Our field of harvest is composed of non-believers. That would be atheists, agnostics, Jews, Buddists, Muslims, Hindus, and any of the "new-age" religious theories out there. So, if we say, "I'm not supporting this or that because we disagree with their behavior," aren't we placing conditions on those we witness to? Our faith, and our reaching out, should be based on the worth of all people who Jesus died for, not on the current status of governments or political winds.
My two cents. :)
So good!