Hey friends, I want to talk about Israel. Specifically, the conversations among Christians as the Israel news dominates geopolitical interest. We’re gonna see more and more Israel discussion among Christians in the church.
There are three particular red flags that tell me all I need to know about their position and about how a conversation will go. Sometimes it’s entertaining, I admit, and it helps me see where Christians are in their understanding of Biblical Israel or prophetic Israel.
Number one. When the conversation is around the definition of Israel, it really sends a signal. Someone may be talking about God’s covenant with Israel, or God’s promises with Israel and then the other side will then say, “Yeah, but that was ancient Israel,” or “That was Biblical Israel, this doesn’t apply to national Israel, or political Israel, or ethnic Israel, or, post-1948 Israel,” or they’ll say “That was 1500 BC Israel.”
It comes down to definitions. Whenever there’s debate over the definition of Israel, I know the debate has gone off the rails.
It reminds me of the question, What is a woman? Something that’s very simple suddenly becomes complex because people make it complex. Same thing with Israel. “What really is Israel?” And this also reminds me of the strategy of Satan in the garden, how the enemy uses confusion and questioning to derail the truth.
“Did God really say that? He didn’t really say that… He said this.” The serpent uses confusion and trickery to get Eve to question what she’s been told. So don’t let that happen to you. Even a well-spoken Bible teacher can refute simple truths by questioning definition, and we’re seeing that more and more.
Red flag number two: I call this “text proofing, and it’s when someone attempts prove a Bible doctrine based on a specific text. They take a verse and use it to prove a position. Of course this happens a lot with discussions around Biblical Israel and prophetic promises where someone may be using texts from Genesis and another “text proofer” will bring a verse from Galatians chapter three, that seems to show proof that all of those previous promises about Israel no longer apply.
And let’s be honest, this text proofing happens on both sides of many debates. We all text proof from time to time, and it drives me crazy. Actually, it’s what drove me to invest the time to develop this macro, big picture approach to the Bible.
The ThreeFifteen framework and the four threads is an attempt to do away with the text proofing culture that has spilled into the Western Church, and offer an alternative to the sloppy way to answer biblical questions. I wanted deeper answers based on the whole of scripture.
And the fact is, there are verses that can be pulled out of context to support almost any position.
Red flag number three. This one really shocks me, and that’s when you hear Christians rebuke or criticize Israel. Let me explain.
My wife and I have four children, and when they were young, I’d take my boys to the park to play. If there was another dad there with his son, and let’s say that the other little boy did something wrong and needed to be corrected, it wasn’t my place—especially considering the other boy’s father was right there.
In the same way, if another dad was to rebuke my son in my presence, the papa bear inside me would rise up and I’d tell him to back off. But many Christians do that with Israel—God’s chosen nation.
That’s why our posture is to be supportive of Israel, or sometimes “neutral” when looking at headlines that can change dramatically from week to week.
Those are the three red flags. Messing around with definitions, proof texting, and chastising Israel.
You’ll notice these in online debates, whether it’s Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz, or among pastors. They showcase the confusion that the church sometimes has. We’ll talk more about this because this topic will be debated in the media and in the church for a long time.