The following article is
taken from the Assemblies of God church website ag.org
What
does the Bible teach regarding Israel and the end-times? As Christians, what
response should we have to the Israelis and the Palestinians?
According to Scripture, Israel has
an important role to play in the end-times. For centuries Bible scholars
pondered over the prophecy of a restored Israel. “’This is what the Sovereign
LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone.
I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land”
(Ezekiel 37:21; cf. Zephaniah 3:19,20). When the modern nation of Israel was
founded in 1948, and Jews began returning from all around the world, Bible
scholars knew that God was at work and that we were very likely living in the
last days.
But God’s timetable moves at a
different pace than some would like. Over half a century later, Israel is still
there, but turmoil and struggle between Palestinians and Israelis, between Arabs
and Jews, seem to be hindering the prophetic promise Christians saw beginning
to happen in 1948. And many Christians outside Israel seem bent on assisting
God in fulfilling His prophesied blessing on His chosen people.
But what part should Christians play
in the current conflict? Do we allow our unqualified support for a
non-Christian nation to be interpreted by Palestinians as setting aside our
basic Christian principles of justice, love for enemies, respect for human
life, honesty, and fairness? Do we have as much concern for the souls of
Israelis as we have for hastening the fulfillment of God’s prophecy concerning
the Jews? Romans 11:26,27 says, “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is
written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from
Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’”
The Great Commission of the Church
is “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). We are not called to
determine the time and method for the fulfillment of prophecy. Nor are we
called to human attempts in fulfilling ‘Revelation’ prophecy as a means of
ushering in the return of Christ. God in His divine providence will fulfill all
prophetic events in His time, in His way, and in His will. As believers we need
not concern ourselves with such details. Instead, we are called to fervently
undertake our mission to win the lost, making the most of every opportunity in
the short window of time before His return.
Because of the contribution of the
patriarchs, of Jesus, and of the Jewish disciples to our Christian faith, the
Church is often viewed as being pro-Israel, and therefore anti-Palestinian. But
we must never forget our Christian Palestinian brothers and sisters who suffer
great terrors and hurts. But neither should we forget the Jewish Christians and
others who are caught in this conflict. We must remember that millions on both
sides of this end-times conflict need to come to a faith in Jesus Christ.
The Assemblies of God as a
Fellowship has been diligent to take an apolitical stance in matters of
government and nations. Our commitment as Christians must always be that of
Jesus—to reach the lost, whoever and wherever they are.
Though we have emotional ties and
affections with Israel, we cannot endorse and approve every action of a
particular country whether right or wrong. Our faith calls us to pray for peace
and seek to share the gospel message with all who are lost and without a
Savior. The heart of Jesus must break over the worldwide conflict between Christians,
Muslims, and Jews, not to mention the many who believe in no God at all.
CONCERNS:
It is sometimes easy to dissipate
spiritual and religious fervor by turning it into political and activist
action. Christians who love the lost of the world, as Jesus did, should be
careful about activist groups that they align themselves with. Extremists in
the Christian community have been known to say that membership in and full
support for a Christian Zionist organization is absolutely mandatory for a
Christian. This is not true. Warm feelings toward Israel, because of its
ancient religious heritage and its present adherence to our cherished
principles of democracy, are understandable. But when we are reminded of our
spiritual obligation to all the lost of the world, we cannot neglect a single
nation or people. The crisis in the Middle East should be one of our top prayer
priorities in these momentous days.
The above statement is based upon
our common understanding of scriptural teaching.
