With yet again another conflict taking place in the Middle East and various parts of the Church trying to define the conflict and its perpetrators, the Lord still honors His pledge to Israel.

We talk about the civil government of Israel as being different than the Israel of God, the Church. That is an important distinction to make. Paul wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29).

When Jesus was speaking to His Jewish disciples, He told them, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). His statement was a clear and abrupt message referring to the distinctiveness of His mission. That distinctness was part of the reason why the Lord was crucified.

Isaiah prophesied about the coming of Jesus, the Redeemer of all people and all nations. Isaiah said of Him, “He will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about” (Isaiah 52: 15). Not only will nations and kings be startled, but the Church will also be startled by the majesty of His appearance. His startling appearance will demolish our premature assumptions.

We need to be careful not to allow what some have taught us to dismiss the importance of Israel in human history. Like all governments, and through all accounts contained in Scripture, Israel has proven it can make terrible mistakes when people, not God, lead a nation.

A time is coming when we will see what we have not been shown and understand what we have not been told about Israel. In our limited ability to understand all the Lord will do with Israel, it would be wise not to allow a single opinion about that nation to capture our thinking and dictate to us with finality how we should discern what God intends to do in and through the nation of Israel.