Believers are often taught that the Jewish people are the chosen people of God as if that were the end of the story, but within the context of the Christian faith, it is not. Sound Christian doctrine teaches that the Jewish people were the chosen people of God under the Old Covenant, but that was a pre-echo of the New Covenant of Christ, through which all nations of the Earth become God's chosen people.
In the New Testament, the city of Jerusalem is understood as a foreshadow or 'type' of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the Church, united in Christ. The Book of Hebrews teaches us that the ultimate expression of Zion is Heaven itself rather than a physical city in the Middle East. The Book of Revelation paints a glorious picture of the Church as the New Jerusalem, descending as a bride to meet her Groom.
When talking with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, Jesus made it clear that the Father longs to establish a worldwide spiritual outpouring rather than emphasize the importance of a physical location or a nationality:
"Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:21-24).
God's intentions towards Israel were clear from the very first of the Hebrew Covenants, made with Abraham, in which God declared that through him, all nations of the Earth would be blessed.
That first Hebrew Covenant was the founding promise of the nation of Israel—that God would bless Abraham's descendants as a nation and that this blessing was always intended to extend to every nation through the Gospel of Christ. In other words, Israel's specialness was always temporary, a shadow of a much greater blessing to come that would include all people on Earth.
The differences between promises to Israel and promises to the Church.
It's crucial to understand that the promises made to Israel were about protecting an actual Earthly territory. God promised to favor them in battle, confound their enemies, deliver them from oppressors, and protect them from physical attack, diseases, and other forms of mortal threat.
The Kingdom of God, however, is so much greater than an Earthly territory. It is a Heavenly Kingdom without borders, built upon the ultimate union of humanity and God, through Christ. The earthly kingdom of Israel is temporary; the Heavenly Kingdom of God is eternal, and the eternal fulfils and supersedes the temporary.
All too often, Christians understand Old Testament promises of protection from military enemies as present and active rather than symbolic of spiritual victory through Christ.
For Christian readers of the Bible, promises made to the physical nation of Israel need to be understood through this lens, and reinterpreted in the context of an eternal kingdom.
The conditional nature of God's promises to Israel.
It can be illuminating to examine the promises made to Israel in their own context rather than the Christian context. Most importantly, it's important to understand that these promises were conditional—if the Israelites obeyed God, He would bless them, protect them, etc., but if they didn't, He would curse them.
"All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God…However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you" (Deuteronomy 28:2, 15).
The Israelites had to obey God's commands to receive his blessing. In other words, if the Israelites disobeyed God's commands, they wouldn't have His support or protection.
What about the End Times?
Evangelical End Times teaching is one of the big sticking points we need to repent of. We have been taught a set of dogma about how 'The Last Days' will play out that no other bastions of the worldwide Church believe in – the Rapture, the thousand years, etc.
Mainline Protestantism, the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, and Progressive Christian Movement do not accept that the Bible teaches a clear series of events that will alert us to Jesus' return.
Evangelicals, on the other hand, have been handed what we are told is a roadmap to Armageddon, including Israel being attacked on all sides and yet remaining victorious as a 'sign of the times'.
It is therefore vital for Christians to approach modern geopolitical developments—especially those concerning Israel—with theological maturity and biblical discernment. While honoring Israel's historical significance and the Jewish roots of our faith, we must not conflate the temporal nation-state with the eternal Kingdom of God inaugurated through Christ.
Our allegiance is not to any earthly territory but to Jesus, in whom every promise finds its fulfillment. The Church is now the dwelling place of God, made up of every tribe and nation, called to live not by the sword but by the Spirit.
To support Israel, or any nation, rightly, is to pursue justice, mercy, and peace—not uncritical endorsement, but faithful witness to the Gospel that transcends borders and fulfills the blessing promised to all through Abraham.
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