On October 7, darkness fell, and a surprise attack by Hamas breached Israel’s national security. Civilians, both young and old, were brutally treated and massacred. The Holocaust atrocity, which we thought would only be remembered in history books, is reliving itself in front of our eyes. What Hamas did provoked Israel to declare war, exactly 50 years after the Yom Kippur War of October 6–25, 1973.

We have seen how this war has caused much division and emotion. With freedom marches and street protests across the nations, including churches, the world is once again spiraling into confusion, chaos, and unrest. So, how should we respond as Jesus’ followers to everything we see today in light of the scripture? Are we supposed to take sides and advocate for one party over the other? Does the fact that we are Christians automatically imply that we support Israel? Does our support for Israel imply that we are anti-Palestine?

My intention here is not to add to the noise of opinions and facts about who is right and wrong; rather, I hope to create an avenue to share from a biblical perspective to help us stay engaged and participate in what the Lord will do in the Middle East in a manner that is not driven by humanistic sentiments or media propaganda.

WE PRAY FOR ISRAEL, NOT FOR ISRAEL’S SAKE.

Firstly, the primary motivation for why we pray for Israel shouldn’t be because we are “pro-Israel”, but because it is a command from God (Ps 122:6). God ties His name and glory to Israel — He is the Holy One of Israel. God will deliver and save Israel because that is who He is and His desire for her (Isaiah 55:5, Ezekiel 20:9, 14, 22, 44, 36:22, Isaiah 62:12).

We pray for Israel because God’s glory and name are at stake. God chose a people who are the least and weakest among the nations (Deut 7:6–9) to reveal His glory. We contend for Israel because the glory of God will be revealed to all flesh when she embraces Jesus as their Messiah (Isaiah 40:1–5).

At the same time, though Israel is God’s chosen vessel to reveal the glory of God, we are not to elevate her because of her election, ignoring the fact that she is still in rebellion against God (Romans 10:1–3) and His covenant. What we are called to do is stand with Jesus in His leadership by joining His intercession (Isaiah 62) to set into motion all that He will do (according to Daniel 9) to deliver His people and establish everlasting righteousness and peace in Jerusalem.

STAND AS WATCHMAN & FAITHFUL WITNESS

What Jesus laid out in the Olivet Discourse is to plumb-line us to His leadership in how He will bring an end to evil and lead us into everlasting righteousness and peace, as spoken of in Daniel 9:24–27. Daniel’s understanding of God’s leadership grew as he watched over Jerusalem by praying Bible verses (Daniel 9–10). In that understanding, he also became a faithful witness to God’s end-time narrative, which is the gospel of the Kingdom (Daniel 7:13–14) that we are called to proclaim. True peace will come to the Middle East and the world only when the Prince of Peace Himself steps foot on the earth and establishes His throne in Jerusalem. Until then, Jerusalem will remain a place of controversy and conflict instead of praise (Isaiah 62:6-7).

Our intercession will bring forth God’s divine leadership, and a cosmic war will break out in the heavens, resulting in an earthly conflict, as we read in Daniel 10 and Revelations 12. Satan will do anything to secure his position by delaying the end by rousing the nations to annihilate out Israel (Zachariah 14:1–3), who holds the key to the return of Jesus (Mathew 23:37–39). While the whole earth faces the rage of Satan (Revelations 12:12,17), our role as the church is to stand with Jesus by bringing comfort to the oppressed (Isaiah 40) and crying out for mercy before His final judgment.

The good news is that the Son of Man will come to deliver His people by ending the kingdom of this age and establishing His eternal kingdom on earth forever. (Isaiah 19:1, Revelations 1:7, Matthew 24:29–30, Revelations 19:11–16, Revelations 11:15, Daniel 7:13–14, Zachariah 14, Isaiah 62:11–12). At the end of the day , the beauty of Jesus and His glory will be put on display through both His mercy and judgement in His dealing with Israel and the nations. Stand with Jesus by interceding and proclaiming His word, because heaven and earth will pass and His word will remain forever. The only evaluation that will stand forever is His desire.