Category: Standing With Israel

The Bible says a person who wins souls is wise. If you want to lead your Jewish friends to faith in Yeshua, it’s important to know and understand who they are and their contributions to the world. Whether a Jew is Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist, he or she is part of Klal Yisrael, the community of Israel.

There’s an organic connection between your friend and Jews everywhere. We Jews are all part of one people, and we have been chosen by God to be a light to the Gentiles (see Isaiah 49:6).

There is a wide range of theological views among my people. Some Jews believe the land of Israel is essential, whereas others don’t think too much about it. Some believe in the afterlife, and some don’t. Some Jews think the Messiah will come one day, while others think He is not real. Some Jewish people keep kosher, and others couldn’t care less. Even though my people have different opinions about various topics, there are certain views most Jews hold true.

Today’s Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be reduced to one basic question: Who owns the land? To the Arabs, it was illegally seized from them after World War II by pro-Israel international governing bodies. To the Jewish people, however, the territory has always been rightfully theirs and was given to them by almighty God Himself.

The three great religions of the world—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—were all birthed in the Middle East and share one common denominator. They trace their lineage to Abraham.

Once, when I was in Jerusalem, I was introduced to a woman who was passionate about building financial support for Jewish settlements all over Israel—including the West Bank (biblically known as Judea and Samaria). She told me in no uncertain terms, “This is our land. God gave it to us, and we don’t really care what politicians think or say. It will never change.”

If ever there was a justification for despair and terrorism, the Holocaust provided it. After the Nazis and their allies systematically murdered 6 million Jews, it would have been easy for survivors to abandon their faith in God and humanity and succumb to hate. Yet the Jews who survived the Holocaust never sought revenge or destruction. They wanted only to get on with life, to build families, homes and cities.

This embrace of life characterizes Israel down to the present day. But those who wish to destroy Israel—and the Jewish people—remain. They have armed themselves and continue to attack. Meanwhile, the Israelis continue to build.

Every time I go to Israel I am struck by its progress. The Tel Aviv skyline continues to grow broader and push higher. An ever expanding list of Israeli companies churns out a steady stream of innovations that improve our daily lives. Israeli culture produces books, poetry and music at astounding rates.

There comes a time in a nation’s history—and there comes a time in the church—when spiritual fog and religious deception must be removed by a clear, unbiased, passionate pursuit of truth. America and the church are now in a spiritual fog over the issue of Islam.

But Islam and Christianity are not “sister faiths,” and a side-by-side examination of the texts of the Bible and the Quran will quickly identify some of the differences related to Islam’s teachings about Christ and the truths of our own Bible about the Son of God.

Islam instructs its followers to kill their enemies, but Christianity in-structs its followers to love their enemies.

The Quran says to “fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them” (Surah 9:5). But our Holy Bible tells Christ’s followers to: “Love your ene-mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44, KJV).

Television evangelist and author Benny Hinn documents his unique perspective of Middle Eastern world affairs in the new release Blood in the Sand. The book—Hinn’s first major release in several years—centers on the cultural war between Muslims and Jews for control of Israel and how it affects the rest of the world.

“I have spent all of my adult life as a student of prophecy, and I believe these recent developments in Israel and across the Middle East are signaling a hot, accelerated and unprecedented prophetic season that will quickly change the course of history,” he writes.

Hinn’s perspective on the conflict is unique. He was born in Jaffa, Israel, to parents of Armenian, Greek and Lebanese descent, and through the years he has traveled extensively to the area to meet with Jewish and Arab leaders.

There is no city on the face of the earth like Jerusalem. Jerusalem—the very word excites and stirs deep emotions, memories of the past, and hopes for the future.

The temple. The chanting of pilgrims. The palaces and towers. Wars and conquests. Religious longings of Jews, Muslims and Christians. Jews praying at the Western Wall for peace in the Holy City. Jerusalem is where heaven and earth meet.

There are cities famous for their size, their industrial and manufacturing capacities, their sports teams, or their unique locations. But Jerusalem is like no city on the face of the earth.

From its earliest times, the history of Jerusalem is the history of war and peace, of greatness and misery, of splendor and squalor, of Solomon’s wisdom, and of blood flowing in the gutter like rainwater in spring.

From time to time, friends ask me how to share their faith in Yeshua (Jesus) with Jewish friends and acquaintances. I really enjoy addressing this issue for a variety of reasons, but mostly because too few of us know where to begin to speak to this question in the most sensitive, yet effective, way.

Many Christians in my acquaintance have a somewhat vague awareness that the Jews are God’s chosen people, but there are various misconceptions about Jewish practices and traditions, including an erroneous belief that all Jews reject Jesus as their Messiah.

The concept of replacement theology is popular in America’s churches. Replacement theology means that Israel failed, and God has replaced Israel with the church. This is simply not true. Romans 11:1 says: “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”

Twice in Romans 11 Paul says that Israel has not fallen and is still the apple of God’s eye. In the New Testament, the word Israel is used 77 times. Clearly, in 71 of those references it speaks of the nation of Israel, which is 96 percent of the time. It does not refer to the church.

Has God cast away Israel? Absolutely not! The fact is, when something is “cast away,” you never hear of it again. Yet in the book of Revelation, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12,000 out of each of the 12 tribes, are sealed to present the gospel during the Great Tribulation (Rev. 7:4).

Jewish leaders finally are realizing that evangelical Christians are Israel’s best friends. As a Jewish believer, I rejoice over this growing love and support for the country and the people. I am grateful for the rallies, financial support and efforts to lobby our government not to force Israel to trade land for peace.

Having said that, I have serious concern for the growing acceptance of “dual covenant theology.” It promotes the idea that Jewish people have a separate path to salvation through the Abrahamic or Mosaic covenants. In other words, Jews don’t need Jesus for personal salvation.

Proponents of this theology teach that Judaism and Christianity are valid yet distinct religions, each equally worthy of the other’s respect. They say Christians should not challenge the traditional Jewish thought that Jesus was not the Messiah.