Many Christians today are reluctant to stand with Israel and risk being a target of scorn. Indeed, after October 7 there is a clear dividing line on “Zionism”, even within the Church. Amazingly, the prophet Isaiah foresaw this day, proclaiming: 

“For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.” (Isaiah 34:8/KJV) 

Surely, it is time to decide which side you are on!  

I have found it is so much easier to stand with Israel today if you can grasp two biblical, prophetic truths: 
1) The restoration of Israel in these last days is affirmed in the New Testament; and 
2) The current conflict is in essence a spiritual battle over Israel’s national redemption. 
 
The Restoration of Israel in the New Testament 
The Bible is clear that Israel is promised a last days’ restoration – both a physical return to the Land and a spiritual return to God through their promised Messiah (Ezekiel 36:24ff; Romans 11:25-27). 

This two-phased return is in keeping with God’s sworn covenant promises to the patriarchs Abraham (Genesis 17:8), Moses (Leviticus 26:44-45; Exodus 33:14; Hebrews 4:9), and David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; 1 Chronicles 22:7-10). 

The Hebrew prophets then came along to tell us something about how God would keep these sworn covenant promises to Israel. Ezekiel 36:24ff is the clearest passage on Israel’s physical return to their Land and then their spiritual return to God. Amos 9:15 also assured the Jewish people that after two exiles and two returns, they were “never to be uprooted again.” And Isaiah 9:6-7 promised the end result would be the Messiah sitting on the throne of David and ruling the entire world in an everlasting kingdom. 

But what does the New Testament say about all this? Some Christians claim the New Testament never mentions a last days’ restoration of Israel. They also say Jesus himself dismissed the restoring of the kingdom to Israel in Acts 1:6-7. Yet he just said the timing of this promised restoration is in God’s hands alone. 

Elsewhere, Jesus clearly affirmed both the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel in the last days. In Luke 21:24, he accurately predicted the exile of his people and Gentile rule over Jerusalem “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” In other words, the Jews’ physical exile from Jerusalem and the land would one day have an end. Then in Matthew 23:39, Jesus also foresaw Israel’s spiritual restoration, saying to Jerusalem: “You shall not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’.” 

Jesus also assured that Elijah will return and “restore all things” (Matthew 17:11). He further declared that in the “regeneration” – the Messianic Age to come – his closest followers would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:48). In other words, Israel makes it into the Millennium as a redeemed people! 

The Apostle Peter also preached that Jesus will not return until the “restoration of all things” spoken by the Hebrew prophets (Acts 3:19-21). 

Everyone listening to these repeated promises of “restoration” knew they all were referring to the great Jewish hope for the restored, everlasting kingdom promised to David and Solomon. 

Finally, the Apostle Paul foresaw a time – after the fullness of the Gentiles comes in – when “all Israel shall be saved.” This occurs when a Deliverer comes forth from “Zion” and takes away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:25-27). What a ringing endorsement of Zionism and its redemptive purpose! 
 
The Spiritual Battle over Israel’s Redemption 
The Bible also foresees an intense spiritual battle over Israel’s national redemption. This struggle will eventually draw all nations up to Jerusalem, to be humbled and judged there by God over their mistreatment of Israel (Psalm 2; Isaiah 2; Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45; Joel 3; Zephaniah 3:8; Zechariah 12 & 14). 

Consider that in Revelation 12, the Apostle John sees a vision of a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a garland of twelve stars on her head. This imagery comes straight from Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9 and clearly depicts the nation of Israel. She is engaged in a great spiritual battle in the heavenlies with a fierce dragon seeking to thwart her role in God’s redemptive plan. And the burning question is: Why is Satan still seeking to destroy the woman Israel after her son is caught up to heaven? The answer is that Israel still matters to God. And Zionism is all about the completion of God’s redemptive plan for the sake of the whole world. That is worth standing with!