Israel Has a Future!

Encouragement from Biblical Prophecy

Many Christians who concern themselves with biblical prophecy are accused of being pessimistic or negative about the world. They’re seen as “prophets of doom and gloom.” While this may be true of a few of them, the opposite is really the case. Christians with a sound theology of biblical prophecy are encouraged, joyful, thankful, able to look to the future with confidence, and able to encourage others. Their enthusiasm is contagious. They serve their Lord joyfully.

If we ask where God is currently at work prophetically in the world, the answer is relatively simple: in His people Israel. In other words, we can look to Israel to interpret the signs of the times. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not being able to discern the signs of the times (Matt 16). Scripture calls us to recognize what God is doing in the world, and when we do, we’re encouraged.

Let’s turn our attention to the prophet Ezekiel. He lived 2,600 years ago, in an exciting time of upheaval. He had experienced the deportation of the people of Israel. God had repeatedly sent His prophets and urged the people to return to Him, but they didn’t listen. So, the Lord finally said, “Fine, then I’ll tear you from the land and bring you to Babylon.” The prophet Ezekiel was among the exiles. He lived through the Lord’s glory departing from the temple, as well as its eventual destruction. It was a dramatic time. But that wasn’t God’s final word on everything—there was a comma. He promised to one day gather the people of Israel together again and bring them back to the land.

This promise was partially fulfilled under Ezra and Nehemiah, but the prophet Ezekiel was looking far ahead into the future. God promised that He would gather the people overtly, before the eyes of the nations. It won’t happen secretly. Ezekiel 20:41 says, “I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.” Ezekiel 28:25 says something similar: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.”

We’re living in exciting times. It’s never been easier for the world to find out what’s going on in Israel, especially thanks to smartphone technology. In 2019, there were roughly 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide. By 2024, the number had risen to 4.88 billion. This means that over 60 percent of the world’s population has access to news through their phones (prioridata.com). Now, you can have updates on the Middle East conflict in your pocket, and you can find out what’s happening in Israel within seconds. You may not be well informed, but you can find out what’s going on quickly.

Sometimes, people in other parts of the world find out more quickly than the people who actually live in Israel. Technology allows us to observe it all. But, what happens when technology’s influence over people continues to increase? Research is already being conducted on wireless brain chips that will exert even more influence over people. Neuralink, a neurotechnology company owned by Elon Musk, has already conducted human trials. Some of the company’s more immediate goals, as stated by Musk in 2020, include: “If somebody has a severe spinal cord injury, to the degree that they have very limited control even over their facial muscles, then with this implant, just by thinking you can output words, and you can type, and you can control a computer, control a phone, which is pretty, pretty wild.” Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari speaks of people increasingly merging with their smartphones, which influences their view of the world.

We can’t be sure how these developments will play out, but these things are theoretically possible. Yet, this shouldn’t make us pessimistic, as we need to see the bigger picture. Some developments are cause for concern, but God tells us that at the end of time, He will act in the sight of the nations. How does the world look at Israel, and how do we? We should find it encouraging when we look at Israel, which is the opposite perspective of the one the world has.

The winner of the World Press Photo of the Year was announced back in April 2025, and once again, Israel found itself in the global spotlight. The photo shows a 9-year-old Palestinian child who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024. The jury said: “The photograph of a young Gazan boy, Mahmoud, speaks to the long-term costs of war, the silences that perpetuate violence, and the role of journalism in exposing these realities.” This isn’t the first time that an image from the Middle East conflict has been awarded Photo of the Year, and it probably won’t be the last. The world tends to see Israel in a negative light. I could list many more examples.

Anti-Israel protests at universities in the US and abroad are another example of how negatively the world views Israel. But, the question remains: How do we? I sometimes get the impression that we aren’t even interested in the subject. The world is watching Israel, but it’s hardly being discussed in most Christian churches. In the past, many Christians didn’t even realize Israel’s significance.

I’ve written elsewhere of the difficult relationship between Jews and Christians. It has often been very strained, and Christians have long viewed Jews as cursed. Here is just a sampling of quotes from history:

Church Father John Chrysostom said that “demons dwell in the synagogue, not only in the place itself but also in the souls of the Jews,” and called the Jews “those who slew Christ.” Similarly, Ambrose of Milan spoke of the synagogue as “a home of unbelief, a house of impiety, a receptacle of folly which God himself has condemned.” These Church Fathers had a heart for the Church of Jesus, but no vision for Israel.

In many European churches, you’ll often see a depiction of two women known as Ecclesia and Synagoga (Church and synagogue). The woman depicting the Church stands tall, wearing a crown and holding a scepter. But the woman depicting the synagogue is bowed and blindfolded, showing that Israel is blind and defeated. But I sometimes think it’s more accurate to say that the blind ones are the Christians who don’t see God’s plan for Israel.

If we move ahead through history, we arrive at Martin Luther, to whom we owe so much (including the rediscovery of our gospel heritage in the Reformation). But Luther had no vision for the Jewish people. He wrote: “This [explanation] they owe us; but they will not do it until they return to their home in Jerusalem again—that is to say, when the devil ascends into heaven.” I don’t know whether he was being serious or tongue-in-cheek, but I do wonder how he would’ve reacted to the founding of the State of Israel. Would he have reconsidered his anti-Jewish theology? Would he have continued to espouse a theology that sees no future for Israel, as many theologians do today? We can’t know. But our reaction to what God is doing in Israel should be encouragement.

There have been other voices in Church history. Robert Layton, Archbishop of Glasgow, preached a sermon on Isaiah 60:1 in 1642, and said: “They are first invited to arise and shine, because this Sun arose first in their horizon. Christ came of the Jews, and came first to them…. Undoubtedly, that people of the Jews shall once more be commanded to arise and shine, and their return shall be the riches of the Gentiles, and that shall be a more glorious time than ever the Church of God did yet behold.” This man was holding firmly to God’s promises nearly 400 years before the State of Israel was founded.

Two hundred years later came Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers of the 19th century. He said: “I think we do not attach sufficient importance to the restoration of the Jews. We do not think enough about it. But certainly, if there is anything promised in the Bible it is this. I imagine that you cannot read the Bible without seeing clearly that there is to be an actual restoration of the Children of Israel.” Spurgeon recognized that Israel’s restoration would bring incomparable benefits to the world. His words are still very meaningful today.

It all depends on which lens you view Israel through. Through the world’s lens, you’ll be fearful when you see events in the Middle East. But if you’re using a biblical lens and see what God is doing, you’ll be encouraged.

Now, I’d like to show you a few ways that biblical prophecy can encourage us in our daily lives. The first is that we should be encouraged by God’s plan of salvation. As Christians, we sometimes run the risk of only focusing on ourselves. It’s great to be active in our churches, but we must not forget that God’s plan of salvation is much bigger and encompasses the whole world. God hasn’t left this world on its own, but He has a plan that He’s carrying out. That plan also includes Israel and Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is mentioned over 800 times in the Bible, and Israel over 2,500 times. That alone should show us their great importance to God. His love for His people is visible throughout Scripture. We just have to use the right lens to discover it.

Looking back to some of the Church Fathers I discussed earlier: They applied the Old Testament curses to the Jewish people, and claimed the blessings and promises for themselves and the Church. But if we take God’s Word literally, it’s clear how God’s love for His people overflows throughout the Bible. The Book of Isaiah suffices to make this clear. God calls Himself “the Holy One of Israel” (Isa 41:20), “the Creator of Israel” (Isa 43:15), “the King of Israel” (Isa 44:6), and speaks of His eternal love for His people.

We can be encouraged by God’s plan of salvation, which can help us look beyond our own limited interests. You are part of this plan, and the Church is as well. The world is part of a larger plan that God Almighty Himself is carrying out.

The next time you wake up anxious, remember that this same great God is holding your life in His hands. In the same way that He directs history and will achieve His plans for Israel, he will also achieve His plans for you.

Be encouraged by Israel’s future. God said in Isaiah 44:21: “Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.” What a wonderful promise! And in Isaiah 66:22, the Lord ties Israel’s future to the new heaven and the new earth. Israel has a future, and we shouldn’t question what God has promised.

Israel does have a future, so what does that mean for us in concrete terms? If God is so clear in His Word that He won’t forget Israel and that they have a future, we should wonder how we could even question it. If we claim that Israel has been replaced, how can we be certain that the future of the Church is secure? If God won’t forget His people Israel, then He won’t forget the Church either. Our future depends on Israel’s. God has promised that He will bring Israel to its destination, and that promise stands.

Be encouraged by Jesus’ coming return. Jesus will return for us in the Rapture, and He will visibly appear in glory on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem for Israel. There’s probably no country in the world with such a strong anticipation of the Messiah as Israel. Israel awaits the Messiah, and that subject permeates daily life—from prayers, to weddings, to funerals. This anticipation can also inspire and encourage us as Christians to hope for Jesus’ return.

Since the people of Israel are being gathered again, and we can see God’s promises being fulfilled before our eyes, the topic is becoming even more explosive and timely. Jesus is coming again, but not to New York, Paris, or Berlin. He’s coming first for His Church, and then to Jerusalem for His people Israel. This should encourage us to live with biblical prophecy in mind, anticipating Jesus’ return. Paul motivates us, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess 4:18). In Luke 21:28, Jesus also calls us to lift up our heads when these things happen, because our redemption is near.

Israel is a picture of the Church. When we see God’s faithfulness to His people, we should also be encouraged. God is faithful and will complete His plans for us, just as He will for Israel.

In Romans 15:8-13, Paul summarizes God’s plan of salvation by saying that Christ became a servant to the circumcised, to confirm the promises made to the fathers. God not only fulfilled these promises but also confirmed them! These promises include land, blessing, offspring, and the Messiah, and these promises are firm and sure. Paul uses the same word here as in 1 Corinthians 1:8, where he writes that God will sustain us until the end.

The purpose of this plan is for the nations to praise and glorify God, together with Israel. Paul quotes several Old Testament passages to show that this was His intent from the beginning. The nations are to praise and glorify God along with Israel.

God promised the Messiah, and Jesus came to confirm those promises. He didn’t replace Israel, but instead made the promises secure. This gives us confidence as a Church, because God is faithful to His people and just as faithful to us. Paul speaks of Jesus coming as a servant to the circumcised to demonstrate God’s truthfulness. This shows us that God hasn’t forgotten His promises, and it gives us hope for the future.

Be encouraged as you bless Israel. Thousands of people groups need the gospel, and it’s our commission as Christians to spread it. But we also have a special relationship with Israel, and we are to bless this people with both prayer and support. Paul encourages the Church to take up collections for the needy in Jerusalem. He says that the nations are in Israel’s debt, because they have shared in her spiritual blessings (Rom 15:25-27). Therefore, the Church has an obligation to serve Israel in physical things as well.

An interesting story is told of Hudson Taylor, the well-known missionary to China. Each year, he would send his first tithe as a check to the Mildmay Mission for the Jews in London with the note, “To the Jew first.” John Wilkinson, founder of the Mildmay Mission, would in turn send a check to the China Inland Mission with the note, “To the Gentile, second.” These beautiful gestures show that God has both the Jews and the Gentiles in mind. We’re able to bless Israel, and God will bless us in return.

So, be encouraged by God’s plan of salvation, by Israel’s future, by Jesus’ coming return, and by the blessings we experience when we bless Israel. God is faithful, and will achieve His plans with His people and His Church.