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[Viking]

Hello! I am curious about what you think of the modern state of Israel and what role it will play in the End Times, if any.

I was raised with the belief that it is pivotal to fulfilling End Times prophecy, but I've been exploring the various eschatological stances and trying to have an open mind about all of this.

My disenchantment with dispensationalism, at least witch the traditional version of it, was that it seemed unnecessarily complicated. I also had some misconceptions about it, like God having two separate plans for salvation where Jews are automatically saved for being ethnic Jews. If I'm understanding it correctly now, it's that traditional dispies maintain that there is only one plan for salvation, and that is through Jesus only, but that ethnic Israel will still one day inherit physical and land promises given to them in the OT, but will also one day convert and be saved.

I'm conflicted. While I support Israel's right to exist and because it's the only stable democracy in the Near East, that does not require blind support (which even many dispies are purportedly against blind support, despite the caricatures).

I know that Covenant theology does not teach that the church has replaced Israel.

I'm just trying to figure all of this out and arrive at a biblical understanding of eschatology.

[jimwalton]

You'll never "figure it out." Every Christian forms an opinion, based on their reading of Scripture. But arguments are strong and considerable in both directions (Israel is still part of prophecy; Israel has been displaced and is no longer a factor), so it's not something we'll all ever come to agreement about.

As for me personally, I am of the perspective that Israel still has a vital and pivotal role to play. The Jews always were God's chosen people. The definition of "God's Chosen People" has now expanded to include Gentile believers (Jn. 10.16; Romans 11). In some ways the Jews are still regarded as God's chosen people, and in other ways they're not.

Christians' support of Israel, however, is by no means an endorsement of all of their politics or their military actions. Atrocities have been committed by all sides in the perpetual Middle East conflict, and those are morally unjustifiable. In my post I am not taking a stance on the rightness or wrongness of action by the Palestinians, Israelis, Syrians, or anyone. All I'm saying is that Christian support of Israel doesn't necessarily mean they condone every action of the Israeli government or military.