Rightly Dividing Israel, the Church, and the Modern State
Question: I recently listened to Tucker Carlson's interview with Nathan Appfel. During the discussion, they touched on what Tucker called "the Israel question," and observed that many Christians seem to make support for Israel a central issue of their faith. The conversation also reflected a growing skepticism towards Israel among some professing Christians while even while denying any anti-Semitic intent, of course. In my view, the failure of the church writ large to distinguish Israel from the body of Christ has contributed to both Christian Zionism and modern anti-Israel sentiment. As a Pauline guy, also known as the heretical mid-Acts dispensationalist, I think some of this confusion stems from a failure to distinguish between: (1) God's prophetic program for Israel, (2) the revelation of the mystery given to Paul, and (3) the state of Israel. As a result of this horrible confusion, which looks to have been intentionally foisted on us by the Roman Catholic Church originally and contaminates all Christianity today, some Christians become extreme Christian Zionists while others react in the opposite direction and develop a resentment towards Jewish people. I say that rightly dividing the word provides a better answer to the Israel question than either extreme. That said, how should a member of the body of Christ think about the Jewish people, the national Israel and prophecy, the modern state of Israel, and political support for the Israeli government while remaining faithful to Paul's gospel and the revelation of the mystery?
A right-division framework does indeed give clearer categories than either extreme Christian Zionism or reactionary anti-Israel sentiment. Your threefold distinction is sound: (1) God's prophetic program for Israel, (2) the revelation of the mystery and the body of Christ, and (3) the present political state of Israel. Keeping those distinct allows us to address the "Israel question" without collapsing categories.
The Jewish People
First, the Jewish people as a people have an extraordinary salvation history. Their Heilsgeschichte, their "holy history," is foundational to everything we as Christians have. The covenants, the promises, the Messiah according to the flesh, and the Scriptures themselves come through Israel.
Even for those of us who are Pauline and insist that we are not Israel and do not inherit Israel's national covenants, there remains a Pauline posture toward the Jews. Paul speaks of "my kinsmen according to the flesh," and expresses a willingness, if it were possible, to be accursed for their sake. Gentile believers cannot call the Jews "kinsmen according to the flesh," but we can recognize a family connection in salvation history. Spiritually speaking, our blessings in Christ are intimately linked to the history of that people.
That should foster a special regard for the Jewish people. This does not mean uncritical acceptance of Judaism, nor agreement on the Messiah or on the canon, but it does mean a certain honor and affection as toward a people from whom so much has come. There is a natural affinity, much like the instant connection one feels when discovering shared roots, background, or institutions with someone else.
National Israel in Prophecy
Second, national Israel in prophecy refers to the corporate nation that will one day be saved and restored under Messiah in the kingdom. The prophets foresee a time when the nation, as a nation, will be brought into covenant faithfulness and will enjoy the promised kingdom blessings. The government of that kingdom will be administered through that nation.
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This is distinct from the body of Christ and distinct from any present political arrangement. It pertains to the prophetic program for Israel, which is presently in abeyance during the mystery dispensation revealed to Paul. We should affirm that program without importing it uncritically into the present age.
The Modern State of Israel
Third, the modern state of Israel, founded in 1948, is a temporal political entity. It is not identical with the prophetic national Israel in its restored, kingdom form. It may be related providentially to the stage on which future prophetic events will unfold, but the current government and its policies are not the government of the coming kingdom.
Figureheads like Benjamin Netanyahu and his political opponents are ordinary political actors. None of them is the Davidic king, and none of their coalitions constitutes the governance of the Messianic age. Recognizing this helps us avoid sacralizing contemporary Israeli politics or insisting that every decision of the modern state bears prophetic weight.
Political Support and Pauline Faithfulness
How, then, should a member of the body of Christ think about the modern state of Israel and political support for its government while remaining faithful to Paul's gospel and the mystery?
We should treat Israel within the realm of foreign policy as we would treat other nations, while informed by a biblical worldview. The United States, for example, has its own interests; Israel has hers; so do Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Russia, China, and others. States seek alliances, manage conflicts, and negotiate based on perceived interests and possibilities for mutual benefit or at least mutual restraint.
Scripture does not lay out a detailed foreign policy manual for the present dispensation. It does not tell modern nations exactly how to relate to the state of Israel, any more than it specifies how they should relate to Jordan or any other contemporary state. Leaders must make prudential judgments in a complicated web of interests, threats, and opportunities, aiming at peace and stability as far as possible.
Therefore, a believer can support, question, or oppose particular policies of the Israeli government on political and moral grounds without thinking that every such judgment is a direct comment on God's prophetic program. At the same time, a rightly-dividing believer will resist the temptation to demonize Israel or the Jews, recognizing their unique role in salvation history and their promised future as a nation.
Avoiding the Two Extremes
Failure to distinguish these categories has produced two opposite errors. On one hand, some have conflated the modern state with the prophetic Israel so completely that any criticism of Israeli policy is treated almost as blasphemy. On the other hand, frustration with such extreme Christian Zionism, combined with media portrayals of conflict and civilian suffering, has driven some into anti-Israel and even anti-Jewish attitudes, which they may deny in name but express in substance.
Right division offers a better path. We honor the Jewish people for their unique role in salvation history. We affirm the future of national Israel in prophecy, distinct from the body of Christ. We evaluate the modern state of Israel and its government as one evaluates any political entity in this age: through prudence, justice, and a general biblical concern for human life and peace, without baptizing every decision as prophetic and without succumbing to resentment against Jews as a people.
In that way, one can remain fully faithful to Paul's gospel and the revelation of the mystery, and yet think clearly and charitably about Israel, both biblically and politically.
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