Today’s blog post is written by my Co-Lead Pastor, Greg Lavine. Greg has a lot more geopolitical knowledge than I do, with a fair amount of knowledge of Middle Eastern politics. He has also spent extended time in Israel. I hope you find this post as helpful as I did.
A Pastoral Reflection on the Israel-Iran Conflict:
October 7, 2023 Iranian backed Hamas terrorists waged the deadliest attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The moment I heard, I buried my head in my hands grieving that again great suffering had begun.
From that day, I have prayed anew for peace and justice as this round of tensions between Israel and Iran unfolds. Gaza, Hezbollah in the north, all of it is, at its root, the same conflict.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, like many of you, I read that American B-2 bombers dropped 14 “bunker buster” bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities. We joined the conflict. Some call it a war.
In the shadow of all this, many in our community are asking what a faithful, Christian response might look like. It’s a question that touches on theology, politics, ethics, and the call to be peacemakers in a broken world. Here are a few of my reflections on Christian ought to respond.
Followers of Jesus, Citizens of the Kingdom of God:
Above all, we need to remember that as followers of Jesus, our first allegiance is to Him and to His kingdom, not earthly nations. His Kingdom transcends borders, ethnicities, and political systems. In it, He calls us to love our neighbors, including those we might consider enemies. In a world marred by violence and fear, He calls us to love and to serve.
It is important to start here. I love America … and I love Israel. But I am not even using the word love in the same way when I say I love Jesus! Heart, soul, mind, and strength, Jesus is my treasure, my aim, and my Lord.
Israel, Israel, Israel, and Israel:
We should not conflate the modern state of Israel with the biblical people of God. There are at least four definitions of the word Israel that we need to distinguish.
Spiritual Israel: The people of God have never been defined merely by ethnicity. Elijah thought he was the only one left who truly followed God (1 Kings 19:10), and God comforted him with the knowledge that there were 7000 who still followed Him. Within the nation of Israel, only 7000 were spiritual Israel, or the true people of God. They are sometimes called the remnant, the faithful, or simply Spiritual Israel.
Jesus (John 8:39-42) and Paul (Romans 9:6-8) are both clear that being a physical descendant of Abraham does not make you a child of God or a part of Spiritual Israel. That happens only through faith in Jesus (Galatians 3:7 and 29).
This is true for those who lived in Elijah’s day, and it is true in our day. Spiritual Israel are people who look to the messiah as their savior. It does not matter if people looked forward to Jesus as the Messiah because they came before Him or if people have faith in Jesus looking backward to what He has done. Spiritual Israel are those who have faith in Jesus.
This is not replacement theology. The Church is not replacing Israel. There has been and is only one spiritual Israel and it has always been those who are in Jesus.
National Israel: When Elijah and 7000 other faithful made-up Spiritual Israel, there remained many Jewish people who did not worship God. They had turned to idols, atheism, or otherwise abandoned God. Yet, they remained a part of national Israel. This includes all descendants of Jacob, or the Jewish people.
I believe God still shines favor on national Israel, or the Jewish people, through His eternal covenant (Gen 17:13 and 19) even when they do not believe in Him. This does not save a person. It does not guarantee earthly rewards. It does not change the reality that the only way of salvation is through Jesus. But as a general rule, there is still favor.
Biblical Israel: The Bible describes around 1450 years of history of the Jewish people. Within that history Israel can be defined as a nation with a king who reigned mostly in Jerusalem for around 450 years (from 1020BC to 586BC). Much of the Old Testament revolves around those years and that nation.
The Modern State of Israel: In 1948 the modern state of Israel was established. This country is distinguished from Biblical Israel. It has no king, prophets, priesthood, temple, or covenant to follow God.
The only common factor between biblical Israel and the modern state of Israel is that they both contain national Israel (Jewish people) and spiritual Israel (a faithful people of Jews and gentiles who follow Jesus).
To ask what a faithful, Christian response might look like to the current Israel/Iran conflict, we must consider what Israel we are discussing. Many evangelical Christians have been influenced by a teaching from Genesis 12:3 that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who dishonor Israel will be cursed. Unfortunately, this confuses different Israels.
The current conflict is between Iran and the modern state of Israel. The biblical promise to Abraham in Gensis 12 concerns Spiritual Israel. Confusing the two leads to false conclusions.
Based on this, there is no biblical command for Christians to give unconditional support to the modern state of Israel. I sometimes hear arguments that the modern state of Israel has Spiritual Israel in it. That is true. However, Iran has Spiritual Israel in it too. The kingdom of God is much bigger than both.
Ethics, Politics, and Wisdom:
That said, we must still look at the world and seek to live lives glorifying God in the mist of brokenness. We still engage in politics and form opinions.
In this case I affirm Israel, like any nation, has the right to defend its citizens from credible threats. From a political perspective, I view Israel as a key democratic ally in a volatile region, and believe that alliance serves broader interests of stability and shared values in an unstable region.
I also recognize that Iran, specifically the current regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran, formed in 1979, continually states it wants to destroy, demolish, and eliminate Israel, wiping it from the face of the earth. It chants “death to Israel,” calls it the “Little Satan,” a “cancerous tumor,” and has built up a nuclear program as part of a broader program to destroy it. Their official policy similarly contains the slogan “death to America.”
This was not always the case. The previous regime, the Pahlavi dynasty, which ruled from 1925-1979, was an ally of both Israel and the United States.
So, I draw political conclusions to support Israel in this conflict. I currently view Iran as a dangerous and radical force of destabilization that endangers life. I view Irael as a trusted ally.
Again, this is a political opinion, not a biblical command.
But even in this, we must guard against seeing the conflict only through the lens of national interest. Christians are called to see people, real people, on all sides. Innocent civilians in Israel. Families in Iran. Christians in both places caught in the middle of power struggles they did not choose. We are not permitted to demonize entire nations or peoples. Every life matters to God.
So how should we respond?
Pray for Christ to return. It is good pray for God to work in this world. But we know that the brokenness of the world will not be fully redeemed until Jesus splits the skies. Lord haste the day.
Pray for peace. Not just for the absence of war, but for the presence of God and for justice throughout the middle east.
Grieve loss. The death of anyone, Israeli, Iranian, Palestinian, or otherwise is a tragedy. Pray for families experiencing loss and suffering. There are 50 Israeli hostages still remaining in Gaza. It is believed that 25 of them may still be alive. Pray that all might be returned.
Speak with compassion. Let our words reflect grace.
Support wise diplomacy and leadership. Pray for leaders, both local and global, to act with restraint, wisdom, and a vision for good.
Remember our identity. Our hope is not in geopolitics but in the reign of Christ, whose peace is deeper than the world can offer.
How ought a Christian respond to the conflict? I can’t think words better than from Micah 6:8 - “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”? This remains our call, perhaps especially in conflict: to walk humbly in the way of Jesus, doing justice, and loving mercy.
Photo by Sander Crombach on Unsplash