4 Myths About the Arab-Israeli Conflict Prevalent Among Conservatives
We have many other studies about Zionism, the true Israel, and the sin of supporting modern Israel. There is much that might be said along these lines that I will not repeat here due to how these things have been covered so much in previous studies.
In this study we will focus briefly on four concepts which prevail among the more conservative segments of professing Christianity; and the more conservative segments in the realm of politics as well. Those who believe even one of these concepts, let alone more than one of them, will almost certainly think that the Christian thing to do about this conflict is to support modern Israel or to not take a side in this conflict at all. These concepts however are actually myths which promote bias and lead to sin.
I will state these concepts up front and then briefly point out the error involved in each concept.
1) God chose Israel to be His special nation in the Bible- so supporting Israel now must be the right thing to do.
2) The extreme political Left generally supports the Palestinians and stands against Israel- so there is no way that could be the right stance.
3) This is a religious conflict- and therefore siding with the Palestinians means supporting Islam.
4) The godly Christian thing to do is to not take a side in this conflict and just pray for everyone.
Breaking these down one by one then:
Myth 1) God chose Israel to be His special nation in the Bible- so supporting Israel now must be the right thing to do.
This is a simplistic and errant concept which doesn’t take into account many other factors which can be derived from Scripture and an extremely basic knowledge of history.
Israel as a nation was God’s chosen nation for a time. Even when that was the case, Israel was rebuked and chastened by God when it did evil. God delivered the Israelites to severe judgment many times in the Bible.
Amos 3:1-3: “Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
It was never, ever right to support Israel unconditionally. The true prophets among Israel did not do so- and they often suffered for that at the hands of the Jews. The false prophets in the Bible did tell the Jews that they could sin since they were allegedly in such special favor with God- and they were generally received and spoken of highly for that.
That in itself is enough to know that Israel should not be supported unconditionally like many believe now.
Yet even well beyond that, Israel as a political nation ceased to be God’s set apart nation in AD 70- that truth was sealed by the destruction of the Temple by the Romans and the scattering of the Jews throughout the world as a result of their defeat in their war with the Romans.
The house of the Lord is not in Jerusalem anymore. Psalm 122, which talks about praying for the peace of Jerusalem and how those who love Jerusalem will prosper (and the Zionist Christians love to quote from Psalm 122), actually speaks of these things in connection to the house of the Lord being there and (the Zionist Christians will not quote verse nine- but read the whole Psalm- it is only 9 verses). It cannot possibly apply to Jerusalem now.
But here is a Scripture which does indeed apply to Jerusalem now in its rejection of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 11:8: “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”
And most actually think the Christian thing to do is to support modern Israel in its rejection of Jesus Christ. It is ridiculous to say the very least.
The remnant of Israel now exists in Christ’s body, those whom He deems as His own (that is, authentic Christians).
Galatians 6:15-16: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”
Revelation 12:17 (and you just have the whole of the chapter to see that the woman in the chapter is symbolic of the nation of Israel): “And the dragon was wroth (angry) with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed (my note- let’s see who that seed is), which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
That is surely not modern Israel. Modern Israel then is not this sanctified entity which opposing equals opposition to God (even though some of its enemies might see it that way- this leads well into the following myths).
Myth 2) The extreme political Left generally supports the Palestinians and stands against Israel- so there is no way that could be the right stance.
There is no doubt that many actions of the Left in promoting this stance are wrong; and that many things which they promote simultaneously with this stance are wrong.
However, consider that a broken clock is right twice a day. To be a faithful, honest judge you must judge the broken clock to be right and agree with it for 2 minutes of the day; while disagreeing with it the other 1,438 minutes. We should not have partiality. Not having partiality means opposing Zionism and standing up in a lawful manner for those whom the Zionists have oppressed.
The ideological Left’s (not the establishment Left which supports Israel as much as anyone) hatred for Israel seems to be related to how Communist Russia turned against Israel in the late 1960s- even though Communist Russia was the first nation to legally recognize Israel in 1948. The Leftist scholarship which recent generations have produced has molded a specific, systematic worldview which opposes Israel. The norm for those who have embraced Leftist ideology has been to adopt this package in totality. This package has come to be the socially accepted norm in certain segments of society where Leftism has gained a strong foothold- especially college campuses. We need to do our own thinking and let the sound logic of Biblical principles mold our worldview and our way of thinking. Otherwise, we will surely call evil good; and call good, evil. Those who are molded by an ism, any ism (including the modern Western Conservatism which supports modern Israel), will fall prey to lies, side with evil, not do the good which they ought to do, and surely be enemies of God.
Myth 3) This is a religious conflict- and therefore siding with the Arab Palestinians means supporting Islam.
The fact is that the Jews who invaded Palestine in 1948 had no significant consideration of the religion of those whom they killed or drove away. That was also the case in the conflicts leading up to the mass invasion of 1948. That has remained the case as the Jews have continued since then to continually take more land, drive the Arabs into ever more confined areas, and to ethnically cleanse the land of Arabs.
Though some oppressed Arabs, and others looking in from the outside, might see the Jewish invasion and occupation as a war on Islam, it is not that at its roots. This oppression had nothing to do with the fact that most Arabs in Palestine were Muslims and that most in the occupied areas today are. There have been many thousands of Arab professing Christians oppressed and killed by the Jews (and even oppressed and killed this very year), as well as other non-Muslims. For all that the Zionist Jew invaders of the land cared, they would have done the same (or maybe worse) if the entire Arab population of Palestine were faithful Christians.
We have a duty to stand up for the oppressed and oppose criminal oppressors, no matter what the religion of the oppressed is. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. Some of Jesus’ severest rebukes to the Jews in the Gospels were related to the belief prevalent among them then (and now too, don’t kid yourself) that their fellow Jews were more important than others and warranted their aid and assistance in affliction- while others did not.
This is actually why it is essential to side with the Palestinians and oppose Israel.
And therefore, little else needs to be said about our final concept that is a myth.
Myth 4) The godly Christian thing to do is not take a side in this conflict and just pray for everyone.
The Good Samaritan would have been the evil, wicked Samaritan if he had seen the beaten, wounded man and just prayed for everyone involved in the beating.
As much as it is in our reasonable power then we need to help the victims, condemn the criminals, and seek to have them brought to justice.
And suppose you or I could do nothing else besides raise our voice on the internet and to the handful of people whom this topic came up with in conversation, then it is still essential and worth it to stand with the Palestinians and stand against modern Israel.
The fact is that there are many, many, times more Zionist professing Christians in America than there are Zionist Jews in the entire world. It is obviously no coincidence that the founding of the modern Zionist movement and the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible came just a few years apart. The Scofield Reference Bible became the chief tool in altering the minds of many so that they actually came to reconcile the support of Zionism with Christianity in their own minds. If the evangelical, and the overall more conservative elements of America, had opposed Zionism in the early and mid 20th century the Nakba (the calamity or disaster) of the Arabs in Palestine probably would not have happened (US President Harry Truman would not have been so severely pressured from the Zionists like he was if they thought they could found Israel and drive out the Arabs without the support of the USA- the same can be said of the pressure on the USA from Israeli operatives which continues to this day, and has allowed the further continuation of and increase of this disaster).
Along these lines then, don’t be part of an Israel supporting church. Sadly, most evangelical pastors now do support Israel. This is mainly because they have been trained at Bible colleges and seminaries influenced by Dispensational Theology (rooted in the heresies of the Scofield Reference Bible) and have not overcome this bad indoctrination. There are probably other serious errors in what they are teaching also, but supporting modern Israel in itself is more than bad enough.
Trying to not take a side at all in this conflict is still bad enough.
Don’t think for a second that there are any good excuses for supporting modern Israel against the Palestinians nor think that there won’t be blood on your hands at the Final Judgment if you don’t repent before God for supporting Israel and not standing with the Palestinians oppressed by this exceedingly wicked nation.
Micah 6:8: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
Proverbs 28:4: “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.”
Proverbs 31:8-9: “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”
Aaron’s email is: [email protected]
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