Seeing Israel Rightly

Jerusalem is the one place on earth where God placed His name. This is important for Christians, because it is also where Jesus will return — on the condition, Scripture tells us, that the Jewish people welcome Him first (Matthew 23:37–39).

Zechariah 12:2–3 goes further, describing a time when God will make Jerusalem “a cup of trembling” and “a burdensome stone for all people” — nations that attempt to move it will only injure themselves.

Current data shows this is already taking shape: the UN General Assembly has passed more resolutions criticising Israel than all other nations combined,[1] a pattern that makes this ancient prophecy increasingly difficult to dismiss as coincidence.

God said His people would return in unbelief. Ezekiel 36 describes Israel gathered from all the nations where they were scattered before being cleansed and given a new heart.

In 1948, fewer than 500,000 Jewish people lived in the land. Today, there are some 7.8 million Jews (plus 2.1 million Arabs), out of a world Jewish population of roughly 15 million. Yet of that 7 million in Israel, less than 0.5% know their Messiah. We are watching the return unfold; the turning is still ahead, and the Christian response plays a crucial part in this.

Provoked to Jealousy

In Romans 11, Paul explains that Israel’s fall was never the end of the story — it was designed to bring salvation to the Gentiles, and in turn, to provoke Israel to jealousy. That raises a question every Christian should sit with: how are Jewish people being made jealous today by Christians?

With wars raging and antisemitism rising around the world, especially in Australia, knowing what the Bible says about God’s promises for this moment isn’t academic. It shapes how we pray, how we speak, and how we help non-believers make sense of the struggles around the world.

This matters well beyond Israel itself. When sharing the gospel, these questions surface: Why does God allow suffering? Why does He allow children to die in war? How can I trust Him at all?

God fulfilling a 3,000-year-old promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is tangible evidence of His faithfulness. And when we see Israel named in Scripture, we need the discernment to rightly connect it to what we see on the news today.

Now is the time to be informed — not swept along. Especially for those with Jewish people in their circles, the question is no longer whether this matters, but whether we’re ready to speak into it with truth. Want to know more, connect with Celebrate Messiah, it is a Messianic mission organisation. They are Jewish people who believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah in the Tanakh (Old Testament) texts.

They are based in Australia. Through their partnership with Chosen People Ministries, they do missions work in Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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