A Letter on Israel, Calling, and Growing Anti-Semitism

To my friend Isaiah, who I've had fruitful conversations about current events for years. Written on September 30th, 2025.

Dear Isaiah,

Thank you for asking how I'm grappling with the Israel issue, especially as my views have been evolving through Bible study.

The topic of Israel generates more heat than light in our current discourse, and I'll admit my own journey has been marked by confusion.

Let me share where my thinking has landed so far—not final answers, but my current understanding based on Scripture and the Holy Spirit's guidance (even knowing these views will change).

First Things First: How Does Any Christian Know What to Do?

Before we discuss Israel, Palestine, or any geopolitical situation, I believe we should establish fundamentals. What is a Christian? To me, it means fully accepting Christ as Lord and Savior, repenting of sins, and being baptized—both in the Holy Spirit and with water.

But I want to emphasize the Holy Spirit baptism because this is where I believe 90% of Christianity goes wrong. Too many believers think they can operate with human wisdom alone, not understanding how critical it is to operate with wisdom that comes only from God.

This isn't wisdom to control world events or orchestrate global outcomes—which people think George Soros or Peter Thiel obsess over. This is wisdom to operate in your unique, one-of-one faith walk.

The Holy Spirit is your life guide. When He feels welcome, He will nudge you along on your journey, telling you where to be, what to say, and opportunities to perform signs, wonders, and miracles. (I explore this concept in depth in my piece on Divine Sovereignty and Human Free Will, where I discuss how God orchestrates His grand narrative while preserving our genuine freedom.)

If you don't understand these truths about callings, unique walks, and building a direct relationship with the Holy Spirit, the rest of this letter won't make sense. So please, sit with this first.

The Complexity of the Current Situation

Even though Satan uses people to accomplish evil in the world, God is in sovereign control—orchestrating the arc of history toward what many consider the End Times—the period culminating in Christ's return and final judgment.

There's debate about specifics: when He returns, what happens before and after, whether there's a rapture, a seven-year tribulation. But if you've spent time in Revelation and other prophetic books, it's hard to miss that the region of Israel/Palestine features prominently in these prophecies.

So how should we feel about what's happening there?

Let's be honest: There are almost certainly individuals affiliated with the IDF and Israeli government who've committed what could be considered war crimes. There are starving children in Gaza. There have been confirmed killings of Christians and bombings of churches. There's propaganda and fabrication on all sides—that's the nature of human conflict.

But here's the crucial question I've been asking myself: Why exactly are you focused on this? What is making you feel called to focus on it?

I will admit that a lot of why I've been focusing on this issue, and not, say, the massacres of Nigerian Christians, is because of the volume of social media posts about Israel.

So my advice to myself: Empty yourself of thoughts that aren't biblical or provided by the Holy Spirit. Ask yourself: How is the rage you might feel about what some call genocide actually advancing your calling from God?

Two Dangerous Extremes in American Christianity

I may change my views on this, but I see there being two dangerous extremes a lot of people are increasingly sitting on these days:

1. The Anti-Semitic Extreme

At one extreme, we have what I call the "Nick Fuentes Christianity"—a rabidly anti-Jewish movement deeply concerned about Jewish influence in everything. Yes, there are legitimate questions about concentration of power and abuse. The Jeffrey Epstein situation, with its connections to powerful individuals and the Israeli government, raises real concerns about child trafficking networks.

But unless God is specifically calling you to be an investigative journalist or to lobby Congress about these issues, maybe this focus becomes a distraction from your true calling. I've noticed that people who spend excessive time thinking about Jews and Israel often descend into a hateful place that clouds judgment and severs connection with God.

2. The Israel Idolatry Extreme

On the opposite end, we have Christians who've made the nation-state of Israel an idol, equating support for modern Israel with being a good Christian. This creates a factory-model Christianity where every believer is expected to think, act, and vote identically regarding Israel.

I worry that idolatry of Israel prevents Christians from actually doing what God wants them as individuals to do. I would be very surprised if God wanted the 82 million American evangelicals to think it's part of their calling to unconditionally support a nation-state, which I remind you, is governed by sinful humans (as all humans are).

(All that said, there are faith leaders I strongly respect that are unequivocal about their support for the nation-state of Israel.)

The Missing Element: The Holy Spirit

Both evangelicals and traditional liturgical Christians often discount the Holy Spirit's role in all this. They've put church leaders on pedestals, receiving direction on "how to be a good Christian" from institutional authorities rather than from the Spirit Himself.

This is a grave mistake, from my limited vantage point.

The only thing that should be on a pedestal is God. Currently, the Holy Spirit is our main connection point with the Divine. He is the Spirit of Truth. If He's telling you to do something specific regarding Israel, the Jewish people, or the Palestinian conflict, make sure you're not confusing His voice for something else.

My Concerns and Convictions

I have real concerns about how uncritical support for a nation-state primarily comprised of people who currently deny Christ could empower actions leading to the deaths and displacement of Middle Eastern Christians. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering in that region.

It's a complex situation that deserves to be seen with all its complexity, especially given the eschatological implications.

Scripture and Prophecy

On the note of eschatology, it seems that the Bible is clear about certain things regarding Israel and the Jewish people—though there are real questions about bloodlines and identity that complicate our understanding.

The Bloodline Question: There's genuine complexity around who exactly constitutes "Israel" today. Many Jewish people are descendants of converts rather than Abraham's biological lineage. There are legitimate questions about what God means by "Israel" in prophecy. Is it bloodline? Faith? The nation-state? Some combination? These aren't anti-Semitic questions; they're theological ones that matter for how we interpret prophecy. (I used to lean toward replacement theology—the idea that the Church replaced "Israel"—but my Bible studies have so far convinced me otherwise.)

God's Covenant: Despite these complexities, God declares: "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7-8). God made promises about the land that He considers everlasting.

Jerusalem's Significance: Jesus Himself said Jerusalem would be "trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24), implying Jewish control would be restored. Zechariah 12:2-3 describes Jerusalem as a "cup of trembling" for all nations in the last days. Scripture also warns of persecution and leaders from the east rising against Jerusalem in the end times (Revelation 16:12-14, Daniel 11:44-45).

The Jewish People's Unique Role: As Paul writes in Romans 9:4-5, to the Israelites belong "the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises." Most significantly, "from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah."

Salvation's Source: Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "Salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22). No Jews, no patriarchs, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible, no Savior.

The Real Issue: Your Calling

Here's some advice I'm giving myself, given all this context above:

Unless your specific calling involves this conflict—perhaps as a journalist breaking stories, a diplomat working for peace, or a missionary serving in the region—your extensive focus on Israel-Palestine is likely distracting you from your actual calling from God.

For you, Isaiah, you may very well be called to do work specifically on this issue. That's something to discern wisely though.

A Path Forward

My general thoughts to literally everyone regardless of how much they've thought about Israel:

If you believe in Christ, get baptized in the Holy Spirit as soon as possible.

I suspect that what you should do regarding Israel, Palestine, and more importantly your life in general, will become much clearer when you stop accepting one-size-fits-all institutional prescriptions and start listening to the Spirit's specific guidance for your unique calling.

The Holy Spirit gives different believers different roles. Some may be called to pray for Israel. Others to serve Palestinian refugees. Some to be peacemakers. Others to focus entirely elsewhere. The key is that these are individual callings, not one-size-fits-all denominational institutional mandates to support or oppose particular political parties or nation-states.

(If you or someone else reading this has a different view of the role denominations ought to play in this conflict, I'm all ears.)

Final Thoughts

Overall, where I'm currently at is that I think people should be careful about assigning uniform views about how Christians should act regarding the Middle East. Making an idol of any position—whether blind support or blind opposition to a particular human group—is dangerous.

My Bible studies are bringing me back to this: God has a plan, it involves the Jewish people and Jerusalem, but our individual responses should be Spirit-led, not institutionally mandated.

The growing hatred toward Jews worldwide is concerning. But I suspect that the answer isn't blind political allegiance—it's spiritual discernment. Study Scripture. Understand God's plans as revealed in His Word. But above all, develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit so you can discern your specific role.

In my view, the question isn't "What should all Christians think about Israel?" The question is "What is God calling me, specifically, to do with my life?" I suspect that for most of us, that calling has little to do with Middle Eastern politics and everything to do with the mission field right in front of us.

Let's keep discussing this. I value your perspective and your heart for truth.

Your brother in Christ,

Gary