Leaders Discuss the Church’s Role Supporting Israel: ‘Now Is the Time to Speak Boldly the Word of God’

Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist group in the wake of its October 7 massacre has resulted in thousands of deaths, stirred much fear and controversy, and sent reverberations across the globe. Christians, in particular, may be wondering how everything happening relates to the church and our role as followers of Christ. To help answer those questions, Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, gathered prominent leaders to provide insight on the matter Thursday afternoon.

It’s especially important for us to understand how to handle what is going on because, as Perkins emphasized, “the messages we’re getting from legacy media are not Bible-based. In fact, they’re contrary to Scripture and to truth.” He added, “And so now is not the time to hesitate. Now is not the time to be intimidated or to be silent. Now is the time to speak boldly the Word of God.”

David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, agreed, saying, “The evangelical Christian community is, I believe, essential now more than ever to the future of the state of Israel.” Friedman shared about a recent conversation with Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, in which Herzog highlighted great division within Israel before the war started. However, once October 7 occurred, as terrible as the attack was, “those divisions seem to … melt away almost immediately,” Friedman said. Now, as the war goes on, “[Israelis] are bending over backwards to be as humane as possible.”

Heather Johnston, the founder and executive director of JH Israel and U.S. Israel Education Association, went on to share that “it is unambiguously clear that when it comes to a time like this, we have to stand with Israel.” She continued, “[The church is] crying for a fresh move of God on the United States. We’re asking for revival. And yet we need to understand that the biblical prophecies over the nation of Israel are … part of the central move of God on the earth today.”

Perkins asked why this conversation should be central within churches, and Pastor Gary Hamrick responded with Romans 11:25, where Paul states he does not wish for us to be ignorant. “And yet there is so much ignorance in the church today and outside the church about Israel,” Hamrick pointed out. “And the fault lies with us as pastors.”

To pastors, specifically, Hamrick emphasized, “[W]e have to equip our people to understand what Scripture says from cover to cover.” But ultimately, for all believers, he underscored the necessity to be educated concerning this matter in order to expose false narratives. And for Hamrick, that means being in the Word. Additionally, “We have to be very vocal in our support of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, because God calls us to do that,” he stated.

“[E]nough of the propaganda in the world and the false narrative,” Hamrick concluded. “Let the churches be a place where people can come and hear the truth of God’s Word and hear the counter to the false narrative of our culture, and stand behind Israel in prayer and support.”

Perkins agreed, adding, “And if there was ever a time we needed to be standing firmly on the Word of God for application over every realm of society, it is now.”