Christians Still Support Israel

The results of our latest survey are so encouraging! The graphs presented here are only a small sample of the much larger study, but represent the significance of the findings. As you review them, it is important to understand some of the terminology. 

The NAE is the National Association of Evangelicals. For the purpose of this survey, evangelicals are people who hold to the four core beliefs established by the NAE as primary characteristics of evangelicals. An evangelical believes: (a) the Bible is the ultimate authority; (b) people must be transformed through a “born-again” relationship with Jesus; (c) Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross makes such a transformation possible; and (d) faith should find expression in action, especially in sharing the good news of Jesus with others.

We hope you find these results as exciting as we do! The full survey will be available soon, so watch for the link in upcoming letters. Until then, be of good cheer, we are not alone! 

If you think that younger people are turning away from God, think again! Roughly 77 percent of evangelicals sixty-five and older believe that the State of Israel fulfills biblical prophecy. The number drops to just under 60 percent for the fifty to sixty-four group, and remains at 60 percent for those between thirty and forty-nine. Though there are fewer eighteen-to-twenty-nine-year-olds, it is still more than half, at 53 percent, and an additional 21 percent say they are not sure. God is at work in our young people, which we can see across all of the charts.

When you take into consideration how people identify themselves regarding the definition of “evangelical,” it is not surprising that those with a high view of the Bible are more likely to see Israel as fulfillment of prophecy. More than 75 percent of those who identify as evangelical agree that Israel is the realization of ancient prophecy. 

Supporting the modern State of Israel is not political. It is not giving the country’s administration a license to do as they please. However, biblical support of Israel acknowledges their right to exist and their God-given right to the land. Among evangelicals, just under 75 percent view such support of Israel as a biblical obligation for believers. 

This graph is one of the most encouraging in the study. Many Jewish people view Christian evangelism as self-serving in some way. That is, Christians are only interested in Jewish people to convert them. According to the survey, nothing could be further from the truth! An astonishing 87 percent of evangelical Christians agree that believers should love and support Jewish people without consideration of whether or not they accept Jesus as Messiah. 

Consistent with other results, evangelicals, who view the Bible as authoritative, generally see the Abrahamic Covenant as the source of the Jewish people’s right to the land of Israel. Less than 10 percent said otherwise. 

This graph is also very encouraging! As the world grows more and more hostile toward Jewish people, almost 70 percent of evangelicals acknowledge that God’s covenant with the Jewish people is still intact. With this view, God still has a plan and a purpose for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel in the future. 

Israel’s right to the land need not exclude non-Jewish residents. Of those evangelicals who believe that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, 82 percent are also concerned with the rights and the dignity of all others in the land. The others include Palestinians, Druze, Muslims, and various Christian minorities.