Unfortunately, we live in a world stumbling into darkness as God’s Word gets put on a shelf to collect dust. There is a reason 2 Thessalonians 2 talks about deception in the last days. When society puts the only source of truth on the shelf, there is no longer a reliable standard of good and evil, moral and corrupt, or righteous and unrighteous. It all fades into gray.

There will be a price to pay for abandoning God’s Word, and the truth about Israel will be lost with the rest of it. In a sense, I believe (as Amir does) that Israel is a litmus test. Not a test of salvation, but a test of our reliance upon the Word of God. Quiet your mind for a couple minutes and consider this wisdom from Amir Tsarfati:

I believe the hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people that we are witnessing today - even among people who identify as Christians and politically conservative - is the result of several things coming together at the same time.

First, we have witnessed an extraordinarily effective information and influence campaign on social media, particularly among younger generations. Platforms such as TikTok have allowed emotionally charged, historically distorted, and sometimes completely false narratives about Israel to spread at enormous speed. Complex history has been reduced to slogans. Images are stripped of context. Lies are repeated until they are accepted as facts. And an entire generation that often knows very little about the Bible, Jewish history, or the history of the Middle East is being discipled by an algorithm.

Then came the podcasters and influencers. Once well-known and trusted voices began repeating some of these narratives, they gave them a stamp of approval. Ideas and accusations that would once have been immediately recognized as antisemitic, conspiratorial, or historically false suddenly became acceptable in circles where they previously would have been rejected.

And then political forces recognized an opportunity. Politicians, governments, and movements discovered that hostility toward Israel could generate attention, followers, votes, and political support. Israel became an easy target because attacking it carries enormous political currency in certain constituencies.

But as a Bible believer, I believe there is something much deeper behind all of this. Above all of it, I believe we are witnessing a dark spiritual cloud gathering around Israel and the Jewish people. The Bible tells us that behind what we see taking place in the physical world there is also a spiritual battle:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

This is why I don’t believe we can explain what is happening merely through politics. How do people who claim to believe the Bible suddenly embrace ideas that fundamentally contradict what their own Bible teaches concerning Israel and the Jewish people? How do people who call themselves Christians find themselves repeating some of the same accusations against the Jewish people that have followed them for centuries?

A major part of the answer is biblical illiteracy, bad teaching, and complete ignorance concerning God’s purposes for Israel. For generations, many Christians have not been taught the whole counsel of God concerning Israel. Some have been taught, directly or indirectly, that God is finished with Israel, that the church has replaced Israel, and that the promises God made to the Jewish people have somehow been transferred to someone else.

Yet Paul could not have been clearer:

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29

And God Himself said: “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” Malachi 3:6

Political conservatism is no protection against biblical ignorance. Calling yourself a Christian is no substitute for knowing the Word of God. If your worldview is being formed more by TikTok, your favorite podcaster, or your political movement than by Scripture, eventually you can find yourself opposing the very things God says He will accomplish.

And this brings me to something I believe is extremely important: Israel is a test - and many are failing it.

Throughout Scripture, God reveals what is in the hearts of individuals and nations by how they respond to what belongs to Him - His Word, His purposes, His people, and His land. Joel could hardly be clearer:

“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
They have cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.”
Joel 3:1-3

Notice both the timing and God’s language.

“When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem.”

And then:

“My people.”
“My heritage Israel.”
“My land.”

God does not speak about Israel as something He discarded in the past. He speaks of a restored Judah and Jerusalem and then judges the nations for what they have done to His people and His land.

Yeshua presents the judgment of the nations at His return:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:31-32

And He says: “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:40

That raises a very serious question.

If God will not allow into Messiah’s earthly Millennial Kingdom those whose treatment of His people reveals their rebellion against Him, why would anyone imagine that hatred of His people is compatible with belonging to Him eternally?

Let me be very clear. Supporting Israel does not save anyone. Salvation is through faith in Yeshua the Messiah alone.

But Israel can be a test that reveals the heart.

What happens when God’s Word conflicts with your politics?

What happens when Scripture conflicts with your favorite podcaster?

What happens when God’s declared purposes for Israel conflict with what is popular on social media?

Which one has the final authority?

God said: “For he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” Zechariah 2:8

Yet even in all of this hostility, God remains completely in control.

The hostility intended to weaken Israel is strengthening the resolve of Israelis.

Growing antisemitism around the world is causing more Jewish people to consider returning to their ancestral homeland - exactly as the prophets said would happen:

“I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth.”
Isaiah 43:5-6

And while Israel’s enemies seek to isolate, weaken, and ultimately destroy it, Israel continues to build, innovate, grow, and thrive.

So when I look at the extraordinary hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people today, I don’t see merely a political phenomenon.

I see propaganda. I see political opportunism. I see biblical ignorance. And above all, I see a spiritual battle.

Israel does not save us. Supporting Israel does not earn salvation. But our response to what God has clearly said about His people and His land can expose whether we truly submit to the authority of His Word.

And tragically, many who call themselves Christians are failing that test.

None of this has taken God by surprise.

“Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure.’”
Isaiah 46:10

The nations have their plans for Israel.

But God has His - and His counsel will stand.

Awaiting His Soon Return,
Amir

So, what’s your verdict? Is Israel a litmus test of your reliance upon God’s Word?