When serious Christians think about and pray about world events–be they in the Middle East or elsewhere–our primary concern should always be for the children of God in the midst of those events.  It is also good and proper for us to be concerned about the unbelievers in all the lands on earth–but the church must always be first…To regard any self-conscious rejecter of Jesus Christ as a member of the “Israel of God,” is idolatrous, foolhardy, ignorant, and (extremely) God-dishonoring.

Dedicated to all regenerate Christians living in the Middle East

I strongly suspect that the most important people, and the most sublime activity taking place in the Middle East today, are seriously neglected–even among thoughtful and well-informed Christians.

Who constitutes the “Israel of God,” (Gal. 6:16b), in the Middle East (or anywhere else in the rest of the world) today?  According to the Holy Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, the “Israel of God” are the people who truly believe in the one and only God.  The only way to believe in the one and only God is through saving (or regenerative) faith in Jesus Christ, The God/Man Second Person of the Holy Trinity.

. . . Therefore, the “Israel of God” is the church of Christ, made up of elect and redeemed Jews and Gentiles.  No one else is or can be the “Israel of God.”  Since this is true, what are we to make of the nation of Israel?  We should view the nation of Israel as just that–a nation.  The fact that it has the name “Israel” should not be taken too seriously, nor should it give us cause for concern.

 Undoubtedly, some members of the “Israel of God” are to be found in the nation of Israel–but all of them are Christians, people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of God.  Everybody else living in the nation of Israel is not of Israel, and they are not even Israelites.  This group would include Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ; and it includes Muslims who do not believe in Jesus Christ; and it would include anyone else in the nation of Israel who does not believe in Jesus Christ.

But, we want to be fair here: the exact same standard applies to every other nation in the Middle East.

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