The pro- Israel ministries such as Christians United for Israel (aka CUFI) are generally not going to teach their followers sound Biblical doctrine concerning Israel. On the contrary, they have a political agenda and they use the texts from scripture which help support their agenda.

The problem is, the average Christian who feels endeared to Israel will often think that those with a pro Israel agenda (such as CUFI) are giving them the Bible perspective, when in reality they are not.

For example, you probably will never hear a CUFI leader teach that Jerusalem is no longer the place of worship for God’s people. Especially since pro Israel ministries teach that Jerusalem will be the place of worship when Christ returns.

Yet in the Bible, Jesus says otherwise in his conversation with the woman at the well in John 4.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor at Jerusalem, worship the Father….But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. ~ John 4:21, 23

Also those with a Pro- Israel agenda will not tell you that the land promises given to Israel in the Old Testament were conditional. They want you to believe they were unconditional and that is why they only tell you verses which sound as if they are unconditional. Yet when you read and study the Bible you find out they are conditional.

Here are a few Bible facts that many Pro Israel Christians don’t know.

1. If modern Israel truly possessed the Promised Land according to scripture, it would include parts of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Saudi Arabia (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 23:31; Deuteronomy 11:24). What we recognize as modern Israel is a very small fraction of the land promise inherited in scripture. Under the reign of King Solomon the Kingdom extended from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates as was promised to Abraham. ~ Genesis 15:18; 1 Kings 4:20-21, 24

You would not know this ^ above ^ unless you studied what the scriptures say about the land and took into account that the Old Testament is an unfolding narrative leading to revelation of Jesus Christ.

2. The land of Promise was the inheritance and rest for Israel in contrast to Egypt which was the place of bondage. This is a type and shadow of the inheritance and rest we have in Christ in contrast to the bondage of slavery to sin and death.

3. The strangers among the Israelites who were circumcised and kept the Passover were to be counted among the Israelites as one born in the land (Exodus 12:48). In other words, those who were not Abraham’s physical descendants also became heirs to the land promise through circumcision and obedience to God’s Laws given to Israel.

4. God never promised the land of Canaan to Israel apart from serving him. ~ Exodus 34:8-16; Leviticus 18:24-30; Deuteronomy 19:8-9; 28:1-3, 7, 10, 15-16, 25, 63-64; Joshua 23:11-16; Jeremiah 7:4

5. God drove out the previous inhabitants of the land because of their sins and wickedness. ~ Deuteronomy 18:12

6. God also promised to drive Israel out of the land if they did not keep His ordinances, statues, and judgments. ~ Exodus 34:8-16; Leviticus 18:24-30; Joshua 23:11-16

7. God told Israel they were only strangers and temporary residents in the land. ~ Leviticus 25:23

8. Through Ezekiel, God rebukes those who think they have the right to the land inheritance because they are physical descendants of Abraham only, rather than doing right in God’s sight. ~ Ezekiel 33:23-26

9. God promised to make the land desolate because of the sins of Israel. ~ Ezekiel 33:25-29

10. Within the boundaries of the Promised Land (Genesis 15), was a place known as Mount Seir. God told Moses that he had given this portion of the land not to the children of Israel, but to the children of Esau.

Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed Mount Seir many days. And the Lord spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession. ~ Deuteronomy 2:1-5

Mount Seir is in the desert area known as the Negev in the southern portion of modern Israel. The ancient town of Beersheba is also in the Negev.

If you are a follower of a Pro Israel ministry or organization and you think you have a Biblical perspective of Israel based on what those ministries/organizations are teaching you, my I encourage you to study your Bible.

When you learn what the Bible teaches, across the board, on any biblical truth, it opens your understanding to so many more other truths within scripture.

Recently, I listened to few minutes of a conversation between two pro-Israel advocates as they discussed replacement theology, which is actually a misnomer.

At the beginning of the video, the host minister made a statement about the land of Israel. He commented that there are more than a thousand references regarding the land in the Bible and he made this statement to support his position regarding the modern state of Israel.

He actually offered a proof-text, by the volume, without going into any detail about what those scriptures reveal about the land. His loose and vague handling of scripture was used to promote the idea that the land promises given to Israel were unconditional promises and applying them to modern day Israel.

We must take the time to learn the Biblical narrative regarding Israel and the land of Israel, and not allow anyone to persuade us with their vague proof-texts which often lead to unscriptural ideas about Israel.

Oftentimes the picture is painted that the blessings of God on other nations depends on their support of the modern state of Israel. Yet, in your Bible, God did not judge nations based on their support of Israel or lack thereof. God judged each nation based on their own sin or righteousness. Of course when Israel was right with God, He defended them against those nations that rose up against them. On the other hand, when Israel was in rebellion against God, he allowed other nations to come against them. Israel’s blessings in the land and God’s blessings on other nations, through Israel, was always dependent on their being right with God.

Furthermore, the concept that Israel was only blessed with regards to the land is a very faulty concept. Throughout the Old Testament, the wicked within Israel (not the remnant of righteous Jews) committed all sorts of grievances against God within the land. They committed idolatry by worshipping other gods, they sacrificed their children to idols, they committed all sorts’ sexual sins, and the list goes on. Time and time again, God’s anger and wrath was against Israel within the borders of the land of Israel.

In the book of Ezekiel, God had Ezekiel prophesy to the wicked leaders of Israel and say: “Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.” ~ Ezekiel 11:1-2, 10

God told them that He would judge them within the borders of Israel.

In verses 11-12 we read the following: “This city shall not be your caldron (an iron pot of protection), neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: And ye shall know that I am the Lord: for ye have not walked in my statutes neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.” ~Ezekiel 11:11-12

All throughout the Old Testament, there was much bloodshed and death in the land of Israel and many times God’s anger and judgment came on the people within the boundaries of Israel. In fact, Israel wasn’t yet even settled in the land, but in the process of possessing it, when God turned against them because of the sin of Achan.

God told Joshua, “Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.”  ~ Joshua 7:11-12

Notice that within Israel’s borders, God said “Israel has been set apart for destruction” and he would not be with them any longer unless they repented.

From the very outset of God’s covenant with Israel, the promise of the land inheritance was always dependent on Israel’s obedience to God’s law. Many scriptures from the Bible could be provided to prove this. Therefore, the land inheritance was never an unconditional promise, but conditional. If it were unconditional, God would have never driven Israel and Judah out of the land into captivity.

Israel’s right to the Land was completely dependent on their obedience to God, otherwise they were not entitled to the land.

To learn more about Israel’s land inheritance, follow the links below:

IS THE LAND INHERITANCE STILL RELEVANT? 
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/is-the-land-inheritance-still-relevant-today/

THE MEANING OF “MY LAND”
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/the-meaning-of-my-land/

THE PROMISED LAND AND GOD’S REST 
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/the-promised-land-and-gods-rest/