Author and pastor John MacArthur says Christians in the U.S. and the world have a biblical obligation to protect the Jewish people and that God warned the nations they will be cursed if they don't.
The host of the popular radio ministry Grace to You commented at his church, Grace Community Church in California, during a recent Q&A when he was asked if Christians are "obliged to stand with the nation of Israel."
"I think we are obliged to stand as protectors of the Jews. That's Genesis 12. You bless the seed of Abraham, you're blessed. You curse them, you're cursed," MacArthur responded. "God puts the whole world on notice: These are my chosen people. I have a plan for them. Yes, they have followed idols. Yes, they have been punished and judged. Yes, they rejected their Messiah."
"Jews are living and dying and going out of the presence of God forever, now. But still, God has a future plan for the Jewish people. And we have to be protectors of them," he added.
Genesis 12 records God's words to Abraham: "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Any nation "that tries to eliminate the Jewish people has made a bad, bad decision," MacArthur said.
"Because the Bible is filled with the promises of God that no one will annihilate them. And anyone who tries will be annihilated. Now, this doesn't mean that we are required to give them money for what they do politically or militarily. I think that's a different issue. But we are to understand that God has a plan for Jewish people and that we want always to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the preservation of the Jewish people until the time when they see their Messiah and salvation comes to Israel. So, it's not the governmental entity of Israel that we support. It's the Jewish people. And they're constituted now, obviously, globally, in their own nation. And so we should be protectors of that people and that nation."
MacArthur concluded: "There is a warning from God to be sure you're protecting Jewish people. And if you do that, God promises to bless you."
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.