By Wayne Grudem, CP Guest Contributor Wednesday, July 29, 2026Credit :

Editor’s note:  This Christian Post special series is designed to inform Evangelical voters about the foundational facts behind the major issues shaping today’s elections. Noted theologian Wayne Grudem has written these public policy backgrounders to help prepare voters for the elections ahead.  

Since the birth of the modern nation of Israel in 1948, it has faced constant hostility. Its opponents claim that Jewish settlers in Palestine are wrongful “colonizers” who are currently “occupying” Palestine and denying the Palestinian people the right to form their own nation.

This viewpoint is behind the words of the protesters who chant the slogan,

“From the river to the sea/ Palestine will be free!”

The “river” refers to the Jordan River, and the “sea” refers to the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, the slogan “From the river to the sea/Palestine will be free!” predicts that the entire geographical area that is modern Israel today will be “free” from Jewish rule and will instead be an Arab/Muslim nation. This would require the abolition of Israel as a nation, and in the minds of many it also implies the expulsion of all Jewish people from all of Palestine.

The term “Palestine” is a geographical term that dates back to Roman times. Today it refers to a vaguely defined area at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It includes at least the land that belongs to modern Israel, as well as Gaza, and what is now called the “West Bank,” and a few other portions of land from Israel’s surrounding neighbors.

Whose land is it?

The oldest written record relevant to the ownership of Palestine is found in the early chapters of the Bible, in passages from the book of Genesis that repeat a declaration over and over:

When they came to the land of Canaan [an older name for Palestine] […] the LORD appeared to Abram [later called Abraham] and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” (Gen. 12:5-7; this took place around 2100 BC).

The LORD said to Abram, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. (Gen. 13:14-15)

And I will give to you [Abraham] and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Gen. 17:8).

And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you … and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.'” (Gen. 48:3-4)

The repetition of this theme throughout Genesis gives emphasis to the permanence of the promise that the Jewish people would have an “everlasting” possession of the land of Canaan (that is, Palestine). Throughout the rest of the Bible, this promise was never revoked or nullified.

After Moses died, the Jewish people gradually took possession of the land under the leadership of Joshua (approximately 1400 BC) and subsequent judges. Jewish control over the land culminated in the expansive reigns of David (1010–971 BC) and Solomon (971–931 BC).

God’s promise that the Jews would possess the land of Canaan was reaffirmed in 1 Chronicles, a much later book of the Bible. These lines come from King David’s song of thanksgiving when the ark of the covenant was brought safely to Jerusalem:

He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
as your portion for an inheritance” (1 Chronicles 16:14-18).

But God later removed the Jewish people from their land because of idolatry and other persistent disobedience, and by 586 BC most Jews had been carried away to Babylon (a journey of 800 miles, by foot) for the 70 years of the Babylonian Exile. (Note that, by calling that period of time an “exile,” historians are assuming that Palestine was the true home of the Jewish people, from which they had been forcibly carried away or “exiled.”)

Then the Babylonian empire was conquered by the Persians under King Cyrus in 539 BC, and in 538 BC, Cyrus issued a decree that the Jewish people could return to their homeland, which many did. They had considerable freedom to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and to rebuild their temple, but they still remained under the authority of the Persian Empire.

Two centuries later (in 333 BC), Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world, including the land of Israel. The Jewish people were still able to live in their own land, but they were subject to the Greek successors to Alexander the Great.

In 167 BC, Israel rebelled against its Greek rulers and, under the leadership of the Maccabean family, they won their independence in 142 BC. This independent status lasted until 63 BC, when the Roman armies, under the leadership of Pompey, conquered that entire region of the world, including Jerusalem. Israel was still under the rule of the Roman Empire during the earthly life and ministry of Jesus.

In subsequent centuries, the land of Israel was subject to the Byzantine Empire (AD 330–636), then to various Muslim and Christian (Crusader) rulers (AD 636–1517), and then to the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) (1517–1917). Finally, at the close of World War I, Israel came under British rule (1917–1948).

Modern-day Israel

On November 2, 1917, the British government released the Balfour Declaration. It was signed by the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, and was supported by the prime minister, David Lloyd George, and by the British War Cabinet. It says,

His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

So there it was in black and white: Britain favored establishing “in Palestine” a new nation that would be “a national home for the Jewish people.” However, it would take 30 years (until 1947) for this vision to become a reality.

November 29, 1947: Resolution 181 was approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This resolution recommended the establishment of two separate nations in Palestine, the nation of Israel and an Arab nation. Israel accepted this recommendation, but the Arab residents of Palestine refused to constitute themselves as a separate nation because that would involve acknowledging the legitimacy of Israel as a nation.

May 14, 1948: Israel declared itself to be an independent nation.

May 14, 1948 (11 minutes after Israel’s declaration that it was now an independent nation): The United States was the first nation to recognize Israel as a new, independent nation. In the following months and years, many other nations (today, more than 160 nations) have officially recognized Israel and maintain normal diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel. The nations today that do not recognize Israel are mostly Muslim-majority nations.

May 15, 1948: The armies of five Arab countries (Egypt from the south and west, Lebanon and Syria from the north, Jordan and Iraq from the east) attacked Israel, claiming that such a nation had no right to exist. Much to the surprise of the rest of the world, the Israeli defense forces became increasingly victorious in the war that followed these attacks.

May 11, 1949: The nation of Israel was admitted to the United Nations.

It is evident from this historical overview that from about 2100 BC (God’s promise to Abraham) up to the establishment of Israel as an independent nation in 1948, the Jewish people have considered all of the land of present-day Israel to be their rightful homeland, and most of the other nations of the world have agreed with that claim. Even the various empires that conquered them recognized the unique nature of Israel as a Jewish nation and granted them some measure of self-government.

In other words, for over 4,000 years Palestine was commonly understood to be the rightful homeland of the Jewish people. By contrast, there is no other group of people who have anything remotely like Israel’s 4,000-year history in this land. Prior to 1948, there never was a distinct group of Arab residents of Palestine who were known as “Palestinians.” Nor has there ever been a “Palestinian” nation, nor has any such group ever ruled over Palestine.

In addition, many Christians and Jews today understand the Genesis narratives about Abraham’s life to represent factual history, reporting events that actually happened. (That is my own view.) I think that God our Creator actually did give to Abraham and his descendants the land of Palestine as an “everlasting” possession. This implies that the Jewish people are not “colonizers” who are “occupying” the land. They are its rightful inhabitants. For everyone who accepts the divine authority of the Bible, this should settle the question.

However, there are additional reasons. Here is a brief summary of eight reasons why the people of modern-day Israel should be considered the rightful inhabitants of Palestine:

God’s promise to Abraham, repeated to Isaac and Jacob (1 Chronicles 16:16-18)A 4,000-year history of Jewish rule or the assumption that Palestine was the Jewish homelandBritish approval of a nation for Jewish people in 1917 and 1948UN recognition in 1949Current recognition by more than 160 nationsIsrael’s presence means that America has a reliable ally in the Middle EastModern Israel is a regional example of genuine democracy and the rule of law in the Middle EastIsrael is now a formidable military, economic, and scientific power in the world (see George Gilder’s book The Israel Test). Modern Israel brings to the entire world many benefits, benefits that would be lost or long-delayed if Israel were not able to exist in Palestine any longer.Israel Cannot Accept Any New Palestinian Nation That Is Devoted to Its Destruction

In 1947, the United Nations recommended the establishment of two separate nations in Palestine. That may have seemed reasonable in 1947, but subsequent events have shown that Israel could not accept such a plan today, because this would essentially be welcoming on its western border a nation whose purpose is to completely destroy Israel. At least two events demonstrate this reality.

(1) Gaza: (The Gaza Strip is an area of 141 square miles along the south and west borders of modern Israel. Israel itself contains 8,019 square miles.) In 2005, Israel agreed to give up control of Gaza (which it had governed since the Six-Day War in June of 1967) as part of an effort to give up “land for peace.” It was a spectacular failure.

After Israel forcibly removed about 8,000 Israeli people from Gaza, a painful process that forced people from their homes against their will, they did not get peace. The terrorist organization Hamas quickly established its rule over Gaza and it multiplied tenfold the number of rocket attacks that it had previously been launching into civilian areas of Israel. Hamas, backed by Iran, was now stationed immediately on Israel’s southwest border and only about 50 miles from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

(2) The Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023: In a surprise attack, Hamas soldiers invaded Israel and killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They also kidnapped 251 people as hostages who were taken into the tunnels underneath Gaza and imprisoned there. This included even children and elderly persons.

If a separate Palestinian nation were to be established, it would be populated by the same Hamas-dominated people who were behind these other two events. They have repeatedly affirmed that their goal is the complete destruction of Israel. When public rallies are held in Iran or under the Hamas leaders in Gaza or the Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, the crowds will often shout, “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” Accepting a separate Palestinian nation would condemn many hundreds of Israeli citizens to be slaughtered in a repetition of the October 7 attacks as well as in constant barrages of rockets fired into Israeli civilian centers. In order to protect its citizens, Israel cannot allow this to happen.

Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and ultimately the religious and military leaders in Iran are responsible for the horrific evils of October 7

The October 7 attack was the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history. It was also the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. The members of Hamas, as well as their sponsors in Iran, were responsible for the murders of over 1,200 people in Israel.

In addition, when protests arose on the streets of Iran, the rulers in Iran ordered the deaths of 35,000 of their own people. And so the heartless invasion of October 7, together with the appalling murder of 35,000 Iranian protesters, showed that the military and religious rulers of Iran had become evil on a scale seldom seen in the history of the world.

In fact, such an irrational commitment to this magnitude of evil seems to me to indicate not merely the existence of substantial evil in some human hearts but additionally a demonic influence that ultimately seeks the destruction of the entire human race.

Back in the first century, Jesus said this about the devil:

He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44.)

An argument can be made that there are several reasons why the rulers of Iran are more evil than the rulers of any other nation on earth:

They were within a few weeks of building live nuclear weapons and have repeatedly hinted that they would use them to destroy Israel.The terrorist organizations Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have both been financed by Iran, and they have continued to send rockets into civilian areas of Israel, sometimes killing innocent civilians and forcing thousands of Israelis to live in daily fear of a rocket attack.When Iranians filled the streets to protest against the government, the Iranian government murdered 35,000 of their own people — an astonishing action.Iran’s leaders follow a terrifying variety of Islamic belief, one which views dying in a holy war as a blessing and a way to obtain high honor. Therefore, many of Iran’s leaders would rather die than surrender.Israeli and American military forces can be seen as servants of God who are carrying out God’s wrath on the wrongdoers

The apostle Paul speaks explicitly about the responsibility of a government authority to punish evildoers:

Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (Romans 13:3-4).

It is a sobering responsibility to carry out God’s wrath on a wrongdoer, but when police officers or military personnel have to “bear the sword” [or in modern warfare drop a bomb] so as to put murderers to death, they should see themselves as servants of God in this responsibility. In this way, God has ordained that He will bring appropriate retribution against wrongdoers, deter further wrongdoing, and defend innocent citizens against potential murderers.

But where did the apostle Paul get this idea about human governments being God’s agents to execute His wrath on the wrongdoers? This teaching by Paul in fact finds an appropriate background in God’s words to Noah at the beginning of human society after the great flood:

And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Genesis 9:5-6).

Therefore, when Israeli and American members of the military put to death the Iranians and others who wrongfully murdered so many of the Israeli people as well as numerous Americans and citizens of other countries, they are carrying out the “reckoning” that God requires in order to establish a measure of justice on the earth.

Government officials do not have to be morally perfect individuals in order to carry out this responsibility. When Paul was writing Romans, Nero was the Roman emperor, and neither he nor his officials were morally blameless. And in the Old Testament, God used the Babylonian armies to bring His judgment on Israel for their sins — then God later judged Babylon for its own sins (see Jeremiah 50–51).

Critics of Israel have claimed that Israeli forces have intentionally targeted civilians and have not limited their attacks to military targets only. But the Israeli government strenuously denies this and points out examples of Jewish soldiers who have experienced disciplinary measures because they wrongfully killed one or more civilians.

The government of Israel repeatedly points out that Hamas routinely uses civilians to shield its military installations. For example, they will station rocket launchers inside a schoolyard or a hospital, or even in the living room of someone’s home. They also point out that before Israel attacks a certain neighborhood, they drop leaflets, make phone calls, and post on the internet the exact places and dates and times that they will attack, so that civilians have ample opportunity to remove themselves from that area before an attack comes.

Why the Israel and U.S. attacks on Iran were morally justified

The destruction of Iran’s military forces, its airplanes, and all of the ships in its navy can be justified, then, on three grounds:

(1) It is divine retribution for the wrongful murder of over 1,200 people in Israel, an act of horrible evil that was financed and directed by Iran through the terrorist group Hamas. It is also divine retribution for the horrible murder of 35,000 of Iran’s own people.

It also appears to be divine retribution for the deaths of hundreds of Americans during the last 47 years, including the 241 people killed in the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut.

(2) It is self-defense for Israel because it is an attempt to deter similar attacks in the future. It is also a war of self-defense for the United States because there are more than 10 American military bases within the range of Iran’s rockets, and if they had produced some atomic bombs they could easily have targeted some American bases.

(3) For both Israel and the U.S., it is also a preemptive war to destroy the warmaking capability of Iran and of its puppets Hamas and Hezbollah. And because there is sufficient likelihood that both Iran and Hamas would use any new weapons that they could develop, a preemptive attack was necessary.

The armed forces of Israel and of the United States are not committing genocide when they pursue a war against Hamas and Iran. They are functioning exactly as God intends human civil governments to function. They are God’s servants for our good when they act as avengers to carry out God’s wrath on one of the most evil regimes in the world.

Application to Democrats and Republicans today

In previous decades, Democrats and Republicans showed bipartisan support for the nation of Israel. Today, the platforms of both parties still affirm Israel’s right to exist, but a disturbing trend has arisen within the Democratic Party, in which several congressional and Senate candidates have condemned Israel’s fight against Hamas as “genocide,” and have called for an end to America’s financial and military aid for Israel. The issue of Israel has the potential to become a major controversy within the Democratic Party. This is an issue for Christians to continue to monitor closely.

Among Republicans, elected leaders at the national level continue to show strong support for Israel, though there has been some limited criticism of individual actions or policies carried out by the current government of Israel.

Will God Bless Those Who Bless Israel and Curse Those Who Curse Israel?

In the same passage where God promises the land of Palestine to Abraham’s descendants, God also says to Abraham,

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

Does this promise still apply to Abraham’s descendants today?

On the one hand, no explicit mention is made in Genesis 12 about applying this promise to future generations. Also, in a number of places the New Testament views believers in Jesus Christ to be the true spiritual heirs who inherit the promises made to Abraham (see Hebrews 8:8-13 and 1 Peter 2:1-10, for example).

On the other hand, some New Testament passages teach a distinctive future even for those Jewish people who have rejected Jesus as their Messiah. Paul says in Romans 11:17 that the Jewish people are like branches that have been “broken off” from an olive tree (which represents God’s true people), and that someday they will be “grafted back into their own olive tree” (Romans 11:14). God has not abandoned the Jewish people but has a wonderful future plan for them.

Then Paul says,

As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers (Rom. 11:28).

In the first half of that verse, the word “they” refers to Jewish people who have rejected Jesus Christ. Therefore, in the second half of the verse, the word “they” also must refer to Jews who have rejected Jesus Christ.

Paul does not say that they are saved, but in some sense he is saying that they are still “beloved” by God. This suggests that God still has a plan for the Jewish people, a plan that He will bring about at the right time.

It seems that Paul is saying that in some way God will bring about a massive number of Jewish people coming to trust in Jesus as their Savior. They will be “grafted back” into their own olive tree (Romans 11:24). “Now if their trespass means riches for the world […] How much more will therefore inclusion mean?” (Romans 11:12). Paul also says, “If their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15). These statements are consistent with the idea that there will be a future time when large numbers of Jewish people will turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. And in this way, at some future time, “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

Now, with those New Testament passages as a background, we can ask again, is God today still blessing those who bless Israel and turning His face against those who curse Israel?

I cannot be sure about this, but I think it is likely that the answer is “yes.”

Wayne Grudem is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary. He is a graduate of Harvard (BA), Westminster Seminary (MDiv, DD), and the University of Cambridge (PhD) .

The viewpoints reflected in this article are those of the author and should not be understood to represent the viewpoint of Phoenix Seminary.