Greg Laurie Urges Christians to Support Israel and Fight Antisemitism
Supporting the nation of Israel is not optional for Christians, pastor and author Greg Laurie says.
“Everything we have came to us through God’s chosen people, the Jews,” he said. “God established a covenant with them in Genesis 12 with Abraham and his descendants. He said, ‘I will bless those that bless you; I will curse those that curse you.’”
Laurie noted that modern-day Israel is a point of debate among some people, with critics claiming God’s promises don’t apply to the contemporary nation. He rejected this notion and said the promise continues, explaining how 1948 and Israel’s reemergence on the map align with biblical truth. In 2025, he stated how America flourishes with Israel.
“It happened on the heels of something called the Holocaust,” Laurie said. “And I think a lot of young people don’t know about that, and that is that horrible event that happened really not that long ago, when you look at the big picture, where 6 million Jewish men, women and children were put to death in Nazi concentration camps, extermination camps, as part of Hitler’s so-called final solution.”
Antisemitism sometimes starts subtly and, over time, “develops into Jew hatred,” he said. “And then leads to actually harming the Jews. I think we’re past subtle antisemitism. It seems like people want to blame the Jews and the nation of Israel for everything that’s going wrong in our world today.”
This remains true despite the nation’s flaws.
“The modern state of Israel is not a perfect nation any more than America is,” Laurie said. “But having said that, they are a Jewish homeland, and I do believe their being in the land is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And on May 14, 1948, it set the prophetic time clock ticking.”
He criticized so-called “replacement theology,” which is present in many churches today. Laurie described this theology as one that proclaims “God is done with the Jews and all the promises of them are transferred over to the church.”
Laurie said Romans 9-11 shows God still has a plan for the Jews in the future, noting that Gentiles have been “grafted into the promises of God that were given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Ultimately, he said, Christians want to see Jews and everyone else accept Christ, although an important element in scripture must be weighed.
“We also realize that God established a covenant, and thank God, he doesn’t break his promises,” Laurie said. “There is a rise of antisemitism in our nation right now, and I believe it’s evil, and I believe we as Christians should speak up for our Jewish friends.”
–Alan Goforth
