Pastor Greg Laurie recently explained why he believes it’s essential for Christians to defend the Jewish people.

“Everything we have came to us through God’s chosen people, the Jews,” Laurie 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.'”

The pastor noted that modern-day Israel is a point of debate among some, with critics claiming God’s promises don’t apply to the contemporary nation.

Laurie rejected this notion and said the promise continues, explaining how 1948 and Israel’s re-emergence on the map comport with biblical truth.

“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.”

The Harvest Crusade founder said that anti-Semitism sometimes starts subtly and, over time, “develops into Jew hatred.”

“And then leads to actually harming the Jews,” he said. “I think we’re past subtle anti-Semitism. It seems like people want to blame the Jews and the nation of Israel for everything that’s going wrong in our world today.”

Laurie continued, “And, look, the modern state of Israel is not a perfect nation any more than America is. 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 went on to decry so-called “replacement theology,” noting it 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 (non-Jews) have been “grafted into the promises of God that were given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Ultimately, Laurie said Christians want to see Jews and everyone else accept Christ, though there’s an important element in Scripture that 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 anti-Semitism in our nation right now, and I believe it’s evil, and I believe we as Christians should speak up for our Jewish friends.”

Laurie made his comments before the latest terror attack against Jewish people in Australia — a deadly assault last month that killed at least 15 people and injured scores of others.

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