The Lord’s promise to Abram was not just for him personally. God explicitly said it was for his descendants through Isaac and Jacob, not Ishmael (Genesis 17:18–21). This is very clear in the text. That is why the covenant line runs through Jacob (who is renamed to Israel in Genesis 32:28), not through every physical child of Abraham.
The promise in Jeremiah 31:35–37 couldn’t be anymore clear. As long as the sun, moon, and stars endure, Israel will remain a nation before God. God ties Israel’s continued existence to the fixed order of creation.
This is not based on their current faithfulness or acceptance of the Messiah, it is based on His covenant faithfulness to the patriarchs.
Romans 11 makes the same point. Israel is presently hardened in part, but they are still “beloved for the sake of their forefathers” and “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28–29). Their present unbelief does not cancel God’s future promises. If it did, God would be breaking His own word, which He cannot do.
Of course rejecting Christ is serious and leads to eternity in hell, whether you’re a Jew or gentle. That is why God calls Israel to repentance and faith in Him. But their unbelief is part of a temporary stage in God’s redemptive plan, not the annulment of His covenant. They (the natural branches) have been temporary grafted out because their unbelief in the messiah and so we gentiles (unnatural branches) could be grafted in But, as Paul makes clear, at the Second Coming “all Israel will be saved” when the Deliverer comes from Zion (Romans 11:26).
So no, this is not about giving “special favor” in terms of salvation to those who hate Christ, it’s about God keeping His oath even when His people are faithless.
If we say He will not keep it, we are not only rewriting prophecy, we are calling His character into question.
Zechariah 13:8–9 gives that picture in detail. “In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
This is describing Israel’s future tribulation, when God will purify the nation through intense trial. The result is that one third will repent, believe, and be saved. It is a refining judgment with a redemptive goal, preparing them to welcome the Messiah when He returns.
Also, Zechariah 12:2–3 says:. “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.”
In the last days (which we are in) there will be a global hostility toward Israel, a kind of bloodlust that draws nations into conflict against them. This is not random, but a fulfillment of prophecy. People will begin to hate the Jewish people right before the Lord’s return in judgement to personally step in to deliver them, fulfilling His covenant promises.
Satan hates Israel. Always has and always will. Because if he can destroy Israel, he wins, and God loses because God fails to keep his covenant promises.
It’s Genesis 12 Chapters 12-15 are the Abrahamic Covenant, which is a unconditional covenant with Abraham and his descendants. It includes land, descendants, and blessing, and will ultimately be fulfilled when Christ returns to set up His millennial reign.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 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 12:1-3
When Scripture says Israel will exist forever, it does not force us into a choice between “the world must exist forever” or “it must be spiritual.” The Bible itself explains what forever means.
The argument that the twelve tribes no longer exist misunderstands how God works. James still writes “to the twelve tribes in the dispersion” (James 1:1). Paul speaks of “our twelve tribes” (Acts 26:7). Revelation 7 shows twelve tribes sealed in the future. Ezekiel 47–48 maps their land allotments in the coming kingdom. Even if man’s records are gone, God has not lost track of His people. He knows His tribes and will restore them in His timing.
DNA tests and rabbinic conversion rules do not cancel God’s covenant. Scripture is clear that the promises belong to the physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, who became the nation of Israel (Genesis 17:19; 32:28). Even if men cannot trace every tribal line today, God has preserved them and will restore them (Ezekiel 37; Revelation 7). The covenant is tied to their national identity, not to manmade definitions of “who is Jewish.”
Also, remember that supporting Israel, doesn’t equate to support the Israeli government. Ted Cruz tried arguing that on Tucker Carson, and it didn’t go well. It simply means supporting the Jewish people and praying for their good/salvation/blessing. Sometimes that overlaps with the Israeli government and supporting them, but it’s not car Blanche.
As Romans 11 clearly teaches, Israel is, at the present time, “enemies as regards the gospel,” but at the same time “beloved for the sake of the fathers.” Their unbelief does not cancel God’s covenant. The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Their past & present rejection of Christ is tragic and damning apart from repentance, but it is also temporary. When Christ returns, they will look on the One they pierced (Zechariah 12:10) and a remnant will be saved (Romans 11:26).
The growing hostility toward Israel is exactly what the prophets said would come. Zechariah 12 says all nations will gather against Jerusalem in the last days, right before the Lord Himself steps in to deliver His people. Satan hates Israel because if Israel can be destroyed, God’s promises fail. But that is impossible. God will not allow it. Supporting Israel’s right to exist is not siding with unbelief or Antichrist. It is simply acknowledging that God has not cast away His people and will keep His covenant promises. Salvation is only through Jesus, for Jew and Gentile alike. But the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob stands firm. And when He fulfills it, His faithfulness to Israel will be the proof to the whole world that His word never fails. As Jesus says, He didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He fulfilled the Mosaic covenant in full in His first coming, and will fulfill both the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants at His second. Until then, we should listen to Paul’s instructions in Romans 11 and “not boast against the natural branches.”