Like William Henry Hechler

Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, considered William Henry Hechler the first Christian Zionist. Hechler, an Anglican clergyman, missionary, and chaplain, met Herzl in the spring of 1896 after reading Herzl’s book The Jewish State.

Herzl believed the Jewish people’s fate could no longer rest in the hands of nations that accepted them one minute and screamed “Death to the Jews” the next minute. The Jewish people, he believed, needed a homeland of their own.

Hechler was as passionate as Herzl but for an entirely different reason. As a Christian, his hope was for Israel’s restoration, which he saw as rooted in Scripture. God promised to return the Jewish people to their ancient homeland, and Hechler believed Him.

Herzl wrote, “Hechler declares my movement to be a ‘Biblical’ one, even though I proceed rationally in all points.” We believe it is a biblical one as well.

Evangelical Christians have a long history of supporting Israel because, like Hechler, we see that God has a plan for the Jewish people: “I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever” (Ezek. 37:21, 25).

With a new prime minister in office, many evangelicals are curious about what they can expect from a new Israeli government, especially after 12 years of Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership coalition. A former Israeli news anchor, Eylon Levy, put it this way: “An Islamist leader just signed a deal with the liberal secular son of a Holocaust survivor to establish a government headed by a religious-nationalist and former settler leader (in a hotel named after the Maccabees). That’s where we’re at.”

We must remember, not all prime ministers were like Netanyahu. David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, was a secular man who believed Zionism and socialism were two sides of the same coin. Golda Meir was a socialist. Each prime minister brings his or her own views on how to establish peace, prosperity, and protection for the Jewish state. Yet evangelical support has remained consistent for nearly 75 years.

Former Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer was quoted as saying, “People have to understand that the backbone of Israel’s support in the United States is the evangelical Christians. It’s true because of numbers and also because of their passionate and unequivocal support for Israel.”

Today, Naftali Bennett is prime minister. Because Bennett’s Yamina party did not win 61 out of 120 Knesset seats necessary for a majority (it won seven seats), Bennett partnered with moderate and liberal parties and even the Islamist party to assemble a governing coalition of 61 seats and oust Netanyahu.

In response to this unlikely coalition government, a well-known American Christian leader wrote a nasty letter to Bennett, promising to deny him the evangelical support that was given to Netanyahu. But The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s support for Israel will not falter because Israelis voted Netanyahu out of office. Our support will not disappear because we disagree with the people in power. Our support does not stem from the halls of Israel’s Knesset or find purpose in a particular Israeli political party or individual.

Like William Henry Hechler, we stand with Israel because God loves Israel and has promised, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).

We stand with Israel because we love Israel. We believe Zionism is biblical, God’s Word is true, and the Jewish people have a right to live and thrive in their ancient homeland.

And there is one more thing we believe. We believe that electing the government of Israel is a job for the Israelis. It’s not a job for anyone else.

7 thoughts on “Like William Henry Hechler

  1. Dear Friend in Christ

    I would like to take this opportunity and this privilege to share with you that I am a strong support of Israel and I support 100% Jewish Missions and Jewish Evangelism and Ministry and Outreach in getting out the Full and the True Gospel Message and the Good News of our Blessed and Gracious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to the Jewish around the Globe and to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.
    Please let me know in what why I can and in what way I am able to be involved in helping out to get the Gospel Message to the Jewish People around the world than in what I am doing now in supporting financially and prayerfully the Ministry and the Outreach of the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry Inc. Thank you so very, very much for sharing with me the encouraging and uplifting testimonies of these dear Saints and Children of God. May God richly bless you and your family and your loved ones as well as your ministry and your outreach and your service in Jewish Missions and in Jewish Evangelism and Ministry and Outreach in The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry Inc.

    From your dearest and closest
    Brother and Friend in Christ
    Love in Christ’s
    Name
    Brother Costis Chryssopoulos

  2. I believe 🙏 it is the duty of believers to support Israel 🇮🇱 in whatever way they can despite their rulers. It is the scornful rulers of Israel 🇮🇱 in Jerusalem who will make a seven peace deal(covenant of apostasy) with the man 👨 of lawlessness that will usher in the 70th week of Daniel(Isa.28:13-20; Dan.9:27), the last seven years of this age as we know it. Believers should not always look at Israel through the angle of their rulers but through the prism of the word of God.

  3. Thank you for that article. Sounds like Henry Hechler stood on the word of God and believed Israel would be regather in their ancient homeland, long before 1948.
    Showing again only the Bible can predict future events with pin point accuracy.

  4. Thank you for that article. Truly Henry Hechler did not blow with wind but stood on what the Bible says not a denomination or even what popular culture says.
    God is not done with the Jewish nation.

  5. “And there is one more thing we believe. We believe that electing the government of Israel is a job for the Israelis. It’s not a job for anyone else.”

    Amen, and Amen!!!
    All i can say to anyone wishing to meddle in Israeli politics from the outside, is tend to your own backyard and get back to the Word. God does indeed love Israel, even in their unbelief, (just as He does the rest of us before and after salvation), and continues to bless those who stand with her!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Features

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor Sep/Oct 2021

Growing up, Passover was my favorite holiday. It arrived just when New England’s harsh, snow-packed winter was finally giving way to spring...

A Conversation with Joel Rosenberg

As part of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s mission to teach about Israel and the Jewish people, our North American...

Behold the Lamb!

Many non-Jews think Hanukkah is every Jewish person’s favorite holiday. But they would be wrong. Hanukkah is not the Jewish equivalent of Christmas...

The Four Faces of Shavuot

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and found the shelves empty? Until the recent pandemic, that would have been...

Holiday Under the Stars

Many years ago, a pastor and I visited a friend who is a rabbi at a local synagogue. Sukkot was approaching, and Rabbi offered to...

‘Remember the Sabbath’

When my wife and I lived in Minnesota, we enjoyed visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Art where more than 90,000 beautiful...


Subscription Options

1 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$9.99 every 1 year

1 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$19.99 every 1 year

2 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$19.99 every 2 years

2 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$39.99 every 2 years

3 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$29.99 every 3 years

3 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$59.99 every 3 years