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Join Tony Perkins on this special Christmas Eve edition of Washington Watch as we look back on a year of unexpected peace developments in the Middle East. With special guests Ambassador Mike Huckabee and CBN’s Chris Mitchell, we discuss the changes in Israel and the potential for expanded peace accords in 2026. Pastor Phil Hopper also joins to reflect on the biblical significance of this season and its call for believers to support Israel.
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From the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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Well, Merry Christmas and welcome to a special Christmas Eve edition of Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Well, tonight on this Christmas Eve edition of Washington Watch, a year marked by conflict ends with unexpected glimpses of peace. Ambassador Mike Huckabee joins me to look back at 2025 and ahead. to what 2026 may hold for Israel and the Middle East. Then we turn to Jerusalem and beyond with CBN’s Chris Mitchell for a firsthand look at Christmas in the Holy Land. And later, Pastor Phil Hopper reflects on why this season calls for believers to stand strong with Israel. Well, again, Merry Christmas from our studio here in Washington, DC. On a night when believers around the world pause to remember that in the fullness of time, God broke into human history. In a world often marked by upheaval, uncertainty, and conflict, Christmas reminds us that heaven is not distant. The Prince of Peace has come to Earth. And this year, that message feels especially poignant. As we close out 2025, the Middle East, so often the epicenter of global tension, looks a little different than it did when this year began. Israel’s long war has eased. Hostages who were once only names on a list are back with their families and a pathway toward peace, however fragile, is beginning to take shape. On the eve of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the light of the world, there is a renewed longing for peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Tonight, we’ll look back at the year that is ending and ahead to the year that awaits us. Ambassador Mike Huckabee joins us to begin the program with a wide angle view of what changed in 2025 and what we may expect in 2026 and how U.S. leadership continues to shape stability. in the region. Then we’ll turn directly to the Holy Land. Chris Mitchell of CBN News brings us sights and sounds of Christmas in Israel, a Christmas unlike the last two years, as joy returns to many households, even while the ceasefire remains delicate. We’ll also talk with him about neighboring Syria and where the fall of the Assad regime has sparked both hope and new uncertainty for Christians in other vulnerable communities. And later, Pastor Phil Hopper, who traveled with me to Israel earlier this year, will join the program to reflect on Christmas and what he witnessed firsthand and on why the church must continue to stand with Israel, especially now. So on this Christmas Eve, as we revisit the places where the story of salvation first began, may our hearts be fixed once again on the one who came to bring peace, not only to nations, but to every soul willing to receive him. So stay with us. This Christmas Eve edition of Washington Watch begins right now. When we entered the year 2025, Israel was engaged in a multi-front war with no clear end in sight. Now, as we prepare to close out the year, the Middle East looks much different. Peace looks possible. And what might we see in the year 2026? Well, here to join us and unpack this for us is U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. Ambassador Huckabee, welcome back to Washington Watch. It’s always great to see you, my friend.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, thank you. And Merry Christmas to you and all your viewers. It’s a pleasure to be with you. And I’ll say greetings on this Christmas from the Holy Land.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, let’s talk about that for just a moment before we get into the events of this year. This is your first Christmas in Israel. I mean, this has got to be pretty exciting.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, it is. We’ve never been here during Christmas. I’ve been here, as you know, over 100 times before coming as ambassador. But it was always at other parts of the year because I wanted to be home with my family at Christmas. And sometimes Christmas can be kind of crowded over here. This year, I don’t think it’s going to be that crowded because so many people have not come back as tourists. But some of my family are coming to celebrate Christmas with us. And most importantly, I think it’s an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate Christmas where it really happened. And so the midnight service in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity is where my family and I will be celebrating the birth of Christ in the place where it happened. So that’s going to be an incredible experience that I’m looking forward to.
SPEAKER 06 :
Wow, that sounds fascinating. I was there several years ago and just missed the opportunity to actually flip the switch of the Christmas lights in Bethlehem at the first of December. I got there a little bit too late. But, you know, it’s this is where it all began. And again, I just want to. I want to thank you for the tremendous work that you’ve been doing there in Israel as U.S. ambassador to Israel, as an evangelical. You understand the importance of this and you’ve been articulating that. Let’s talk about this year. This year ends much different than it began.
SPEAKER 09 :
And thank God that it is ending differently. I’ve been here less than a year, Tony, and I’ve been through four wars and an extraordinary level of tension and stress and hardship for a lot of our embassy people. But most of all, real stress on the part of the people of Israel who have been dodging ballistic missiles all year. But thanks to President Trump’s peace initiative, his unique ability to bring all the Arab nations together to sign the document in Sharm el-Sheikh that basically said Hamas has to go. Gaza must enter a new phase. It’s created, first of all, all the hostages coming back with the exception of just one. And then the other big thing that’s happened is we’ve been now eight weeks in a ceasefire. That means no missiles, no rockets, few skirmishes here and there, but limited and not disrupting the overall peace agreement.
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Now, that’s the longest ceasefire that we’ve had during this two years that that has held. Am I correct?
SPEAKER 09 :
100% correct. I mean, before this peace process really got to the ceasefire, we were seeing missiles and our rockets almost every day, certainly every other day. And that’s a lot of trips to the shelter for everyone in the entire nation of Israel. So it’s been a great sigh of relief for the people who have been through more than, well, I just don’t think people can comprehend what the people of Israel have been through in terms of the stress, knowing their loved ones were being tortured in the tunnels of Gaza by Hamas that could have ended that war two years ago, but they chose not to. They continued to hold hostages and starve them and torture them and rape them and beat them. And it’s something I just wish more people in the world understood. But right now, I think what we have to do is to pray that the ceasefire holds and that there will be a methodical undoing of Hamas and that ultimately the next phase of the peace deal can happen, which is creating a safer and a more livable environment for people in Gaza.
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Before we move on to talk about how you might anticipate 2026 unfolding, I want to pause for a moment and address something that I think is of concern to both of us. I know it concerns me. I know it concerns you. And I know it concerns other Christians. From where you’re at there at the embassy, you can, I believe, if I recall correctly, you can almost see into Bethlehem. You can see where Jesus was born. There is a debate going on in the evangelical community that has arisen pretty suddenly. This idea that, you know what, Israel doesn’t matter. You know, what the Bible talks about when it comes to the Jewish people, it’s not the same as what we see today. And therefore, we have no special allegiance, nor should we have a special allegiance to Israel.
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Tony, the only way a person can say Israel doesn’t matter is to conclude that the Bible doesn’t matter. Because if a person truly believes the word of God, as I do, and I know you do, and I believe that it’s our authority, it’s our inerrant, infallible, living, spoken word of God himself. And if I believe that, then I’m going to have to accept that the scripture is pretty clear. It’s certainly clear in Genesis 12, those who bless Israel will be blessed. Those who curse Israel will be cursed. But throughout both the Old and the New Testament, there are scripture after scripture verses that clearly indicate that God made a covenant with the Jewish people. And I know there are those who practice or believe what we sometimes hear called replacement theology, which simply says that God once had a purpose for the Jews, but he gave up on them. And he broke the covenant with them, and now he’s moved on to the Gentiles and to the Christians. There’s just one glaring problem with accepting that. If God can and did break his covenant with the Jews, then what makes me think that God won’t break his covenant with me? If it’s because the Jews sinned, well, I can pretty well look at my own life and the life of every person I know and say, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And so for us to think that somehow God is going to spare us who didn’t spare those that he called his chosen, I think it’s not only ludicrous, but it defies the very essence of Scripture.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think it does. I think you’re absolutely right. In fact, I’ve written about that in an e-book that we just published. It’s on Amazon. It is called Should a Christian Support Israel? And folks, if you’d like to know more about that text, Israel to 67742, I’ll send you a link or go to Amazon. Because I think it’s very timely that we talk about this. I was looking at this a while back, didn’t write about this in the book, but There are those saying, you know, we don’t need to be supporting Israel. We just this is the political Israel. The Bible talks about the spiritual Israel. So I went back through the scripture and Joel talks about this, how nations are judged for dividing up the land. All right. So, I mean, it’s clear, clear lines there. But I also went back to look for a nation or a people that blessed or showed mercy to Israel, even when they were under the judgment of God, because a lot of people say, well, Israel has been judged by God, therefore we shouldn’t help them. I went back and nowhere in scripture was a nation punished for showing mercy to Israel, even when they were under the judgment of God. In fact, it was the opposite. So there’s no place in scripture where being faithful to Israel or kind to Israel led to punishment. But there is plenty. There are plenty examples of the opposite.
SPEAKER 09 :
The scripture is filled with those kind of references and affirmations. I would even go so far as to say this, Tony, that while I believe it is a biblical issue and therefore for me it’s non-negotiable, let’s just for a moment take that off the table. Let’s say there was no scripture, there was no reason to believe that God has a divine, eternal purpose for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. There is another reason that Christians specifically, but Americans in general, should be supporting Israel, and it’s because it’s the only democracy in all of this part of the world. It is also the foundation upon which the Christian faith was built Therefore, it is the foundation upon which Western civilization was built. Without Israel, there would be no Christianity. There would be no America. There would be no Western civilization. There would be no freedom of speech, freedom of religion. We wouldn’t have a Constitution or a Declaration of Independence. You and I wouldn’t be celebrating this wonderful gift called American citizenship. And the other thing people need to remember is that every enemy of Israel is an enemy of the United States. Everyone who hates Israel and wants to destroy them, they also want to destroy the United States. So if people are so naive as to think that, well, Israel doesn’t matter to me, it’s just a failure to recognize that Israel is seen by those who wish to destroy it as an appetizer, but the United States is seen as the entree.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. So, so true. All right. We have less than a minute left. I took us on a longer detour than I anticipated this coming year. What are your what are your what do you anticipate?
SPEAKER 09 :
Tony, I think we could see the expansion of the Abraham Accords in a number of nations that could include Syria and Lebanon. It may be slower than that, but there’s a real prospect for a realignment of the Middle East because more nations recognize that Israel is really not their natural enemy. And Israel doesn’t want to take over their territory, their land, or conquer them. Israel just wants a place where its people can live in safety and security. That’s it. That’s what they want. And let’s pray that happens.
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Ambassador Mike Huckabee, we will join you in that prayer. Thanks so much for joining us. Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you again real soon. Thank you, Tony. Folks, stick with us. CBN’s Chris Mitchell joins us next, so don’t go away. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, and I want to invite you to join me for Stand on the Word, a daily journey through the Bible, 10 to 15 minutes a day. That’s all it takes. And in no time, you’ll have finished the entire Bible. And along the way, we’ll learn how to apply God’s truths to the world in which we live. As we’re about to start a new year and as our nation is about to celebrate 250 years, there’s never been a better time for a fresh start in the Word of God. To join us, text Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742.
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Family Research Council, along with congressional friends of FRC, present The Christmas Story, a reading from the Gospel of Luke.
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And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.
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And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
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Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea.
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Unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.
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Because he was of the house and of the lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.
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And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
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And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.
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Because there was no room for them in the inn.
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And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around about them, and they were sore afraid.
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And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people.
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For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
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And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host.
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Praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
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And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go even into Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
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And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.
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And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
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And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
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But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
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And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God. For all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas from FRC. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us on this Christmas Eve. All right, as we approach the end of the year, I want to encourage you to make an effort to strengthen your biblical worldview in 2026. You want to know how to handle the events around us? Guess what? The Bible has the answers. And I want to invite you to join us on a journey through the Bible. It’s called Stand on the Word. And we just finished up a journey. We had 24,000 people joins us on this journey. And you can join us as we begin Genesis on January the 1st. It’s very doable, 10 to 15 minutes a day. And Monday through Saturday, you read. Sunday, you talk about it in your family or a small group. Lots of resources for you on this journey. Text the word Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742. Now, I know a lot of you have already been on this journey with us. So you can invite someone else to join you. We have a special invitation. Text the word INVITE to 67742. That’s INVITE to 67742. Or go to frc.org slash Bible. And there you’ll find an invitation. It’s a special invitation. digital, electronic invitation that you can send to others to invite them to join you on this journey through the Bible. So, I hope to see you January the 1st. Well, as Christians around the world prepare to celebrate what happened over 2,000 years ago in the little town of Bethlehem, The Jewish nation of Israel is celebrating this season for the first time with all of its living hostages back home. So there’s a little extra joy this year in the Holy Land. But with the ceasefire in Gaza remaining fragile, we’re reminded that true peace comes only when the Prince of Peace will reign there forever. We’re going to look at this Christmas and kind of what the sense of things are there in Israel, in the Middle East, with our good friend Chris Mitchell, who is the Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. Chris, welcome to Washington Watch and Merry Christmas.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hey, Merry Christmas to you, Tony, from the Holy Land. Great to see you.
SPEAKER 06 :
We were talking with Ambassador Mike Huckabee. It’s his first Christmas there. It’s not your first Christmas. You’ve been there many Christmases, but it is still special, is it not?
SPEAKER 08 :
It is. Just around the corner of the YMCA. I was just there this evening. It’s lit up with a Christmas tree and a lot of lights. And to realize that I’m sitting just about five miles away from the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of where Jesus was born. So it is very special to be here on Christmas Day. And yet, you know, if you’re here, you don’t necessarily see it or experience it the same way you do, like in the United States. There’s not a lot of Christmas decorations all over the country. But in places like Bethlehem and the YMCA, Christchurch, you’ve been there many times already. or Nazareth, where there’s a large Arab Christian population. You get to get a feel of the season and then enjoy it just like everybody else in many other countries.
SPEAKER 06 :
I was there last year at the first of December and over in the kind of the Christian sector of Jerusalem. I was, it was kind of interesting. I saw a lot of Christmas trees. They look like those Charlie Brown Christmas trees, but they had a number of Christmas trees over there.
SPEAKER 08 :
They really do. They are Charlie Brown Christmas trees. We got one one year. And actually, the Jerusalem municipality will give out Christmas trees to Christians. But it’s not sort of something like Michigan or Minnesota, a very healthy-looking evergreen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I was wondering at first, what are those? It looked just like a Charlie Brown tree. All right, let’s talk about this Christmas compared to last year. Things are significantly different there in Israel.
SPEAKER 08 :
What a difference a year can make. You know, last year there was still fighting going on with Hezbollah and Hamas, still fighting going on there, too, but not at the scale there was. The danger of an existential threat here in Israel and nuclear Iran has been greatly reduced, if not eliminated, at least for the foreseeable future. I would add that Iran still wants to get a nuclear weapon, but it looks like Israel and or the U.S. would do what they can to stop that again. So a big difference in what the threats that we’re facing Israel right now. Two things I would say, Tony. As you mentioned, all the living hostages are back in Israel. That is a huge emotional, mental, psychological relief. for the people of Israel and all the people who were praying for these hostages. And I would add, you know, there are remarkable testimonies from many of these hostages that felt the presence of God there in those tunnels. Just remarkable answer to prayers for people that had praying for their survival, that they would survive the torture and the degradation. And yet many did. And the other thing, Tony, I would think that we’re also seeing the rise, tragically, of anti-Semitism around the world just a few days ago there in Sydney, Australia. That’s another thing that people really need to pray about and be concerned about for our Jewish brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER 06 :
So let’s talk about that for just a moment, Chris Mitchell. When there’s relief, the war appears to be moving toward a path of peace. There’s not the rockets and the missiles coming in this Christmas. But yet, as you pointed out, what happened just recently there in Australia, a reminder that there is still this spirit of hatred, what I would describe as a demonic spirit that continues to express hatred itself against the Jewish people in acts of violence. So, I mean, it’s like, yes, there’s relief, but not totally.
SPEAKER 08 :
No. And I think we’re in a kind of an uncertain time, Tony, and much of that Jew hatred, that anti-Semitism that came nearly just right after October 7th, when you would think there would be a great outpouring of sympathy and support. There is actually a traumatic rise of this anti-Semitism, rallies of pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian, from the river to the sea, which is actually a genocidal chant. So there is, while there is the many of the direct threats of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran have been mitigated greatly, still a great time of uncertainty, which ways Gaza is going to go, which way Syria is going to go into Iran, and certainly what threats are going to face the Jewish people in this coming year.
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Chris, we’re up against a break here, just about 45 seconds left. When we come back, I want to talk about Syria, because that is yet another reminder of the volatility of that region. Yes, Iran no longer, at least at present, a nuclear threat. We see Hezbollah has been in many ways defanged. Hamas basically quarantined. Syria, kind of an unknown. We don’t know what is going to play out there. So we want to talk about that when we come back. So Chris, stick with us. Folks, I want to encourage you to stick with us as well. I do want to invite you again to join us in our journey through the Bible. So text Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742 and join thousands of others. in reading and abiding in the Word of God each and every day in 2026. All right, don’t go away. We’re back with more after this.
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The book of Hebrews says that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Stand on the Word is Family Research Council’s journey through the living and active Word of God. Follow the plan starting January 1st. Spend 10 to 15 minutes a day reading God’s word. And over the course of two years, discover that the Bible is one big story. A story of many words pointing to the word. The one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. because the Word is alive and His name is Jesus. Find our Bible reading plan and daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us as we stand on the Word.
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What is God’s role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful series that explores the connection between biblical principles and the American government, equipping you with truth to engage in today’s most pressing debates. We’ll uncover the foundations of our nation’s history and why it’s relevant for today. Join us to defend God’s plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. You can view the course at prayvotestand.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
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Welcome back to this Christmas Eve edition of Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. Well, as I was talking about with Chris Mitchell in the previous segment, this month marked the one year since the collapse of the brutal Assad regime there in Syria that had ruled for more than five decades. And over the past year, many have been cautiously hopeful that the new Syrian government would work toward a better future for the people of Syria. But You know, struggles and concerns remain, in particular for Christians and other religious minorities, especially in southern Syria. But then over the weekend, we see these attacks that led to the deaths of National Guardsmen from the United States. Joining us now to talk about this, Chris Mitchell, the Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. Chris, thanks so much for sticking with us. Great to be with you again, Tony. So your assessment, Ashraf, first year in office as the Syrian president, is he someone the U.S. can trust?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, Tony, I think he’s made a great effort of presenting himself to the West as a statesman, as somebody that has put his ISIS affiliation or maybe on, should I say, al-Qaeda affiliation behind him. But I think there’s a lot of questions here in Afghanistan. in Israel and the wider Middle East, as well as some. I’ll give you an example. One year after the fall of the Assad regime and the takeover by what’s called HTS, and that was an Islamist group, and led by al-Julani, that was his nom de jour. Now he’s called al-Sharah. Now, during that military march, they were chanting what’s called Kaibar Kaibar. Now, many people may not be aware what that is, but it goes back to 628, where there was a time when Muslims attacked Kaibar. That was a Jewish community and did a massacre. So they are chanting what had been sort of part of the militant Islam. And so many people are concerned. Are they changing? Are we seeing the rise of an Islamist regime, an Islamist army, rather than what people hope would be more of a moderate kind of government? I think the jury is out. I would say Minister Amikai… Chick Lee, based after this military parade, said he believes that war with Syria might be inevitable. So we’re in a very uncertain time with Syria as it’s Israel’s neighbor to its north.
SPEAKER 06 :
It reminds me a lot. from the United States perspective of Afghanistan. You don’t know who you can trust. I mean, we had two Iowa National Guard soldiers that were killed in an attack in Syria. Others were wounded. The attacker, apparently a jihadist member of the new Syrian armed forces. I mean, how do you know who to trust?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, well, in the last year, we’ve had massacres of the Alawites, the former regime, the party of Bashar Assad. And then we had a massacre of the Druze by some of the elements of the Syrian army. So you have to judge, I guess, by what the actions are going on in Syria right now rather than maybe some of the rhetoric.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, in other parts of the world, most recently in Nigeria, where we have declared that we, the United States, a country of particular concern, something we were advocating for, I was advocating for as a former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. But Nigeria, the point there was the Nigerian government wasn’t doing the persecution or the killing of Christians, but they were allowing it to happen. I mean, if you apply that standard to Syria, now, I understand that the country is fragmented. There’s issues there. But this appears at some point in time, the new president is going to have to be able to exercise control to protect religious minorities.
SPEAKER 08 :
You would hope so, Tony. And I know he’s perhaps right now in the middle, if he’s trying to develop a moderate regime. He has a host of supporters that are Islamists, that were going into southern Syria and massacring Druze because they were infidels. So some people wonder how can he manage both reaching out to the West, appearing moderate, a statesman, and also controlling many of the people in the military parade, perhaps, or some of the elements of his army that are Islamist and want to reestablish a caliphate and slaughter infidels. which is what has happened.
SPEAKER 06 :
In the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act, there was a provision to revoke the Caesar Act, a provision to repeal a set of U.S. sanctions on Syria. There were some members that expressed real concern about that, but the administration wanted them lifted. Is that a mistake, in your opinion?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, we’ll see. And those sanctions have been put on for many years on the Bashar Assad regime there. That really frees up a lot of the economy. But it remains to be seen how those new funds and and wealth are going to be used by the Syrian regime going forward. For the last year, the record doesn’t really look too good, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me ask you this question, Chris, as we wrap up our time together, just a little over a minute left. You made reference to the anti-Semitism, the rise of that, the instability that continues, even though there is some managed peace there in the Middle East, in Israel in particular. How should Christians here in the United States be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ and the Jewish people and others there in the Middle East?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, first of all, I think they should sign up for your Journey Through the Bible plan. I think knowing the word, it makes a huge difference in a believer’s life. And I think praying for great wisdom for leaders who are making life and death, historic decisions, certainly for President Trump and all his advisors, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Obviously, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. and pray for the protection of all the religious minorities here in the region. And I think pray, too, that people would be informed, be like the sons of Issachar who understood the times. That’s what you try to do every day on Washington Watch, Tony, and what you do, give people a biblical worldview of what’s happening.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and we always appreciate you joining us, Chris, to help us understand better what is happening on the ground there in Israel. Again, thanks for joining us. Merry Christmas. And I look forward to seeing you in the upcoming year in Israel. All right, folks, stick with us. We’re back after this.
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Should a Christian support Israel? That question has become one of the most emotionally charged issues of our time, both in the world and within the church. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins offers a clear biblical and prophetic answer. In his latest book, He examines Israel’s past, present, and future through the lens of Scripture, revealing why support for Israel is not rooted in politics, partisanship, or cultural sentiment, but in the unchanging promises of God. Drawing from Genesis to Revelation, Tony Perkins demonstrates that the ultimate rationale for a Christian’s support for Israel is spiritual. Should a Christian Support Israel invites believers to see beyond headlines and ideologies, returning to the foundation of God’s Word to understand His heart for His chosen people and the blessings that flow when we stand with what He has established forever. Text the word Israel to 67742 for more information.
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To come here and to really see my work matter and to see people value it and to value me and what I do and what I can bring to the table has been a great opportunity.
SPEAKER 11 :
To a future intern, I would say take advantage of the moment. There are so many opportunities that FRC provides that can grow you personally and professionally and spiritually. I would 100% recommend this internship to any peer or classmate.
SPEAKER 02 :
This internship has definitely helped me grow spiritually. The fellowship and the discipleship here just sets FRC apart from any other place I’ve worked at before.
SPEAKER 01 :
To apply, visit frc.org slash internships.
SPEAKER 06 :
In times like these, we need something solid to stand on. That’s why I’m inviting you to join me on January the 1st for Stand on the Word, a daily journey through the entire Bible. Each day, we’ll read God’s Word together, discuss how to apply His truths to our lives. 15 minutes that can transform your year. Join me and thousands of others as we stand strong by standing on the Word of God. Text BIBLE to 67742. That’s BIBLE to 67742. Merry Christmas and welcome back to this special Christmas Eve edition of Washington Watch. So good to have you with us. Let me again remind you, I may sound like a broken record, but I’m really passionate about this. I think if you’re looking for something to commit to in this coming year, you’re making kind of a list of New Year’s resolutions or things that you want to do in 2026. Well, let me give you one to put at the top of the list. Make an effort. to be in the Word of God each and every day. It will, I mean, it will encourage you. It will, in many ways, it’ll take away your anxiety because it’ll help you understand what’s happening in the world around us according to the unchanging Word of God. And it’s the living word. And so it has application to everything we’re facing. And it’s like, God knows, you know, right where you are. You know, you people talk about how your iPhones and, you know, they’re kind of listening and you’ll pick it up and you’ll get an ad for something you were talking about. God’s Word is just where you need it to be. It’s going to speak to you right at that moment. It doesn’t use artificial intelligence. It is God’s Word speaking to you. So I want to invite you to join me on a journey through the Bible. Stand on the Word. We are starting a new journey. January the 1st, we’re turning to the book of Genesis. It’s a chronological reading of the Word. And last time, we just finished it up. Just finished it up. And we had about 24,000 people joined us on this journey. And so many, so many folks talked about how, number one, very doable. It’s 10 to 15 minutes of reading a day. It’s not speed reading. It’s kind of abiding in the word, meditating upon it. We’ve got resources. We’ve got questions that help you kind of process it. I got a daily video that I do that goes along with it. And you could do it as a family. You can do it as a church. You can do it as a small group. We have resources for all the above. So text the word Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742 to sign up or to invite someone else to join you on this journey as well. Again, that’s Bible to 67742. We’ve been talking in the program all day, the entire program, about Israel, about what’s happening there over the last two years, the peace that’s there. Well, since the attack on October the 7th, I’ve been to Israel, I don’t know, five or six times just since October 7th, 2023. But during my most recent visit, I led a delegation of… pastors here from the united states and some other christian leaders and we spent almost our entire time in judea and samaria that’s where the what we read about in the bible took place in fact eighty percent of what we read about in the bible took place in judea and samaria this is also what the international community calls the west bank it’s also the area that we hear about this two-state solution that’s the land they want to give up Well, we were there, toured that area, actually visited, met with leaders, governmental leaders, met with religious leaders, and we were there during Israel’s Memorial Day, which is a deeply somber moment to honor the fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. And our own General Jerry Boykin and myself, we were asked to speak and be a part of Memorial Day service, a very, very moving event. Well, with me now to discuss our trip, but more importantly to discuss how Christians should be processing what is happening in the world today as it pertains to Israel and the Jewish people is Pastor Phil Hopper. He is the lead pastor of Abundant Life Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and he was a part of our trip to Israel. Pastor Phil, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 17 :
Always a joy, Tony. Thank you. Merry Christmas.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Merry Christmas to you as well. And we’ve been talking about the peace situation in Israel and all the stuff in the Middle East. But I want to talk more now about right now when we see this. In fact, it’s escalated since you and I and others were in Israel, this escalation of anti-Semitism and these questions even about. America’s foreign policy as it pertains to Israel and that region, Judea and Samaria, where we spent so much time earlier this year. Before we get into that aspect, I just want to ask you this one question about our trip. And what was the most what were a couple of the most meaningful places for you on our visit there in Samaria and Judea?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, it was remarkable. Tony, I’d been on a Holy Land tour, had taken our trip to Israel many times, and we went places we had never been. And partially because these are places that Westerners have a hard time going, one of which was the altar of Joshua in Joshua 5. an altar that had been excavated in the 1980s that proves the Jews were there at least 1400 years BC, which is completely different than the modern narrative that the Jews have only recently come into the land. It was remarkable to see that piece of biblical history just come alive in reality as this altar that Joshua and these ancient Hebrews would have built to consecrate themselves to God in the promised land and really chartered the nation right there. And another place that deeply impacted me was, we say in the West Shiloh, but it’s Shiloh. Of course, that is where the tabernacle was for 369 years. And it was there that we saw the five red heifers that are very, very prophetic as it relates to the next temple that we know will come, according to Daniel 9, 27. And the ashes of a heifer will be used from a red heifer specifically to consecrate that temple someday. And I was so moved to be there to think, wow. The ancient Hebrews had worshiped in this very place. And now this very devout Jewish guide was leading us through. And she had this sense of we’re living in messianic times. Of course, she does not believe Jesus is the Messiah. But to her, these five red heifers are a super sign prophetically that the Jewish Messiah must be coming very soon to allow them to rebuild their temple.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think we have some footage of those red heifers while we were there. It was remarkable. That is probably my favorite place to go when I go to Israel, is to Shiloh, just because, as you pointed out, for 369 years, that’s where the temple sat. It’s where the people met God. It was a part of their identity. But it was lost overnight because of compromise and because of sin. And it was really because one man, Eli, who had the title of high priest, was not the father that he should have been to his own children. There’s so much teaching that can take place there at Shiloh. It’s a remarkable place. Let me ask you this. How has this impact? I mean, have you incorporated what you saw and learned into your sermon since returning?
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I’ve talked about it on several occasions through our podcast. We do a podcast called The Well, as well as worked it into several sermons along the way. But it was so impactful, Tony. It’s one thing to know what’s true theologically, biblically. It’s another thing to actually see it and put handles on it. And that’s what this trip really did for me, put some real handles on. on the theological understanding of the Jews and the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and God’s plan for them, that God has not cast them away permanently, that God does have a plan to restore them, not just nationally, but spiritually. They are still God’s people by covenant. The Abrahamic covenant is still in effect. All that’s true theologically, but to be there and actually see it practically in as it relates to our modern life in the 21st century. You know, so much of this talk of the two-state solution and just here’s the reality, Tony, having been there personally and gotten to witness this great schism in some way between Palestinian people and the Jewish people, more specifically Hamas. Listen, a two-state solution, any world leader suggesting a two-state solution is a viable option to bring peace is purposely, I think, willfully ignorant and just doing it out of political expedience. Bottom line is, it’s been tried. That’s why Gaza was given back to, or I should say, Gaza was given to the Palestinians 20 years ago. And all that allowed Israel’s enemies to do is dig in and build infrastructure instead of schools and hospitals, infrastructure to literally launch attack on Israel as they did October the 7th.
SPEAKER 06 :
Pastor, if I want to play a clip of, as I mentioned earlier, we were there during the Memorial Day service that they have. And it’s much different there than it is here in the United States today. It’s a time that people have picnics and they take a day off from work there. I mean, the stakes are so high and the price so real that they have paid. General Boykin, who was with our delegation, he spoke. I had a chance to read scripture at that event. But I want to play this clip, clip number six.
SPEAKER 15 :
of Americans who are working with some of your leadership to try and make the future better. I bring greetings to you from not only the rest of the group that I’m with here, but from Americans all over the United States. And I want to make it clear to you that regardless of what you may see or hear that doesn’t make sense to you, America stands with you And you have an American ambassador now who will stand with you. He will go to the ends of the earth for you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, I need to point out that took place in Samaria in, again, what the international community calls the West Bank. And something happened that we were told later never happens. The people stood and applauded for General Boykin. And this is such a somber event that never do they applaud. But they were so moved by the fact that they had Americans coming there and the general, former president, member of the United States Army, Army Delta Force. They were so moved by that that they applauded. It showed the impact of Christians and Americans standing with Israel and the meaning, how meaningful it is at this moment.
SPEAKER 17 :
Very meaningful. In fact, our Jewish guide at Shiloh, I asked her specifically, what do you believe about Jesus? And like all Jews, she said that she just believed Jesus was a man. But what she told me was her opinion of Christianity is changing. And the reason she said is because she has a sense, like other Jews, that Christians are literally their only friends in the world. And they’re looking for friends, people that will stand with them. And so her exposure to Christians that are standing with them, understanding they have a right biblically by divine declaration to the land, they have a right to sovereignty. God has given it to them. The covenant God made with Abraham is an everlasting covenant according to Genesis 17. And because of that, the Jewish people actually are growing And a kinship, I think, and a trust of Christians, which historically, of course, they have not trusted a lot about Christianity because so much of the persecution of, let’s say, the Middle Ages was done by the church itself against Jews across Europe.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Pastor Phil, I want to unpack that for just a moment, because you talk about their right to be in the land and to live. with peace and have sovereignty over their land. That’s what we’re talking about when we talk about supporting Israel. We’re not talking about supporting every public policy that they adopt or every military operation that they undertake. We’re talking about the fact that God gave them land, they have a right to be in that land, just as any other country has a right to be in their land, and they shouldn’t be marginalized or attacked because they’re Jewish.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I stand with my own country that does not believe I personally agree with every decision my own government makes. For Christians to stand with Israel is not to imply we have to agree with every decision the Israeli government makes. It simply says, as Christians, we recognize, one, they have a right to the land biblically. God gave it to them. to them. It’s an everlasting covenant, Genesis 17. That piece of real estate is described in Genesis 15, and God has not revoked that covenant. It’s everlasting in the same way he will not revoke an everlasting covenant with you and I as Christians, John 3, 16. Everlasting means everlasting, and God means what he says or he doesn’t. And it’s time for Christians, honestly, to stop imposing their own theological systems and presuppositions onto the scripture and just believe what it says. God has a plan for the Jewish people, past, present and future.
SPEAKER 06 :
You see that throughout scripture. There’s no denying it. But there are those that would say, well, OK, yeah, I agree with that. But the modern Jewish state is not the Jewish people of the Bible. It’s not the same thing. It’s not Israel. What do you say?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, it’s just silly that anybody could maintain that in the age of genetic technology, where we actually can see genetically modern people groups that trace their roots to ancient people groups. It’s silly that anyone would maintain that. Modern Jewish people genetically can be proven through DNA. TRACED THEIR LINEAGE TO THE SAME JEWS OF ANTIQUITY. SO IT’S JUST NOT TRUE WHAT PEOPLE SAY. GOD MADE A PROMISE THAT HE WOULD SCATTER THEM ABROAD AMONG THE NATIONS IF THEY REJECTED HIM AND INDEED CRUCIFIED THE MESSIAH. AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN 70 A.D. THE ROMANS CAME, PILLAGED AND BURNED JERUSALEM, SCATTERED THEM FROM THE HOLY CITY. 135 A.D., they came again completely, kicked them out of the ancient land of their forefathers, Israel. Legally, they were scattered among the nations and could not return. But God promised one day he would bring them back again. Of course, that happened 100 years ago at the end of World War I. God made good on that promise to one day regather them into the ancient land of their forefathers. This is what I would say to any Republicans. You have a hard time explaining why Israel is even back in the land and the Jewish people have been reborn as a people and a nation if indeed the everlasting covenant God made with Abraham isn’t really everlasting. Tony, I need to say this. The proof text that people go to, because some of your listeners will have friends in churches that are replacement biblical theologians and replacement pastors who believe the church has become the spiritual Israel, the church replaced Israel, they always go to Galatians 3, where it says that Abraham is the father of us all. He’s the father of the faithful. It’s true spiritually. Spiritually, he’s the father of us all, But that’s not to say it’s true physically. We are not the physical seed of Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant was made to Abraham and his physical seed. Galatians 3.28, there’s neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. We’re all one in Christ Jesus. Now listen, to say that there’s no more Jew and Gentile in the eyes of God is to say that God no longer sees gender. No longer male and female.
SPEAKER 06 :
hey take the text in the way paul meant it god still sees male and female he still sees jew and gentile he’s simply speaking spiritually we’re all one in christ that’s what the cross did for us pastor phil we’re going to leave it there thanks so much for joining us merry christmas always great to see you joy tony merry christmas to you god bless and folks thanks for joining us as well and merry christmas to you too
SPEAKER 13 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
