Tru News | Evangelical Faith Leaders Weigh in on Jerusalem Decision

To many evangelicals, it was the most important promise President Donald Trump made during the 2016 campaign, so when he fulfilled it by officially recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a chorus of faith leaders weighed in on his decision.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is the honorary national chair of My Faith Votes and now has a weekly program on TBN, said:

“Today, President Donald Trump did what his predecessors didn’t have the courage to do: recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. In so doing he set two great examples for us — how to make good on promises and how to treat your friends.”

Dr. Robert Jeffress, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church Dallas, also said:

“Jerusalem is and should be recognized as the capital of Israel. It is David’s capital, the site of the First and Second Temples, the focus of the historians’ accounts, the Psalmists’ songs and the prophets’ visions. It is the place where Jesus, a Jew himself, was crucified and where he was resurrected. It is the place where he will set foot again on earth at his second coming. President Donald J. Trump has demonstrated true leadership today by recognizing Jerusalem as the legitimate capital of Israel. President Trump is a modern-day profile in courage, accomplishing what no other president has been willing to do.”

Paula White, the senior pastor at the New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Fla., often referred to as the president’s “spiritual adviser,” added:

“Promise made. Promise kept. Once again, President Trump has shown the world what I have always known—he is a leader who is willing to do what is right however loud the voices are of the skeptics and the critics. Evangelicals are ecstatic, for Israel is to us a sacred place and the Jewish people are our dearest friends.”

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said:

“The historical record, empirical fact and our faith all confirm that Jerusalem is in fact the capital of the Jewish people. I therefore enthusiastically applaud President Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a promise every president has made since Clinton, and which none has fulfilled until today.”

Dr. David Jeremiah, the senior pastor at Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., added:

“The scriptures declare that those who stand with Israel will indeed be blessed. It should therefore come as no surprise that the Christian community in America is unapologetically a true and faithful friend to the Jewish people. God’s devotion to the Jewish people is the result of an eternal promise.”

Dr. Ronnie Floyd of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., and president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, added:

“I’m thoroughly pleased President Trump has taken this action when it comes to our ally Israel. By recognizing that Jerusalem is Israel’s unquestionable capital and promising the subsequent move of the U.S. embassy, President Trump has incurred blessing on America, for Scripture says God blesses those who bless Israel. As the psalmist once said, let us then “pray for peace for Jerusalem: may those who love you be at peace!”

Dr. Jack Graham, the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, said:

“President Trump’s announcement—that the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful capital and that our embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—is the best news to come out of the Middle East in decades. As a Christian, I’m grateful America is playing a decisive role in the story of God’s chosen people, and I’m very glad President Trump is displaying the courage to fulfill a promise to support Israel and its biblical role among the nations.”

Dr. Alveda King, evangelist niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and head of Civil Rights For The Unborn, added:

“President Trump is on a record promise-keeping-roll. His support for Israel, undergirded by our “prayers for the peace of Jerusalem,” are encouraging evidence that God is blessing us.”

Dr. Jim Garlow, the senior pastor of Skyline Church in La Mesa, Calif., said:

“It is quite possible that President Donald Trump’s statement on Israel today is the single most important announcement regarding Israel by a U.S. President since President Harry Truman recognized Israel as a state 70 years ago on May 14, 1948.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said:

“Today is a major milestone in America’s historic relationship with Israel. Under the bold and courageous leadership of President, Trump America is finally putting American interests and the interests of our key allies first. America’s foreign policy, as it pertains to Israel, is coming into alignment with biblical truth – Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state.”

Rev. Jentezen Franklin, the senior pastor of the Free Chapel Worship Center in Gainesville, Ga., added:

“It is with great enthusiasm that I wholeheartedly support and endorse President Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. While it has been the practice of some international institutions to insist on international determination over this topic, we believe it is Israel’s right to decide the location of her capital as was spiritually declared by King David and then legally documented in 1950 when the Israeli Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law, and declared Jerusalem to be the eternal, undivided capital of the State of Israel.”

Read more at Evangelical Faith Leaders Weigh in on Jerusalem Decision.