EXCLUSIVE: American Christians Celebrate Historic Opening of U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem

On the eve of the historic move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, American Christians are expressing how the development is also a milestone for them as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and a cornerstone of their faith.

Pastors and Christian leaders from across the country told Breitbart News about the significance of President Donald Trump’s announcement in December to move the embassy, which opens officially on Monday, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel.

“I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Trump said. “While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering.”

“Today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Trump said later about his decision.

“This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality,” Trump said. “It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.”

“Israel is a nation unlike any other because it was created by God, not by man,” Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, Harvest Church at Kumulani in Kapalua, Hawaii, and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California, told Breitbart News.

“As Christians, we believe the Lord gave the land of Israel to Abraham and his offspring in an everlasting covenant, and this includes Jerusalem,” Laurie said, citing Psalm 89:28-37 in the Old Testament.

Laurie said in Psalms 122:6 Christians are commanded to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” — “May those who love you be secure.”

“It’s critical that America recognize what God has already established — the land of Jerusalem belongs to Israel,” Laurie said.

“As a Christian, I am called to stand with the Jewish people, so I will always remain an unapologetic supporter of the free and democratic State of Israel,” Jentezen Franklin, senior pastor of Free Chapel Worship Center and its satellite campuses in Gainesville, Georgia, told Breitbart News.

“What’s more, I firmly believe that Christians, Muslims, and Jews can peacefully live alongside each other in the Holy Land,” Franklin said. “My hope is that one day the whole world will be this optimistic as well.”

“This is a historic event on a global scale but most especially for American Christians,” Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, told Breitbart News.

“Israel represents many ideals in the Middle East that Christians hold dear and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem is much more than a political move, it is about giving Israel the respect it deserves as a nation that is dedicated to democratic ideals,” Nance said.

Reporting from Jerusalem, Breitbart News Editor-at-Large Joel B. Pollak spoke with the Rev. John Hagee, founder and national director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI).

“Christians believe that Jerusalem will be the capital city in the Eternal Kingdom, ruled by Jesus Christ,” he said. “The U.S. embassy moving to Jerusalem is a very clear indicator of the verse in the book of Deuteronomy (28:13) where God promises: ‘I will make you the head and not the tail.’”

“Jerusalem is the epicenter of Christianity,” Hagee said. “Jerusalem is where Abraham placed Isaac on the altar on the Temple Mount in this city. Jerusalem is where Jeremiah and Isaiah penned the principles of righteousness that became the moral foundations of our civilization. … Jerusalem is the city of God.”

“Outside the city of Jerusalem, Jesus Christ was crucified, resurrected from the dead, and when he returns the second time, is going to put his foot on the Mount of Olives in the city of Jerusalem,” Hagee said. “Jerusalem is the future of the world.”

“Not Washington; not Rome; not Paris, France; not Berlin — Jerusalem,” Hagee said. “Jerusalem is the shoreline of eternity.”

When Trump announced his decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in December, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Center, said: “America’s foreign policy, as it pertains to Israel, is coming into alignment with this biblical truth: Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state.”

Laurie told Breitbart News that Monday’s dedication of the new U.S. Embassy sends a message around the world.

“This move clearly communicates to the people of Israel that we stand in their defense. Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel, and finally, the United States will stand with Israel in agreement,” Laurie said. “A powerful message will be sent to the world, and especially to the enemies of peace in the Middle East, that the United State’s relationship with Israel is strong.

Follow Penny Starr on Twitter.