Should Christians be Zionists?
Editors’ note: This article summarizes some of the arguments for and against Christian Zionism. Michael Zwaagstra will be teaching a full intensive course on this topic at Steinbach Bible College with weekly evening sessions beginning September 18. To find out more or register, go to www.sbcollege.ca/upcomingcourses.
In Genesis 12:1–3, God told Abram (later renamed Abraham) to leave his home and go to a different land. Not only did God promise that he would make Abraham into a great nation, but he also declared that all families of the earth would be blessed through him.
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On the one hand, this passage is quite straightforward. It marks the point where God shifts his focus from broader humanity to carrying out his work of redemption through one group of people—the Jews. As we know, Jesus Christ was a direct descendent of Abraham. While Jesus was Jewish himself, as were the original 12 disciples, God’s plan of salvation extends far beyond the Jews. That is what God meant when he said that all families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham.
Up to this point, Christians can all agree. However, disagreements arise when we ask whether God intended for the specific land promises made to Abraham and his descendants to continue forever. In other words, did God give modern Israel to the Jews? To ask this question another way, should Christians be Zionists?
Debating Zionism
Zionism is the belief that modern-day Jews have the right to a homeland in the biblical land of Israel (Palestine). Interestingly, it is entirely possible to be a Zionist regardless of one’s religious beliefs. Many people are Zionists because they affirm the deep historical connection that Jews have with the land of Palestine and recognize that the ongoing persecution of Jews throughout world history makes it imperative that they have their own homeland.
Christian Zionists accept these points but take them a step further. They believe that the land promises made by God to Abraham were unconditional and have not been cancelled. They also emphasize that God has separate plans for Israel and the church. Many, but not all, are pre-tribulation dispensationalists who assert that God will rapture the church from the earth prior to the Great Tribulation. In their view, the millennial kingdom described in Revelation 20:1–6 where Christ reigns on earth for 1,000 years will be the ultimate fulfillment of all the land promises made to the Jews.
Along with popular literature such as the Left Behind series, there is plenty of scholarly literature that defends Christian Zionism. For example, Israel, the Church, and the Middle East (2018) edited by Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser is a collection of essays by well-known scholars such as Old Testament theologian Walter Kaiser, theology professor Craig Blaising, and New Testament theologian Darrell Bock. This book celebrates the founding of modern-day Israel in 1948 and outlines a biblical case for Israel’s right to exist.
However, not all Christians are Zionists. Many scholars, such as late British theologian and evangelist John Stott, hold that the land promises made to Abraham were never intended to continue in perpetuity. Rather, these promises are fulfilled spiritually in the church. While this perspective is often called replacement theology, proponents usually prefer to call it supersessionism. In their view, the church supersedes Israel as God’s chosen people because it is made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Whether Israel exists or not has no impact on the ability of the church to carry out Christ’s commission to make disciples of all the earth (Matthew 28:18–20). Since there is no longer a need for a Jewish nation-state, supersessionist Christians point out that the modern-day nation of Israel is no more unique or special to God than any other nation.
Gary Burge, a New Testament professor at Wheaton College has emerged as one of the most articulate critics of Christian Zionism. His 2010 book, Jesus and the Land, goes through the New Testament and argues that the Bible rejects the notion that modern-day Christians must support Zionism. Burge’s book was endorsed by notable evangelical scholars such as New Testament theologian Craig Blomberg, Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann, and New Testament theologian I. Howard Marshall.
Both Zionists and non-Zionist put forward many biblical arguments for their respective positions. They’ve also published extensive critiques of the other side. Let’s look at each position, starting with Zionism.
The case for Zionism
Supporters of Zionism typically begin by pointing out that God’s covenant with Abraham included a specific land promise. For example, when Abraham and Lot separated after arriving in the land of Canaan, God told Abraham to look northward, southward, eastward, and westward. All the land Abraham could see was given to him and his descendants forever (Genesis 13:14–15). Notably, the same land promise was repeated to Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13–15). If this land promise was not meant literally, it’s odd that God would repeat it multiple times to multiple people.
The same land promise is also repeated in prophetic passages such as Isaiah 27:12–13; Jeremiah 31:5, 12; Ezekiel 36:28; Joel 3:18; and Amos 9:14–15. It’s important to consider how these land promises would have been understood by the authors and the recipients of the time. It strains credulity that these promises were not to be taken as literally referring to specific geographical territory.
When we look at the New Testament, we find no explicit statement that these land promises to the Jews have been altered or abolished. In fact, when Jesus’ disciples asked him immediately prior to his ascension when he would restore the kingdom to Israel, Jesus did not rebuke them or tell them that their theology was wrong. Rather, he explained that it was not for them to “know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). In other words, while the disciples were wrong to think that the Jewish land promise would be fulfilled in their lifetimes, they were not wrong to look forward to a future fulfillment of that promise.
Add to this the numerous times that the Apostle Paul makes it explicitly clear that the Jews retain their unique status as God’s chosen people. For example, Romans 9:4 states of the Israelites, “Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.” In addition, Romans 11:25 says that “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” In other words, we can look forward to a great revival among the Jewish people at some point in the future.
Finally, Revelation 11:1–3 describes a temple of God in which two witnesses of God will give powerful testimony at some point in the future. Since the last Jewish temple was destroyed by Roman armies in AD 70, the author of Revelation is apparently describing a future temple in Jerusalem. This is only possible if the Jewish people retain effective control of the land of Palestine. Hence, fulfillment of the land promise to the Jews is necessary for future events to unfold as predicted.
The case against Zionism
Skeptics of Christian Zionism are quick to point out that the Old Testament land promises to the Jews were conditional on obedience (Deuteronomy 29:18–28). Joshua 23:15–16b goes so far as to state, “But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
Simply put, while the messianic promise that was fulfilled in Jesus endures forever, the specific land promises to the Jews were explicitly conditional on obedience. After hundreds of years of nearly continual disobedience, God judged the Israelites and sent them into exile. While the Jews eventually returned to Palestine after their exile, never again did they fully regain their independence.
In addition, the New Testament authors make it clear that the land promises to Abraham should be understood in a spiritual sense rather than a literal sense. Hebrews 11:8-10 states that Abraham was looking forward to living in a heavenly city rather than an earthly city. Later in the same chapter, the author explains, “Instead, they [Abraham and his descendants] were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (v. 16). Thus, Christian Zionists are missing the point when they insist on a literal interpretation of a promise that has been fulfilled spiritually in the church.
Lest one doubt that the land promises made to the Israel have been fulfilled in the New Testament church, note what the Apostle Peter said when he wrote a letter to Christian believers scattered throughout the Roman Empire. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9–10).
The recipients of Peter’s letter would have noticed that he was quoting from Exodus 19:5–6 in which God told Moses that the Israelites would be “my treasured possession” and “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Clearly, Peter is taking the Old Testament promise that God made to the Jews and reinterpreting it as being spiritually fulfilled in the New Testament church.
What is at stake today
Whether you are a Zionist or not has a huge impact on how you make sense of current events in the Middle East. When the nation of Israel came into existence in 1948, it faced immediate hostility from surrounding nations who strongly opposed its creation. There is considerable debate over the rights of the Palestinian people and the way they were displaced to clear the way for the Jews to take control of the territory.
The brutal attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 Jews were killed, and the military response by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza—leading to many civilian casualties—has done much to reignite the debate over Zionism. Unsurprisingly, Zionists tend to take Israel’s side in these conflicts while non-Zionists focus more on the plight of the Palestinians. Canada is not immune from this polarization, as we see from competing rallies and protests regarding this issue across the country.
Clearly, Zionists and non-Zionists cannot both be correct. In the end, the land promises to Israel are meant to be taken literally, or they are not. Like the ongoing debates over other theological issues such as creation vs. evolution, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, and infant baptism vs. believer’s baptism, we can expect disagreement about Zionism to continue for many years to come.
However, while both sides cannot be right, it would be wise for all Christians to at least acknowledge that there are good reasons why Christians of good conscience can read the same Bible and come to different conclusions on this issue. Neither Zionists nor non-Zionists have a monopoly on biblical truth, nor does it make sense to doubt the sincerity of Christians who think differently.
Whatever position you take on the Zionist debate, make sure that you are not closed off to listening to people from the other side. Zionists would do well to remember that even if it’s true that the biblical land promises continue today, this does not give the current Israeli government a blank cheque to do whatever it wants to the Palestinian people. Similarly, non-Zionists must be careful not to allow their opposition to Zionism to ignore the real persecution that Jews have faced throughout history. Whether the Bible teaches Zionism or not, one must not be too quick to dismiss the legitimate political aspirations of Jewish people today.
Finally, we are not responsible for ensuring that biblical prophecy is fulfilled. God will carry out his plans for both the church and for Israel in the way that he sees fit. It’s also important to remember that for many people, especially those who live in the Middle East, this issue has real consequences for their everyday lives. That alone is a good enough reason for us to handle this topic with care.
