Understanding Christian Zionism
"They shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them."
Christian Zionism, and Zionism in general, are based on straightforward and simple interpretations of several biblical passages. We begin by examining three:
The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:5
Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. I will also raise up shepherds over them, and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor shall they be lacking.
Jeremiah 23:3-4
While not directly about the Jews’ return to Israel, the following verse from the prophet Zechariah is also connected to end-time prophecy and interpreted by some as a reference to the Second Coming of Christ.
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:10
These passages provide a foundation for Christian Zionists to believe in a divine plan for the return of the Jewish people to Israel. They understandably link the establishment of Israel by the United Nations in 1947 as having fulfilled biblical prophecy. They further connect this event to the end times and the Second Coming of Christ.
Zionism, both the Christian and Jewish versions, is the belief that the Jewish people should have a Jewish state — but not necessarily a democratic one. Were Israel to become a liberal democracy, like the U.S. and most European nations, it would eventually forego its status as Jewish state owing to the disparate realities of population growth between Jews and Arabs.1
The Balfour Declaration, issued by the British government in 1917, eventually led to the establishment of Israel by the UN in 1947. Although the declaration did not mention ‘democracy,’ it did assert the following:
His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
In 1947 the UN General Assembly adopted UN Resolution 181. It endorsed the partition of Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. While the resolution also did not explicitly refer to Israel as a democracy, it however did recognize the legitimacy of both a Jewish state and an Arab state.
But the Arab states resoundingly rejected Resolution 181 and the two-state solution, so the point is moot. On May 14, 1948, Egypt, Transjordan (now Jordan), Iraq and Syria invaded Israel, attacking Israeli forces and several Jewish settlements. The conflict that ensued during this period is referred to as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Arab states were defeated by Israel.2
In victory, Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948. This historic event marked the establishment of the State of Israel after the end of the British Mandate in Palestine.
Christian Zionism also became a reality in 1948. It since has become an unwitting flatcar for assorted beliefs, many of which are not supported by the Bible, but rather by a book first published in 1909 called The Scofield Reference Bible. When defining Christian Zionism it is instructive to examine Scofield’s book, the source of these incongruous beliefs.
The Scofield Reference Bible
The Scofield Reference Bible, written by Cyrus I. Scofield, has had a significant influence on the spread and development of dispensationalist theology [explained more fully in the next section], particularly in the United States.
Dispensationalism emphasizes successive administrations of God’s dealings with humanity, which it calls ‘dispensations.’ Its impact on the intersection of Dispensationalism and Christian Zionism is significant.
Scofield's notes provide a detailed framework for understanding biblical prophecy, particularly those of the end times. His notes include a strong emphasis on the role of Israel. Moreover, they underscore the importance of the restoration of Israel and a Jewish homeland as fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
The Scofield Bible became immensely popular in American evangelical circles and seminaries, influencing generations of pastors, theologians and laypeople. This widespread dissemination helped cement Dispensationalist eschatology, including its views on Israel, within mainstream evangelical thought. The Scofield bible, in effect, provided the impetus for a new Christian Zionist evangelical religion.
There was no Israel at the time that Scofield penned the original notes and it is doubtful that Cyrus Scofield would have even understood the enormity of the evil purpose for which his book was written…Not all Orthodox Christians were asleep during that time.
Philip Morrow, a well known patent attorney and researcher for William Jennings Bryan, was one who saw both the heretical and the war-making dangers of the new [evangelical] religion. Morrow wrote:
I was made aware of the extent, far greater than I imagined, to which the modern system of dispensationalism has found acceptance among orthodox Christians, and also the extent, correspondingly great, to which the recently published Scofield Bible, which is the main vehicle of the new system of doctrine referred to, has usurped the place of authority that belonged to God's Bible alone.
Christian Zionism: The Tragedy & The Turning, Part 1 (film)
Scofield's approach to biblical interpretation emphasizes literalism, especially regarding prophetic texts. Rational Spirituality has long espoused the belief that the Bible should not be interpreted literally. Scofield’s perspective supported the idea that biblical prophecies about Israel were to be fulfilled in a literal and future sense.
Dispensationalist Theology
Dispensationalism is characterized by a literal interpretation of biblical prophecies and a strong emphasis on eschatology — the study of the end times. Proponents of this theology typically believe that history is divided into distinct dispensations where God tests human beings in different ways.
Each dispensation is believed to conclude with a pivotal event or judgment. Central to Dispensationalism is the end times’ belief in the Rapture. The Rapture imagines Christians being whisked up to a heavenly safe haven. This is immediately followed by a period of great turmoil called the Tribulation subsequently climaxed by the Second Coming of Christ.
This theological framework, as one well might imagine, significantly influences the interpretation of events in the Middle East, especially those concerning Israel. Dispensationalists often view the modern state of Israel and events surrounding it as having fulfilled biblical prophecies and signaling the beginning of the end times.
Christian Zionist are firmly behind the Temple Institute’s plan to sacrifice a red heifer and construct the Third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. You can read about those plans here. Many expect this sacrifice to occur before Pentecost on May 19, 2024.
The Dispensationalist perspective contrasts with the Catholic Church's approach, which generally understands biblical prophecies in a more allegorical or symbolic manner and does not align its teaching with the notion of predetermined dispensations. The Catholic Church emphasizes continuity in God’s covenant with humanity throughout history, regarding the Church itself as the fulfillment and continuation of promises made to biblical Israel.
In the context of Christian Zionism, Dispensationalist theology has been a driving force, influencing many believers to support the state of Israel based on what they perceive as its prophetic role. However, this viewpoint is not without its critics, both within and outside evangelical circles.
The critics argue that dispensationalism leads to a deterministic view of history and international relations, while potentially overlooking the complex realities of the situation in the Middle East.
The scope of Christian Zionist beliefs is broad and not limited to the literalist interpretations associated with Dispensationalism. Many adherents of Christian Zionism find common ground with Jewish Zionism, which focuses on the historical, cultural and religious significance of Israel to the Jewish people.
Jewish Zionism began as a movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. Theodor Herzl, known in Hebrew as Chozeh HaMedinah, 'Visionary of the State,’ began the zionist movement in 1897. Today, Jewish Zionism promotes the continuing development and protection of the Jewish nation he envisioned.
Unlike the adherents of Dispensationalist teachings inspired by Scofield’s footnotes, Christian Zionists do not necessarily subscribe to beliefs about the Rapture, the tribulation period or other highly detailed end-times scenarios.
Instead, their unwavering support for Israel is rooted in a belief in the enduring covenant between God and the Jewish people, as well as a respect for Israel's role in Jewish history and identity.
In essence, one can hold Christian Zionist beliefs that coincide with Jewish Zionism in general, beliefs that do not necessarily subscribe to literal interpretations of the Bible and fanciful notions of being swept up into the sky.
The growth rate of the Arab population in Israel is 2.2%, while the growth rate of the Jewish population is 1.8%. The gap between Jews and Arabs is narrowing and it is projected that the populations will be nearly equal within the next 15-20 years
Two additional wars followed. The Six Day War in 1967 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led primarily by Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Similarly, the Yom Kippur War in 1973 depicted Israel against a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Israel prevailed in both wars and maintained its independence.
Many parts of the bible cannot be taken literally; but not all the parts that are meant figuratively or astronomically (etc) are clear enough to be easily understood correctly. I think the bible may have been intended to be understood only at a basic level for the masses, with deeper meanings ("pesher") for the initiated.
-Israel-, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”