PROBLEMS WITH CHRISTIAN ZIONISM
“Therefore say I unto
you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing
forth the fruits thereof.” (Matthew 21:43) Let us suppose that one of your
neighbors began a building project and persuaded others to participate in this
building project and let us suppose that when you asked what they are doing
they explained that they are building an ark according to the instructions in
Genesis 6:14-16 in preparation for a global flood. What would be your reaction
if, after you told them this is unnecessary because those commands applied to
Noah, they explained that this is in the Bible and they are being obedient to
God’s commands?
Here are a few questions
you should consider:
·
Where does the Bible say that the
establishment of the modern state of Israel relates to the Second Advent or the
end or fulfillment of "the times of the Gentiles?"
·
Why did God use singular pronouns instead
of plural pronouns when addressing Abraham in the Hebrew text of Genesis
12:1-3?
·
Does a comparison of 1948 USA with modern
America indicate that alliance with Israel brought blessings or curses?
·
Is the modern state of Israel a godly
nation?
·
How do you reconcile the teaching that the
land promise made to Israel is yet to be fulfilled with Joshua 21:43-45 &
23:14-15?
·
Where does the New Testament explicitly
support the teaching that the land promise made to Israel is yet to be
fulfilled?
·
If God has two different plans for Jews
and Gentiles, why does the New Testament say there is no longer a distinction?
(Romans 1:16; 10:12; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11)
·
Where does the New Testament say that Old
Testament prophecies about Israel have their fulfillment in the modern state of
Israel and not the Church?
·
Why do all the New Testament passages that
compare Israel to a fig tree point to Jerusalem’s destruction (not
restoration)? (e.g., Luke 13:6-9)
·
How do you reconcile the teaching that the
Second Advent will bring about the establishment of an earthly kingdom of
Israel with the New Testament teaching that the Second Advent will bring the
sudden destruction of the heavens and the earth? (II Peter 3:10-12)
God's covenant with
natural Israel was a conditional covenant. “For the LORD thy God is a consuming
fire, even a jealous God. …I call heaven and earth to witness against you this
day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over
Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly
be destroyed. And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be
left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. (Deuteronomy
4:23, 26-27) “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the
voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his
statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon
thee, and overtake thee: …The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far,
from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou
shalt not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard
the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: And he shall eat the fruit
of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also
shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or
flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in
all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou
trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates
throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt
eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters,
which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness,
wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 49-53) “If
those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel
also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.” (Jeremiah 31:36) “Hear
this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of
Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with
blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the
priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet
will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can
come upon us. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and
Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places
of the forest.” (Micah 3:9-12)
The Old Testament
requirement of the obedience of faith and genuine repentance removed Israel as
a special nation, as natural Jews as a people cast off God's Word for their
human traditions and rejected Christ. “But the soul that doeth ought
presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same
reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment,
that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.” (Numbers
15:30-31) “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem,
saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they
wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them,
Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God
commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or
mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or
his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And
honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the
commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did
Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth,
and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain
they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew
15:1-9) “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you,
and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” (Matthew 21:43) “They
answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how
sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant
abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son
therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are
Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I
speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen
with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus
saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of
Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which
I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then
said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I
proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are
of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar,
and the father of it. …He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear
them not, because ye are not of God.” (John 8:33-44, 47)
In the first century many
Christians were unfairly judging one another on the basis of the observance or
neglect of circumcision, the seventh-day Sabbath, Jewish holidays, dietary
restrictions, and other aspects of the Old Covenant that separated or
distinguished natural Jews from Gentiles as a result of the teaching that
Jewish priority and privilege is perpetual; those laws were based on principles
and truths that did not change, but their application changed under the New
Covenant. (Consider Matthew 5:17 & Romans 3:31) The New Testament makes it
clear that the real issue was whether anyone should really be considered a Jew
without first becoming a Christian as the Church is a continuing body in the Old
Testament and the New Testament and the New Testament Church is the fulfillment
of Old Testament prophecy concerning Israel. “But this is that which was spoken
by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those
days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven
above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that
great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:16-21) “And
to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will
return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and
I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of
men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is
called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.” (Acts 15:15-17) “For he is
not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is
outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision
is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not
of men, but of God.” (Romans 2:28-29) “Not as though the word of God hath taken
none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because
they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy
seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are
not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the
seed.” (Romans 9:6-8) “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same
are the children of Abraham. …Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before
of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after,
cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the
inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham
by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions,
till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by
angels in the hand of a mediator. …Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to
bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith
is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according
to the promise.” (Galatians 3:7,16-19,24-29) “Tell me, ye that desire to be
under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two
sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the
bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the
mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount
Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage
with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of
us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth
and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children
than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the
children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted
him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith
the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman
shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not
children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” (Galatians 4:21-31) “Whereof the
Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is
the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I
will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And
their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:15-17) “But ye
are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and
church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of
all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things
than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24) “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
(1 Peter 2:9. Note that while in the New Testament a church normally means a
local body of Christians, the redeemed are also collectively referred to as the
church. -Matthew 16:13-18; Hebrews 12:22-23; etc.)
Old Testament prophecy about restoring Israel
was fulfilled by the calling of the Gentiles to be God’s people. Compare Amos
9:11-12 with Acts 15:13-17: “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of
David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up
his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the
remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the
LORD that doeth this.” (Amos 9:11-12) “And after they had held their peace,
James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared
how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for
his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After
this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is
fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon
whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.” (Acts
15:13-17) Compare Hosea 1:10 & 2:23 with
Romans 9:22-26: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand
of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass,
that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it
shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. …And I will sow her
unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained
mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and
they shall say, Thou art my God.” (Hosea 1:10; 2:23) “What if God, willing to
shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the
riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto
glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not
of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will
call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not
beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto
them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the
living God.” (Romans 9:22-26)
The prophecy of the New
Covenant that is made with the house of Israel is fulfilled in the New
Testament Church. “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they
brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith
the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall
teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest
of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) “For I have received of the Lord that
which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he
was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said,
Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of
me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying,
This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it,
in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25) “Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter,
but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2
Corinthians 3:5-6) “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how
much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon
better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no
place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that
I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them
out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I
regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws
into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know
me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith,
A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth
old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:6-13) “For by one offering he hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a
witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I
will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into
their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is
no more offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:14-18)
The modern teaching that
Jewish priority and privilege is perpetual, and that God is working through two
distinct bodies of people, natural Israel and the Church, and that Old
Testament prophecies about Israel have their fulfillment in the modern State of
Israel is contrary to Scripture.
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