Why I Am a Christian Zionist

Awhile back, I was listening to a radio broadcast in which Joel McDurmon, a prominent leader in the evangelical world, argued that the Jewish people have no divine right to the land of Israel.

Of the Jewish state he said, “I don’t see them as any different than any other secular nation….It makes sense that there would be at least some group of Jews who believe that they’re entitled to that land, and would work for it politically….That’s exactly what happened at the turn of last century…a group of proto-fascists and communists…started a movement to have a national, Zionist state.”

Unfortunately, McDurmon’s view of Israel, despite its contortion of Scripture and history, is growing increasingly popular among young evangelicals today. Always rooting for the perceived underdog, many of my fellow Millennials have rejected the unconditional support for Israel of their parents’ generation in favor of a social gospel that views the Jewish state as an oppressive regime that stole land from the Palestinians.

We Zionists, however, are still around. A Zionist is one who believes the Jewish people have a right to live sovereignly and securely in their historic homeland. As one who believes the Scriptures, I am a Zionist. Allow me to give you three reasons why…

1.)  God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people forever, unconditionally. I recently attended a large, pro-Israel conference in Washington, DC. Outside the convention center where we were gathered, a sizable group of people protested the conference, many holding signs with anti-Israel slogans on them. One of those signs caught my eye. It read: “God is not a real estate agent.” Of course, this sign was meant to counter the argument of people, like myself, who believe Israel’s right to the land is God-ordained. But it betrayed the sign-holder’s unfamiliarity with the Scriptures. The fact is, God has given the land to the Jewish people forever, no strings attached, and He has made this fact abundantly clear in His Word.

God has promised that, though the Jewish people have been scattered throughout the nations for their disobedience, they will one day also be regathered to the land for His glory.

In Genesis 12, for example, God tells Abram to leave his country for “a land that I will show you” (v. 1), a place we later learn is the land of Canaan. Upon arriving there, God tells Abram to look around him in all directions “for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever” (Genesis 13:15). This promise is reiterated to both Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13), and confirmed in the New Testament (Acts 7:4–5). The land is given to Israel.

2.) Biblical Zionism glorifies God. That’s right. Biblically-rooted Zionism brings glory to the Lord. While it’s true that God promised the land to the Jewish people, He also delineated stipulations for their staying in the land continually, all of which depended on Israel’s obedience to the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:36). Scripture and the historical record both inform us that Israel did not obey, and their disobedience resulted in several deportations from the land (Ezekiel 36:19). This was not to be Israel’s end, though.

God has promised that, though the Jewish people have been scattered throughout the nations for their disobedience, they will one day also be regathered to the land for His glory.

For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land….Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it. (Ezekiel 36:24, 36)

While this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled entirely, the Bible-believing Zionist can rejoice at the existence of the Jewish state after more than 19 centuries in exile. Truly, the nations must admit, even if grudgingly, the miracle that is the modern State of Israel. God has spoken it, has done it, and will do it.

3.) Jesus is a Zionist. Somewhere in the midst of the “Christian” anti-Semitism of church history and our stained glass images of an Anglo-Saxon Savior, the identity of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah of Israel has been diluted in much of Christendom. This is unfortunate, since both the Old and New Testaments affirm the Jewish identity of Jesus. Think about it. He celebrated Hanukkah (John 10:22), quoted Jewish prophets (Luke 4:18–19), attended synagogue (Luke 4:15), and even “schmoozed” with Jewish leaders at the Temple (Luke 2:46). As if that is not enough, His entire ministry was done within the borders of Israel!

The inextricable link Jesus had with both the Jewish people and homeland during His First Advent will be in no way diminished at His Second Coming. At the end of the period the prophets call “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” the Jewish people will call to the Messiah in faith (Matthew 23:39). At that time, He will seat Himself on His throne in Jerusalem (Psalm 132:13–14), and He will enter into judgment with the nations of the world, rewarding or cursing them based on their treatment of the Jewish people (Matthew 25:31–46).

Yes, the baby in the manger, the carpenter of Nazareth, the Suffering Servant of Calvary will return as the promised King of Israel. With His Jewish brethren given hearts of flesh in place of stone (Jeremiah 31), the enemies of the Jewish people subject to His rule, and His throne firmly established in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, Jesus is and will continue to be the premier Zionist.

Contrary to what Christian anti-Zionists, such as Joel McDurmon, may say, Israel is not like “any other secular nation.” Are they in the land largely in unbelief? Yes. Is the Messiah on His throne? No. But to be a Zionist, to believe that God has given Israel a unique right to live securely and sovereignly in its historic homeland, is as biblical as it gets.

I’m proud to be a Zionist. How about you?

About the Author

Ty Perry

Ty is the Assistant to the North American Director for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. He assists with strategic planning, organization, and growth of the North American Ministries department. He also ministers to the Jewish community by building relationships through volunteer work with various pro-Israel/Jewish organizations, a Bible study with rabbis, and care for Holocaust survivors. Ty also speaks in churches and at Christian colleges about Israel and the Jewish people. Ty resides in the Metro-Detroit area with his wife, Lissy, and their two children. You can support Ty's ministry online here.