Reflections on Zionism
So we've heard about some of the issues in this region – what should our response be as Christians? It's clear that this is a justice issue but from a Christian perspective, unfortunately it is muddied by theology, especially Zionist theology which can give rise to unwavering support for Israel and her actions. I'd like to take 5mins to consider how theology can shape our response.
I wonder what springs to mind when we think of Israel and the Philistines (Palestine = فلسطن)? Good guys and bad guys? As we begin we might also need to recognise how we may be bringing Sunday school prejudices into our thinking.
“We are anguished by the fact that countless Christians believe that the Bible gives to the modern State of Israel a divine right to lands inhabited by Palestinian people, and divine sanction to the State of Israel's policy of territorial acquisition.
Thus begins as statement endorsed by 5000 church leaders against Christian Zionism which uses Biblical promises and prophecy to justify Israel's right to the land. I would like to share why many Christians, including the official C of E position consider Zionism to be a Biblical distortion. Borrowing heavily from an article by Stephen Sizer and the work of Colin Chapman, I would like to use Biblical sources to counter this bad theology.
1) The Relationship of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant
As Christians, we can't jump from Old Testament prophecy to the present day, as if Jesus didn't come in between. We know from the scriptures that Jesus completes, fulfils and annuls the Old covenant between God and the people. e.g.
Jesus' sacrifice removes the need for keeping the OT law and the sacrificial system.
the giving of the HS to dwell in believer's hearts removes the need for the tabernacle or temple as the dwelling place of God.
the NT opens up the concept of the 'chosen people' beyond the Jews.
Why would we cling on to notion of a particular strip of land in light of the bigger vision of the kingdom of God through Jesus?
Then how should we understand the promises to Abraham?
In our first reading today we heard God's promise to Abraham. The verse that stands out is v8:
The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.
When we consider the promises of God regarding 'the land', we should understand them in the bigger story which begins with the garden of Eden and ends with the new heavens and new Earth. Jesus is the turning point in that story.
Simply by seeing that Abraham did not literally take possession of the whole land of Canaan, we realise that this verse should be read figuratively and not literally. In Hebrews 11 we hear that, by this non-possession, Abraham learned to look forward to the city with foundations whose architect is God – the new heavens and earth of God's Kingdom.
The promise to Abraham is not just about the land but is intimately bound up with the covenant relationship with and blessings for all peoples of the world. To insist on an interpretation that now gives Jewish people an exclusive right to Palestine at the expense of the fundamental human rights of the Palestinians runs contrary to the promise itself whether from an OT or NT perspective.
So what of the OT?
A literal possession of the land was part of the story of the people of Israel and their relationship with God. It was a story where the possession of the land was never perfected and where the promise was not an unconditional right but a conditional gift. Zionists want to (mis)apply OT prophecies literally for today whilst simultaneously ignoring the prophetic demands for justice – the conditions of the gift – found in the OT.
We however can see that the divine mandate to conquer was a shadow of the growing Kingdom of God inaugurated through Christ.
As Christians who understand the promises of God to be fulfilled in Christ, what does Jesus have to say about possession of the land?
Jesus was a Jew living under Roman occupation in a highly charged political atmosphere, where revolts and messiahs sprang up to announce the liberation and restoration of the land.
There are less than five explicit references to the land in the gospels and these are all indirect. Jesus didn't call for the possession of the land but spoke about a Kingdom of God for the whole earth (some 78 times). In our reading today from Acts we heard:
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Note Jesus' reply:
"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:7-8
Before Pentecost, the disciples held onto the prevailing Jewish understanding of their rights to the land, however, Jesus showed that the New Covenant and Kingdom of God would be the fulfilment of the blessings for all nations (as promised to Abraham).
Peter and Paul likewise understood the inheritance of the land to be an altogether greater thing in the Kingdom of God.
in interpreting the promises made to Abraham in Genesis, Paul insists:
It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. Romans 4:13
and in Ephesians:
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Ephesians. 3:4-6
Conclusion:
Zionism ignores Jesus and the amazing way that he fulfils, completes and opens up the promises of God for the blessing of all people. It wouldn't be worth talking about if it wasn't for the fact that Christian Zionism is a major factor in the unquestioning support that Israel receives which enables her to act unjustly in oppressing the Palestinian people.
If we truly want to see peace in Israel then we must understand the place of Jesus in the fulfilment of the promises of God for the blessing of all people. Motivated by the Prince of Peace we must seek a just peace for Palestinians alongside peace for Israel.
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