Christian Zionism I: Where Did It Come From?
From Patheos
By Gerald R. McDermott
Part 1 in a 3-part series on Christian Zionism that also includes Christian Zionism II: Is It Bad Theology? and Christian Zionism III: Is It Unethical?
In the late 16th and then in the 17th century, both members of the Church of England and dissenters became fascinated by the role of Jews in what they thought the Bible to be saying about the times of the End. Many Puritan writers looked for a return of Jews to the land of Israel. In Paradise Regained, John Milton wrote,
Yet He at length, time to himself best known,
Remembering Abraham, by some wondrous call
May bring them back, repentant and sincere,
And at their passing cleave the Assyrian flood,
While to their native land with joy they haste,
As the Red Sea and Jordan once he cleft,
When to the Promised Land their fathers passed.
To his due time and providence I leave them.