YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Hundreds of millions of Christians around the world support Israel for political, historical, and theological reasons. Christians see Israel as a champion of their values of freedom and human rights, a beacon of hope, and a symbol of God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people.
Additional Resources
- Why We Support Israel (article)
- About Christian Zionism (article)
- A History of Christian Zionism (article)
- A Short History of Christian Zionism by Donald M. Lewis (book)
- The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel & the Land by Gerald R. McDermott (book)
A Christian Zionist a Christian who supports the Jewish people's right to return to their homeland. Under this broad and simple definition, many Christians would qualify no matter what their reasons are for supporting Israel.
A more narrow definition of a Christian Zionist is one who holds to the theological school of thought known as Christian Zionism and supports the right of the Jewish people to return to their homeland on scriptural grounds. The biblical foundation for Christian Zionism is found in God's covenant with Abraham. It was in this covenant that God chose Abraham to birth a nation through which He could redeem the world, and to do this He bequeathed them a land on which to exist as this chosen nation (Genesis 7:7–8).
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you a nd your descendants after you. also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. (Genesis 17:7–8)
The Mosaic covenant later explained that their right to live on the land promised to them would be determined by their obedience to the law and their relationship with their God. Sin and disobedience would result in exile for a season. The Hebrew prophets later proclaimed the arrival of judgement and punishment for sin, but also a time of future restoration to their land and to their God.
Christian Zionism recognizes God’s hand in the return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland after 2,000 years of exile and rejoices in the faithfulness of God to His promises.
Related Resources
- Christian Zionism (article)
- Why Do Christians Support Israel (article)
- Christian Zionism 101 (archive of articles by ICEJ)
- Christian Zionism in Balance (article by Rev. Malcolm Hedding)
- Why We Support Israel (article)
- A Short History of Christian Zionism by Gerald McDermott (book)
- A Short History of Christian Zionism (webinar)
- The Media Assault on Christian Zionism (webinar)
- Christian Zionism is based on the entire Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, and considers both to be the inspired Word of God.
- Those who oppose Christian Zionism, however, tend to focus on the New Testament and to exclude or allegorize whole portions of the Old Testament. For instance, Rev. Naim Ateek, of the Sabeel Center for Palestinian Liberation Theology, has called for the "deZionization" of scripture. He does not recognize the inspiration of most of the Old Testament.
Additional Resources
- New Testament Confirmation of the Tenets of Biblical Zionism
- Is Israel a Racist Apartheid State? (article)
- 5 Lies about Israel and Its Birth as a Nation in 1948 (article)
- The Big Lie: Who Is Really Committing Genocide? (article)
- Do the Israel Defense Forces Violate International Law? (article)
- What Are Antisemitic Tropes—and Are They Happening Today? (article)
- Is Zionism “Settler Colonialism”? (article)
- U.S. Relations with Israel (US gov article)
- Israel-U.S. Relationship (US gov article)
- History of U.S. Relations with Israel (US gov article)
- U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel (Congressional Research Service PDF, updated March 1, 2023)
- Israel's Exceptional Security Partnership with Washington (Security Assistance PDF, June 2021)
- How Americans View Israel, Netanyahu, and US-Israel Relations in 5 Charts (August 2023
- Christian Zionism is not based on prophecy or eschatology, but rather on the promises that God makes in the Abrahamic Covenant. The Hebrew prophets foretold the exile and return of the Jewish people to their land, but they were only confirming the timing of what God had already promised to Abraham.
- Christians do not believe that they can cause events like the return of Jesus. Only God has control over these events. Christian Zionists do, however, find joy in being involved in the fulfillment of prophesies, such as the regathering of the Jewish people from the four corners of the earth, but they recognize that no man -- only God -- could have facilitated this miracle.
- Christian Zionists' primary motivation in supporting Israel is the belief that God initiated a spiritual law of blessing so that those who bless the Jewish people will be blessed, aligning themselves with God's eternal redemptive plan. Similarly, those who oppose His people will find themselves in direct opposition to God's redemptive plan.
Resources:
Evangelicals and Israel: What American Jews Don't Want to Know (but Need to) by Robert W. Nicholson, Mosaic Magazine, October 2013
What motivates Christian Zionists? by Shelley Neese, The Jerusalem Connection, October 2012
- New Testament Confirmation of the Tenets of Biblical Zionism
- Is Israel a Racist Apartheid State? (article)
- 5 Lies about Israel and Its Birth as a Nation in 1948 (article)
- The Big Lie: Who Is Really Committing Genocide? (article)
- Do the Israel Defense Forces Violate International Law? (article)
- What Are Antisemitic Tropes—and Are They Happening Today? (article)
- Is Zionism “Settler Colonialism”? (article)
- U.S. Relations with Israel (US gov article)
- Israel-U.S. Relationship (US gov article)
- History of U.S. Relations with Israel (US gov article)
- U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel (Congressional Research Service PDF, updated March 1, 2023)
- Israel's Exceptional Security Partnership with Washington (Security Assistance PDF, June 2021)
- How Americans View Israel, Netanyahu, and US-Israel Relations in 5 Charts (August 2023
- No one wants peace more than Israel and her Christian friends. However, true champions of peace cannot support the creation of a state that is committed to Israel's destruction. Until now, the Palestinian Authority has refused to truly accept Israel's right to exist. Instead, it continues to fill its schools, mosques, and public airwaves with hatred and incitement against Israel, making the possibility of peace a distant dream.
- As a sovereign nation, Israel has the right and privilege to give away part of its land should the Israeli government wish to do so in pursuit of peace. However, Joel 3 sounds a very clear warning against those who seek to do Israel harm by dividing up her land. All nations should heed this warning before pressuring Israel to do what they themselves would never do, and in so doing, weaken Israel and threaten her security.
- Christian Zionists believe that the land of Israel -- which includes Judea and Samaria or the "West Bank," as well as Gaza -- is the everlasting possession of the Jewish people. However, their right to live on the land is conditional on their relationship with God. This is why Israel's borders have changed throughout history and may continue to change in our time.
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Christian Zionists support Israel's right to exist in peace and security, as a Jewish state with defensible borders.
- In the face of overwhelming threats and hostile neighbors, Israel has been compelled to use military force. Yet, this does not mean that she does not seek peace. Israel signed peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan. It longs for peace with the Palestinians but needs a peace partner with whom to negotiate.
Resources
Reasons Why Peaceful Resolutions for the Arab-Israeli Conflict Always Fail, by Dr. Tawfik Hamid
A Biblical Stand on Zionism II: The Question of Land by Rev. Malcolm Hedding, ICEJ, March 2006
- New Testament Confirmation of the Tenets of Biblical Zionism
- Is Israel a Racist Apartheid State? (article)
- 5 Lies about Israel and Its Birth as a Nation in 1948 (article)
- The Big Lie: Who Is Really Committing Genocide? (article)
- Do the Israel Defense Forces Violate International Law? (article)
- What Are Antisemitic Tropes—and Are They Happening Today? (article)
- Is Zionism “Settler Colonialism”? (article)
- U.S. Relations with Israel (US gov article)
- Israel-U.S. Relationship (US gov article)
- History of U.S. Relations with Israel (US gov article)
- U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel (Congressional Research Service PDF, updated March 1, 2023)
- Israel's Exceptional Security Partnership with Washington (Security Assistance PDF, June 2021)
- How Americans View Israel, Netanyahu, and US-Israel Relations in 5 Charts (August 2023
- War is a terrible thing. No Christian should ever look forward to it.
- Christian Zionism is not based on prophecy or eschatology, but on the promise that God made to Abraham and the Jewish people. Interpretation of prophecy is speculative. There are many opinions in the Christian Zionist camp about how and when events will take place, and a wide range of theories about which events may have already occurred.
- Throughout history there has been great spiritual opposition to the Jewish people and God's promises to them. War has plagued Israel's history, and there are prophetic portions of scripture that indicate it will continue to do so. One such event is a large battle that is mentioned briefly in the New Testament, but described more fully in the Hebrew books of Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, and Zechariah. Some Churches devote significant time and energy to studying these scriptures in the same way that many Jewish movements study these prophetic passages, anticipating literal fulfillment of them.
- There is a problem when Christian students of prophecy study and discuss these events without appreciation for the human element in the stories, making the Jewish people "pawns" in their end time charts. It is always helpful for these students of prophecy to tour Israel, and meet the people of the land. This inevitably leads them to develop a better appreciation for the sacrifices and suffering on all sides of the conflict, which would only increase in any future war.
Resources:
Annihilation or Redemption? By David Parsons, October 2012
The Worst I'll Ever Do, By David Parsons, October 2012
Armageddon Now? By Rev. Malcolm Hedding, ICEJ February 2010
Swords into Ploughshares: Christian Zionism and the Battle of Armageddon By David Parsons, ICEJ
- Justice is an important question for Christians in the Israeli-Arab conflict. God loves justice (Isaiah 61:8) and requires His children to do justly (Micah 6:8), but Leviticus 19:17 makes it clear that justice must be based on the facts. One has to carefully weigh the facts in the Arab-Israeli conflict in order to arrive at what is truly just.
- For many Christians, the campaign to demonize and delegitimize Israel can cloud the facts, making it difficult to arrive at conclusions about who is the just party in the conflict. Issues like Palestinian refugees, Israeli control of the West Bank and the security wall are presented as examples of Israeli injustice.
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To truly work for justice one must honestly admit the root cause of the problems and suffering on both sides. There were similar numbers of Arab refugees and Jewish refugees in the early years of Israeli statehood.The Palestinian people have suffered many injustices, mostly at the hands of their own Arab leaders. Israel also suffers serious injustices today. It still faces existential dangers in the region that threaten its existence. Around the world, Israel is demonized, delegitimized, and held to a double-standard.
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This website helps truth seekers to rightly discern between fact and falsehood -- and to understand why Christians who stand with Israel are standing on the side of justice.
Resources:
Justice Must Be Based On Fact by Susan Michael, ICEJ, July 2013
Hidden Injustices: A Review of PA & Hamas Human Rights Violations in the West Bank and Gaza to be presented to the European Parliament by Calev Myers, Jerusalem Institute of Justice, November 2012
Christian Zionism and Social Justice by Rev. Malcolm Hedding, ICEJ, March 6, 2012
The Question of Justice by David Parsons, ICEJ, January 2007
- Christians who are pro-Israel are not anti-Arab. On the contrary, Christians are commanded to be a people of love recognizing that God loves all people the same (John 3:16).
- Those who do not have a heart for the Arab peoples of the region do not reflect God's heart. God's promise that Ishmael would have twelve princes and would be a great nation (Genesis 17:20) has been fulfilled. Isaiah 19 speaks of a great visitation by God to the Arab world, which will usher in a revival among the neighboring countries of Israel.The ICEJ encourages Christian Zionists to have God's heart for the Arab people and to pray regularly for them.
- Many of Israel's Christians feel that their history, culture and heritage have been hijacked by Muslim Arabs in the region. It is sad and ironic that many of the same Christian leaders who accuse Christian Zionists of not loving the Arab people -- particularly Christian Arabs -- have consistently refused to stand up for the Christian Arabs who suffer great persecution in Muslim countries. Organizations like the ICEJ have tried to bring light to the plight of Christian Arabs, including Palestinian Christians.
- There are more than 50 Muslim countries, 15 Christian countries, and only one Jewish state -- Israel. Yet, only Israel is singled out as racist for having an official state religion. Just like all other nations, the Jewish people have the right to their own state. This is a not racism; on the contrary, it is a response to centuries of racism and persecution against the Jewish people. Thus, supporting Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state cannot -- and should not -- be considered racist.
ICEJ Resources:
Christian, Jewish leaders call for halt to persecution of Middle East Christians 2014
Tragic Fate of Iraqi Christians by David Parsons, ICEJ, October 2014
Israel's Troubled Neighbor Syria by Susan Michael, ICEJ, October 2013
Egypt My People by Dr. Juergen Buehler, ICEJ, August 2013
Cry of the People of Egypt by Susan Michael, ICEJ, August 2013
A Burden for Bethlehem's Christians by David Parsons, ICEJ, May 2013
The Real Root of the Christian Exodus by David Parsons, ICEJ, June 2012
ICEJ Study: Urgent Social Needs in Israel's Arab Sector March 2011
Under Siege: The Brutal Targeting of Middle East Christians by David Parsons, ICEJ, February 2011
The Plight of Christians in the Holy Land by David Parsons, ICEJ, July 16, 2006
Our Battered Brethren by David Parsons, ICEJ, January 2006
Troubled Town of Bethlehem by David Parsons, ICEJ, December 2000
Other Resources
World Council of Churches Stands By As Christians Perish, Churches Wither by Malcolm Lowe, Protestant Consultation on Israel and the Middle East, October 22, 2013
Demonizing Israel More Important Than Defending Persecuted Christians? by Michael Curtis, American Thinker, October 7, 2013
Turning a Blind Eye to Murdered Christians by Mark Tooley, Institute for Religion and Democracy, August 17, 2009
The Beleaguered Christians in Bethlehem by Khaled Abu Tomeh, May 2009
- Dispensationalism is a theology that holds a favorable view of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. However, it is not the same thing as Christian Zionism.
- Dispensationalism is a biblical interpretation that was developed in the writings of John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren in the 19th century. It was propagated through works such as the Scofield Reference Bible, widely used in the United States. Dispensationalism understands God to have related to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants in a series of dispensations, or periods of history.
- Christian support for the restoration of the Jews to their homeland began well before doctrines such as dispensationalism came into existence
- Approximately one in every ten Christians is a dispensationalist. A much larger group of Christians support the restoration of the Jews to their homeland. They come from a wide-variety of denominations and theological persuasions that do not ascribe to dispensationalism.
Resources
Christian Friends and Foes of Israel by David Parsons, ICEJ, February 2009
Those behind the public campaign to demonize and delegitimize the State of Israel have opened up a new front in the Christian world. A few voices representing a minority of Christians have begun to attack Christian Zionism as an extreme and even heretical theological position because it gives credence to the truth that Israel's modern-day restoration was not a political accident but ordained by God.
Those who criticize Christian Zionism as an extreme or heretical position completely overlook the fact that an overwhelming number of Christians support Israel. (In the wake of the atrocities that happened on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants raided southern Israel and brutally murdered more than 1,200 people, 90 prominent pastors and other Christian leaders issued "An Evangelical Statement in Support of Israel.")
There should be room for respectful disagreement among Christian denominations and theologians on politics and the scriptural significance of Israel, but many of today's attacks on Christian Zionism distort facts, history, and theology.
Theologically, Christian support for Israel centers on one's understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant and whether it still applies to the nation of Israel. Those who do not believe that God's covenant with the Jewish people is still valid generally support what is known as Replacement Theology. This theology was the root of antisemitism throughout centuries of Christian history.
Politically, the debate about Israel in the Christian world centers on whether one accepts the Palestinian narrative, which demonizes and delegitimizes the people and the State of Israel. This narrative distorts facts and rewrites history to vilify and demonize the people of Israel to the point that it is nothing but a new expression of age-old antisemitism.
Overview of Theologies vis-a-vis Israel
- A Short History of Christian Zionism
- Christian Friends and Foes of Israel by David Parsons, ICEJ, February 2009
- Israel Land & People by Rev. Malcolm Hedding
Responses to this campaign from Christian Zionist organizations
- American Christian Leaders Speak Out to Counter Surge of Violent Antisemitism
- Warning Christians about Antisemitism
- The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism
- Why Christians Support Israel: Biblical Reasons
- The New Anti-Semitism by James A. Showers, Friends of Israel, January 2013
- Targeting Evangelicals for Palestine by Mark Tooley, Institute for Religion and Democracy, November 2011
- A Goliath in the Church by Dr. Paul Wilkinson, Hazel Grove Full Gospel Church, July 2011
- The Myth of Palestinian Christianity, Rev. Malcolm Lowe, April 2011
- Turning a Blind Eye to Murdered Christians by Mark Tooley, Institute for Religion and Democracy, August 2009
- Where the Christian Left is Wrong by Elwood McQuaid, Friends of Israel, June 2009 Jerusalem Post
Resources
- A Short History of Christian Zionism by Donald Lewis (book)
- The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel and the Land by Gerald McDermott (book)
- Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People and the Land by Gerald McDermott (book)
- Antisemitism: What Every Christian Needs to Know and How to Counter It by Dr. Susan Michael
- The Media Assault on Christian Zionism (ICEJ webinar, 2022)
- The Global Reach of Christian Zionism (ICEJ Webinar 2022)
The Bible states clearly that Jesus and His family were of Jewish descent and lived according to Jewish law.
The books of Luke and Matthew make it clear that Jesus was a direct descendent of King David, from the House of Judah:
- "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations." (Matthew 1:17)
- "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (Matthew 1:1)
The name "Palestine" was not used until more than a century after the life and time of Christ.
- Roman rulers renamed the area "Syria-Palestina" around AD 135 to try and erase the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.
- Throughout history, great Christian leaders have recognized Jesus' Jewish roots and the continued validity of the Abrahamic covenant between God and the Jewish people.
Additional Resources
"Was Jesus a Palestinian?" (video)