What is Zionism? What is Christian Zionism? 

We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man’s relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: “He who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8).  

Pope Paul VI, Nostra Aetate  

The debate on the right around Israel and antisemitism has become white hot, and on social media, it is producing far more heat than light, especially when it comes to “Zionism.” The largest recent source of friction was Tucker Carlson’s claim in his controversial interview with Nick Fuentes, in which he said that “Christian Zionists” are “heretics” whom he “dislikes more than anybody.” (He also claimed that Zionism is a “brain virus.”) 

If the confusion were limited to Mr. Carlson, we might let it pass. Unfortunately, the confusion seems to pervade some pockets of the right. So, the least we can do is improve the ratio of heat to light. 

The original, standard meaning of the word “Zionism” is what we might call Political Zionism. Emerging in the late nineteenth century, it focused on the Jewish establishment of a sovereign nation in the ancient Jewish homeland, through land purchases, diplomatic negotiations, and international recognition. Led by Theodor Herzl—often called the father of modern Zionism—it laid the groundwork for the broader Zionist movement and dominated the early Zionist Congresses from 1897 onward. Herzl was a secular Jew, and his vision was based on the details of Jewish history, not a belief that God had promised a specific place to the Jewish people. He saw Zionism as a solution to antisemitism and to the “Jewish question” in Europe. 

That’s the primary meaning of the word “Zionism.” Zionist ideas, however, predate Herzl by many centuries. Indeed, longing for a return to Jerusalem or “Zion” (the site of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem) has been a perennial theme in Jewish history since the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Still, it was political Zionism that led to Israel’s establishment as an independent nation in 1948 (one of 147 nations formed since the end of World War II). 

The modern state of Israel is now home to almost half of the world’s Jews. There are about 15.8 million Jews worldwide—some 0.2 percent of the global population. Almost half, some 7.48 million, live in Israel. Most of the other half—7.46 million—live in the U.S. (While Israel may see itself as either a “Jewish nation” or “a nation for the Jews,” about 20 percent of Israels are ethnically Arab. And in terms of religious identity, 18 percent of Israelis are Muslim, 1.9 percent Christian, and 1.6 percent Druze.)  

As a result, Zionism now refers to the commitment to protect the country from the violent campaigns waged to destroy it. Many Jews who were anti-Zionist before 1948 came to support the state of Israel once it joined the community of nations and because they recognized that disestablishing it would be catastrophic. 

Zionism, then, involves the ongoing defense of Israel’s right to exist. This view is widely held by modern Israelis and among the Jewish diaspora, though Israelis (like the citizens of every other nation) argue over the details. 

Words, if they are to communicate the thoughts of one person to another, must have public meaning. Belief in the right of Jews to a homeland has always been the standard public meaning of “Zionism.” As a result, if I say that “I’m not a Zionist” or “I dislike Zionists,” many people will take that to mean something like “I oppose a Jewish homeland”—even if I don’t intend because, for some reason, I mean something different from the public meaning. 

Moreover, given the meaning of the word Zionism and the recurring tragedies of Jewish history, it’s not easy to maintain daylight between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. It is worth noting here that etymologically, “antisemitism” is an imprecise word, since the ethnic/linguistic category of Semites is much larger than Jews. The name reflects its nineteenth-century coinage in Germany, during the rise of secular racial theories. It has always been used as the predominant synonym for anti-Jewish views. 

Functionally, separating anti-Zionism and antisemitism is like claiming that one has no animus toward the Japanese but simply believes Japan should not exist. The analogy would be better if other nations had oppressed the Japanese for centuries and if Japan were now surrounded by hostile neighbors who deny its right to exist and who would eviscerate it if given half a chance.  

“Christian Zionism” 

Like the general definition of “Zionism” above, the generic definition of a “Christian Zionist” is a Christian who believes something like political Zionism (above). But in practice, it also suggests a Christian who believes in “restorationism”—who believes, at least in part for theological reasons, that Jews should have a nation in their ancestral homeland. 

This belief may be based on the many promises that God gives to the Hebrews—that is, to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—in the Christian Old Testament. (The word “Jew” derives from one of the twelve tribes, Judah. This was the dominant tribe, along with Benjamin, that returned to their land around 538 B.C. after the Babylonian exile. The word came to replace both “Hebrews” and “Israelites” after that event.) After 1948, this belief may also be based on the sense that the founding of a new state of Israel—almost 2,000 years after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jewish population—seems mysteriously providential.

This is not an idiosyncratic definition of the term “Christian Zionism.” Some version of it has existed for centuries. See, for instance, Sam Goldman’s recent essay in Compact, which draws on his 2018 book God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America. He notes that this idea appears as early as the Geneva Bible, published in 1560. And in the twentieth century, it was commonly held by mainline and liberal Protestant thinkers such as Reinhold Niebuhr, Karl Barth, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Andrew Crowe’s book Christian Zionism and English National Identity: 1600-1850 traces similar ideas in early modern England. 

Early Christian thinkers such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Irenaeus imagined a future restoration of the nation of Israel. And much more recently, after the establishment of the modern state of Israel, Pope Benedict XVI described the Jewish return as part of “the mystery of God’s faithfulness” and linked it to Christian hope for reconciliation. A decade earlier, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he wrote in Many Religions, One Covenant that Israel’s ongoing election includes a “special place” in God’s plan, which later thinkers extend to the land promise. 

I mention this because Tucker Carlson (an Episcopalian) as well as some Catholics have recently claimed that Christian Zionism is a “heresy.” Assuming these claims are made in good faith, perhaps such Catholics think “Christian Zionism” refers to a caricature of beliefs derived from dispensationalism and premillennialism among American evangelicals.   

Apocalyptic Zionism 

In the U.S., many evangelical Christians see the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 as a prophetic milestone signaling the approach of the end times. They see Israel’s existence not just as a political right, but as God’s direct fulfillment of Old Testament promises to restore the Jewish people to their ancestral land (e.g., Ezekiel 36–37 and Isaiah 11:11–12). They posit that God has a distinct, ongoing plan for ethnic Israel that is separate from the Church, culminating in Christ’s thousand-year reign from Jerusalem after a period of global tribulation. 

Evangelical pastor Max Lucado, for instance, argues that the formation of the state of Israel in 1948 should lead Christians to rethink traditional interpretations of certain biblical texts: 

I think everything changed when Israel became a nation, and, consequently, our generation is privileged to live in the end of the end times, because Israel is now a nation—and so many of the prophecies … could not be fulfilled without Israel as a nation. 

For many Christians who hold this view, the envisioned Third Temple is central: they see its rebuilding on the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock currently stands, as a prerequisite for key end times events, such as the Antichrist’s desecration (Daniel 9:27; Thessalonians 2:3–4) and the reinstitution of Jewish sacrifices before Christ’s return. These beliefs drive strong political and financial support for Israel, viewing it as hastening biblical prophecy rather than mere geopolitics. 

These ideas go by different names, and recently, have been identified as “Christian Zionism,” full stop—which, as we’ve seen, is a much larger category. To avoid confusion, let’s call this cluster of ideas “Apocalyptic Zionism.” They first appeared in the UK in 1830 in the thought of John Nelson Darby, founder of the Plymouth Brethren. In 1864, Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, a Plymouth Brethren biblical scholar, criticized Darby’s ideas, which had no precedent in Christian history. Nonetheless, Darby’s innovations were popularized via the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909 and through popular books like Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth (1970) and the Left Behind series (1995-2007). 

Theologically, Apocalyptic Zionism reflects the thought of dispensationalism and premillennialism—recent strands of thought within Protestantism. Here are its key tenets: 

• Modern Fulfillment of Prophecy: Modern events like the 1948 rebirth of Israel and the 1967 Six-Day War (recapturing Jerusalem) are seen as fulfilling prophecies of Jewish regathering and control of the holy city (Zechariah 12:2–3; Luke 21:24). 

• Distinct Future for Israel: God maintains separate covenants with Israel (land, seed, blessing from Abraham—Genesis 12:1–3) and the Church; the Church Age is a “parenthesis” in God’s plan, but Israel will be regrafted into prominence (Romans 11:25–29). 

• Pretribulational Rapture and Tribulation: Believers are raptured before a seven-year Tribulation, during which Israel is persecuted but ultimately repents and recognizes Jesus as Messiah (Revelation 7:4–8 on the 144,000 sealed Jews). 

• Role of the Third Temple: A rebuilt Temple is essential for end times worship and the Antichrist’s “abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15); preparations (e. g., red heifer breeding for purification rituals—Numbers 19) are seen as prophetic signs. 

• Millennial Kingdom: Christ returns to defeat evil at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16) and rules from Jerusalem for 1,000 years with a restored Temple (Ezekiel 40–48), which fulfills God’s unconditional promises to David (2 Samuel 7). 

• Practical Effects: Strong support for Israel’s security and policies (e. g., against Palestinian statehood if it divides the land—Joel 3:2); support for Israel is often framed as “blessing Israel” to receive God’s blessing (Genesis 12:3). 

This bundle of eschatological beliefs is held, with variations, by many American evangelicals, and is far more common among American Protestants than they are elsewhere. Globally, most Christians (including most evangelicals) are not Apocalyptic Zionists, and find its claims perplexing or wrongheaded. These Christian critics (whether evangelical, Catholic, or Orthodox) see such detailed apocalyptic interpretations of Scripture as over-reading, if not misreading, of often cryptic biblical texts (from, say, Daniel or Revelation). 

For instance, most Christians past and present have not viewed the thousand-year reign of Christ referred to in Revelation 20 as a literal 1,000 years. (After all, it’s a big round number in the middle of a highly symbolic and stylized text.) The much more common “amillennial” interpretation is that this refers to the period from Christ’s ascension until his Second Coming, and that Christ could return at any time. 

Obviously, these are complicated internecine doctrinal debates. The left is no doubt delighted that social media influencers have chosen to push and distort these subtle differences into public debates, where they can serve to divide Christian conservatives from each other and Christians from Jews. 

 

Whatever one’s views of the end times, however, one must not conflate them with the much broader question of Christian support for Israel and for Jews. Christians have more than enough reason to affirm that God has not forsaken the Jews, and that Jews continue to play a role in salvation history. For instance, despite cryptic and symbolic elements, Revelation 7 strongly suggests the presence of Jews in the end times. And St. Paul argues the point explicitly in his Letter to the Romans, written around AD 57—before the Roman destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. 

Paul was a learned Jew, indeed a Pharisee, writing to Gentile Christians in Rome. In chapters nine through eleven of his letter, he expresses anguish over the fact that many of his fellow Jews had failed to believe that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. I cannot do the text justice in this memo (read the full passage here), but here’s the gist: Paul argues that God’s word and his promise to “Israel” have not failed. God’s election is sovereign and not based on the good deeds of human beings. A faithful remnant exists by grace, not by law. Israel’s zeal for the law misses righteousness by faith. Yet God has not rejected Israel. A remnant endures. 

What has happened, Paul argues, is that a partial “hardness of heart” has come upon the Jews—the Chosen People—which has created time and space for the Gentiles to be “grafted” into the olive tree of promise. To repeat: Gentiles are grafted into the original promise given to Israel, not vice versa. The Church has thus inherited the promise given to Israel, but without replacing Israel (that is, the Jews) in God’s plan of salvation. 

Paul concludes with these moving words: 

Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be saved. [Emphasis added.] 

… 

As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all. [Emphasis added.] 

Obviously, Jews who have not converted to Christianity will strongly disagree with Paul’s argument. At the same time, no faithful Christian should imply that God has rejected the Jews or reneged on his sovereign promises to the Children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

Certainly, that does not mean that Christians must agree with every act of the nation of Israel. After all, patriotic Israelis, just like the citizens of every other country, argue nonstop about their government. Nor does it mean that we should be hard-hearted toward the innocent even among Israel’s worst enemies, who find themselves in the middle of armed conflict. Quite the opposite. We should be genuinely troubled by the suffering of innocent war victims such as the children in Gaza. This is inevitable in urban warfare, but that does not make it any less heartbreaking. 

At a minimum, however, American Christians, and our government, should be just in our dealings with Israel. We should not hold it to wildly different standards than other allies when it comes to the rules of armed conflict and national defense. And we should exercise discernment when reacting to anti-Israel claims on social media, rather than assuming the worst. 

Why Does This Matter? 

This matters not only for political reasons. It’s true that Israel is the only nation in its region that broadly shares our political values and interests. Despite some tensions, it has been a consistent ally of the United States for decades. Compared to, say, Spain and Canada, Israel is a model partner for national security. It’s also the only nation in the region where the Christian community is growing. My concern is a moral one: speaking clearly about “Zionism” matters because we are in the midst of a massive surge in hostility toward both Jews and the state of Israel.

An unprecedented information war against Israel was launched around October 7, 2023, resulting in protests against Israel even before the IDF responded to the Hamas attacks against them. The hoariest anti-Jewish stereotypes and falsehoods have gained currency through the mind virus vectors of smartphones and social media. Much of this is amplified by bots and anonymous social media accounts. This has poisoned the minds of many Zoomers, who in many cases have had their compassion weaponized and misdirected. 

Basic decency and Romans 9–11 provide more than enough grounds for Christians to oppose hateful and irrational attacks against Jews and Israel. We should treat these episodes as tests of our courage and discernment, because that’s exactly what they are. 

Image licensed via Adobe Stock.