Evangelism

Evangelism-Winning Men For God

Shall We Revise Our Views on Zionism?-Part II

Editor, Jewish Magazine, "The Sabbath Exponent"

Most Protestants invest Zionism with an aura of prophetic significance. They assert that the establishment of the Israeli state came about in response to prophecy. All this is mere wishful thinking and has no foundation in fact. As for the Jews, very few attach any religious significance to the founding of the new little commonwealth of Israel. The father of modern Zionism, Dr. Theodore Herzl, conceived the movement as a purely political objective. In his pamphlet, The Jewish State, which electrified world Jewry fifty years ago and gave rise to the national movement, Dr. Herzl made these revealing statements: "It depends upon Jews themselves whether this political pamphlet remains for the present a political romance."-The Jewish State, p. 72 (published by the Zionist Emergency Council, New York, 1946). So completely was Zionism divorced from religion in the mind of its founder that he declared: "The theories of a divine institution, (and) of superior power, and the patriarchal ... theories, do not accord with modern views."-lbid., p. 137. And again: "We shall keep our priests within the confines of the temples in the same way as we shall keep our professional army within the confines of their barracks."-lbid., p. 146.

The rank and file of Israel's citizenry are not at all concerned with prophetic interpretations, for they are wholly absorbed in such matter- of-fact problems as their daily bread and butter, their employment or lack of it, and the ominous political and economic situation that now prevails in Israel. Religion is the preoccupation of but a small minority of the Israelis, and these wield but little influence in the shaping of Israel's diplomacy.

If we compare modern Zionism with the Exodus movement or with the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, modern Zionism's unprophetic character becomes still more painfully apparent. As we all know, the Spirit of prophecy was intimately associated with the Exodus movement from its very inception. Moses was the divinely appointed prophet by whom the deliverance of the Hebrews from the Egyptian bondage was triumphantly consummated. "By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved" (Hosea 12: 13).

Similarly, the return of the Jews from Babylon was essentially a prophetic movement. A number of prophets, as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, et cetera, foretold the return of the captive Israelites to their homeland. Thus both these movements were based on the sure word of prophecy. As will be shown, neither modern Zionism nor the State of Israel has the remotest connection with Bible prophecy.

Protestants Misapply Pre-exilic Prophecies to Zionism

By a peculiar feat of prophetic jugglery Protestants take some of the pre-exilic prophecies and, wresting them from their chronological context, without rhyme or reason apply them to modern Zionism. One of the prophecies thus frequently distorted is that of· the thirty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel, which was written several decades before the return of the Jews from Babylon. This prophecy was fulfilled in 457 B.c., when, by the historic decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus, the captives were granted permission to restore and to build Jerusalem. In this prophecy of Ezekiel 36, note how many times God addresses Himself to the "mountains of Israel," pledging to wrest these mountains from Idumea, or Edom. During the Babylonian captivity the Edomitcs, the age-old enemies of Israel, occupied these commanding mountainous positions, hoping thereby to dispossess the Hebrews forever. The prophet Ezekiel, however, predicted an early deliverance of the land from the usurping foes: "But ye, 0 mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come" (Eze. 36:8). (Hebrew: karov lavou-"near to come.") Within a few decades after this prediction was penned the Jews did indeed return to their possessions! The prophecy truly had an "early" fulfillment. To apply this prediction, which according to the prophet was "near to come," to modern political Zionism which developed two thousand five hundred years later, is an unpardonable anachronism. This is a typical illustration of the utterly inconsistent application of many of the other pre-exilic prophecies to modern Zionism.

Prophecies Concerning Spiritual Israel Likewise Misapplied

Side by side with the prophecies pointing to the return of literal Israel from Babylon, and frequently interwoven with these prophecies, may be found numerous predictions concerning the final gathering of antitypical or spiritual Israel, the "Israel of God," composed of individuals out of every nation who embrace the gospel· message. Our Protestant friends, however, mistakenly apply all these prophecies to literal Israel and to present-day Zionism. A typical example i.• the well-known prophecy of Isaiah 11:10-16, which, for lack of space, we can only quote in part: "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people [Hebrew: amim-nations, to it shall the Gentiles seek. ... And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea . ... And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt." This is clearly a prophecy of the Christian dispensation, for the "root of Jesse" and the "ensign of the nations," as we know, refer to Jesus the Messiah. The "Gentiles" and the "remnant'' from Assyria, et cetera, and from "the islands of the sea," in this prophecy, constitute the spiritual Israel of every nation, for when the Jewish nation rejected the Son of God, Jesus, their Messiah, they forfeited their special privileges of being the chosen people of God. Said Jesus of them, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [the Jewish nation], and given to a nation [spiritual Israel] bringing forth the fruits thereof" (Matt. 21:43).

Another prophecy referring to antitypical Israel, which is similarly being distorted and arbitrarily misapplied to modern Zionism, is found in Ezekiel 37, from which we quote in part: "Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, 0 my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ... And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land .... "The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: and join them one to ·another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. . . . Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: ... and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all .... "And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd .... And they shall dwell in the land ... for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever . ... My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore" (Eze. 37: 12-28). Most Protestants regard modern Zionism as a fulfillment, or at least as the initial stage of fulfillment, of this prophecy of Ezekiel; but there are too many factors involved that militate against such an interpretation.

First: the preceding prediction twice emphasizes (see verses 12 and 14) a literal resurrection of the righteous before God's people will be placed in their "own land." If there has been such a literal resurrection of the dead in connection with the establishment of the little state of Israel, or at the time of the return of the Jews from Babylon, the writer is wholly unaware of it.

Second: when this prophecy is fulfilled, the two sticks, representing Israel and Judah, will unite and form a kingdom that shall never pass away. In other words, it envisions an everlasting kingdom with "David" as their king reigning "for ever." This cannot be said to have taken place when the Jews returned from Babylon, nor have the other specifications of the prophecy been met by the founding of the Israeli commonwealth. It is evident, for example, that the ten tribes that composed the northern kingdom of Israel did not as a whole reunite with Judah at the termination of the seventy-year captivity in Babylon. Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, and Graetz, the distinguished modern Jewish historian, as well as other scholars and authorities are agreed that the vast majority of the ten tribes remained in Babylon at that time. This is substantiated by the Spirit of "To the ten tribes, long rebellious and impenitent, was given no promise of complete restoration to their former power in Palestine.

Until the end of time, they were to be 'wanderers among the nations.' But through Hosea was given a prophecy that set before them the privilege of having a part in the final restoration that is to be made to the people of God [spiritual Israel] at the close of earth's history, when Christ shall appear as King of kings and Lord of lords."-Prophets and Kings, p. 298. (Italics sup· plied.) This statement from the messenger of the Lord makes it clear that the reunion of the two houses of Judah and Israel has not yet taken place and that it will not be realized until the ·second coming of Christ. To date, only orietenth of the total Jewish population of the world is settled in the little state of Israel. The other nine tenths, comprising some eleven million Jews, are scattered among more than eighty nations throughout the world. Now here is there now discernible any mass exodus of Jews to the little republic on the Mediterranean shore. Immigration to Israel has reached its "high water mark" of popularity and is fast drying up at its source. At the same time the number of Jews leaving Israel every month is creating uneasiness in government circles, for. contrary to empty country in its northern and southern sections, and is in urgent need of a constant influx of Jews in order to become a stable government. In view of these facts it is absurd to claim that modern Zionism fulfills the foregoing prophecies. Indeed, as has been shown, modern Zionism has no prophetic significance whatsoever.

When and in what manner these predictions of Ezekiel 37 and Isaiah 11 will be fulfilled in every specification, and who constitutes God's chosen people today, will be discussed in the remaining article of this series.


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus

Editor, Jewish Magazine, "The Sabbath Exponent"

March 1954

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Features-The Bishopric of Judas. Qualities Indispensable to a Missionary

To aim so high; to fall so low! Judas Iscariot, like Lucifer, aspired to set his throne above the stars of God.

Editorial-"Having Great Power"

We live in an age of power-military power, political power, financial power, atomic power.

Pulpit-Pointers for Preachers

How to Deal With Heresies-Part III

Pulpit-Pointers for Preachers II

Exegetical Studies in Ephesians--Part II

Pastor-Shepherding the Flock

One of the outstanding genuine revivalists of the nineteenth century was Charles Grandison Finney.

Research-Report on the Eleventh Chapter of Daniel

The study group appointed by the Committee on Biblical Study and Research to give study to Daniel 11 gave careful consideration to a number of manuscripts placed in their hands by its chairman.

Shepherdess-The Indispensable Ingredients

There were innumerable occasions when we thought we would have enjoyed some of the luxuries that are so abundant in America.

Bible Instructor-Training Bible Instructor

Bible instructors as well as ministers are called of the Lord.

Health Evangelism-Alcoholism--A Self-inflicted Disease Part 1

The disease theory, on the other hand, diverts the attention of the public from the industry to the alcoholic.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up
Advertisement - RevivalandReformation 300x250

Recent issues

See All
Advertisement - SermonView - WideSkyscraper (160x600)