The Personal Context for “Prophetic Zionism”
If you know me or have read much of anything on this blog, you know that I am very fond of Judaism and Jewish culture. In fact, I am Catholic today largely in part to exposure to Jewish culture and liturgy. My wife and I lived in Beer-Sheva, Israel for nine years while I completed my graduate studies in the Hebrew Bible at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. This was a great privilege. Some of our closest friends are still in Israel. All of this is the background for what I have to share here about “prophetic Zionism.”
And we also have close friends who are Palestinian. Needless to say, with friends like these, we have had numerous interesting discussions about the current political situation between the state of Israel and the Palestinians!
I remember one day in particular on which I visited a friend in Bethlehem. We had met a few years earlier when he was studying in the US. I had deeply offended him because I was now studying in an Israeli university, learning Hebrew, and living among “the enemy.” Nothing I said could mitigate his disappointment in me. It was an uncomfortable conversation that has never come to resolution between us. But that evening my wife and I invited another friend to have dinner with us. He is a passionate Zionist. In our small talk, I mentioned that I had been to Bethlehem to visit a friend. I thought that he was going to leave immediately!
Wisdom Measured by Weeks, Months, Years, and Decades
Some time later I was sitting and discussing these things with our parish priest at St. Abraham’s Church in Beer-Sheva, Fr. Paul Collin. (Just last spring he went to his reward, and I miss him dearly; may his memory be for a blessing). I wanted to know how Catholics are to approach these problems with the mind of the Church.
Fr. Paul’s response has helped me more than anything else. “When a person visits Israel for a week, they go back and write an article for a travel magazine. If they stay for a month, they return home and produce a travel book. If they stay here for a year, they can manage to write an entire book about the political crises here. But if you have lived here for more than ten years, you realize that the wisest thing you can do is keep your mouth shut, because you don’t really understand what is going on, and you certainly don’t know how to solve the problems here.” (As I recall, he confessed that he had heard this somewhere else, but I can’t track down the source. Perhaps someone can help me?).
An Alternative to Conventional Perspectives: Prophetic Zionism
I did not quite make it to the ten year mark, and so I suppose that I did not acquire the wisdom to keep my mouth shut. But I want to confess with all humility that I do not really understand the Arab-Israeli problem. The more I learn about it, the more bewildering it is. I know people who have suffered tragedies on both sides. In this article, I am going to do my best to avoid particular, contemporary issues like the two-state solution and Israeli settlements. I would like to think that this is because on these things, at least, I have taken Fr. Paul’s advice to heart. More likely it is because I am a coward.
But in broader terms, it seems to me that Christian support or opposition to the return of the Jewish people to their homeland polarizes around the legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel. In this article, I am intentionally attempting to move these goal posts. Instead of the traditional Zionism that we immediately think of, I want to propose an alternative to help Christians consider what the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel might mean for them. I am calling this alternative “prophetic Zionism.”
An Outline of Prophetic Zionism
By “prophetic Zionism” I intend the following:
Israel’s Covenant Status the Basis of Prophetic Zionism
The Jewish people remain God’s chosen people even now. St. Paul says,
As regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:28-29).
God has confirmed this special status with an indelible covenant. Actually, He has confirmed it with multiple covenants. The first of these covenants was with Abraham. Genesis 17:7-8 is explicit in stating that this covenant is both everlasting, and involves the bestowal of land.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
The Return of the Covenant People to Their Covenant Land
The return of the Jewish people to their inheritance is indeed a prophetic sign. (Thus the term “prophetic Zionism”). Jesus Himself seems to predict that His people will come back to Israel.
Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke 21:24).
That phrase “times of the Gentiles” is interesting, and we will have to deal more with that below.
Ezekiel 36
This return is not predicated by the virtue of the Jewish people returning to their homeland. One of the most vivid predictions of the return is found in Ezekiel 36. When we read this text carefully, we see that God will pour out His grace of conversion on Israel after they return to the Land.
24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
28 You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses; and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds.
What Makes Prophetic Zionism Different: Disentangling the Promise of Restoration from the Secular Jewish State of Israel
Nota bene: None of this has anything to do with a secular Jewish state. I think it is a serious mistake to understand these covenant promises in a strictly nationalistic manner. The prophets never envision anything like the modern state of Israel. Instead, they foretell the restoration of the Davidic dynasty in its ideal state. As a Catholic Christian, I heartily confess my faith that this prophesied government subsists in the Church as ruled over by Jesus the Messiah. Like all human systems of government, including our own, the state of Israel stands in opposition to the reign of Jesus in numerous ways.
The Government of Israel Has Been Instituted by God … Like Every Other Government
Even if the state of Israel is not an ideal political system, in His providence God has been using it to achieve His righteous purposes, as He does with all human governments. What Paul says of the Roman government in Romans 13 applies to Israel’s government, as well:
1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
The Government of Israel Can Serve God’s Purposes and Still Not Be Ideal
It seems to me that the particular purpose for which God has used Israel is to encourage His people to return to their inheritance.
But remember: Paul is writing this in regards to the very government that will eventually behead him for his subversive activities! Revelation 13 describes this same government as a satanically inspired monster! And make no mistake, as with all human governments, there is plenty about the state of Israel that bears the odor of the beast of Revelation 13.
Romans 11
For Catholic Christians, any discussion about the future destiny of the Jewish people has to include St. Paul’s prophecy in Romans 11.
25 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, 26 and so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
The reference to the “full number of the Gentiles” reminds us of Jesus’ words in Luke 21:24. Considering the connection between Luke and Paul, this parallel seems to be intentional. It seems very likely that Paul believed that the return of Israel to their homeland would accompany an even more dramatic spiritual restoration.
The Land Belongs to … God!!!
Technically, according to the Scriptures, the Land of Israel does not belong to the Jews, (or any other people!), but to God alone. “The land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Leviticus 25:23). The use of “strangers and sojourners” here is key, because these words usually designate foreigners. So, though God has given Israel an explicit legal right to dwell in this land, their legal status is not terribly different from that of aliens.
Finally, according to Ezekiel 47, foreign peoples living in Israel are to be granted equal rights with the Jewish people!!!!
21 So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as native-born sons of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the alien resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, says the Lord God.
Prophetic Zionism and Catholic Dogma
These statements, taken together, constitute what I intend by “prophetic Zionism.” It is distinct from what usually falls under the titles of “Christian Zionism” or “biblical Zionism” in that it is intentionally aloof towards classical, secular Zionism as enshrined in the modern state of Israel.
I must confess that “prophetic Zionism” is not part of the defined dogma of the Catholic Church. It is merely my attempt to take seriously the things about Israel that I find written in the Scriptures. But the Catholic Catechism does explicitly anticipate the spiritual restoration of Israel as a necessary eschatological development:
The glorious Messiah’s coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by “all Israel”, for “a hardening has come upon part of Israel” in their “unbelief” toward Jesus. St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.”
St. Paul echoes him: “For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” The “full inclusion” of the Jews in the Messiah’s salvation, in the wake of “the full number of the Gentiles”, will enable the People of God to achieve “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”, in which “God may be all in all”.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 674
Conclusion
This “‘full inclusion’ of the Jews in the Messiah’s salvation” does not require the return of the Jewish people to their homeland. But I think the fact that Paul’s words in Romans 11 about the “full number of the Gentiles” echo what Jesus says in Luke 24:21 about Jerusalem being trodden down by the Gentiles until their time is fulfilled strongly suggests that they are connected.
For excellent commentary from a different perspective, check out what Jimmy Akin had to say about this several years back. He focuses on the legal ownership of the land and the legitimacy of the Jewish state, however. As stated above, Torah is pretty clear in its assertion that the land does not belong to any particular nation, but to God alone. And part of what I am trying to do here is demonstrate that the covenant-right of the Jewish people to live in the land of Israel is not essentially dependent upon a Jewish state exerting sovereignty over this territory.
But I do anticipate some objections, and I will try to deal with a few of these below.
Anticipated Objections
Didn’t the death of Jesus put an end to the Law of Moses and the Old Covenant?
No. We have to take Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17-18 seriously:
17 Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. 18 For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
Some commentators have attempted to identify the crucifixion with “all” being accomplished. But this is not a natural reading of the text. Surely Jesus is simply saying that Torah remains in force until the end of time. Here I appeal to my principle of the kerygmatic burden. Does it really make sense that the Gospel author would include three extensive chapters of Jesus’ exposition of Torah if everything that He had to say there was now defunct? Likewise, in regards to the covenant with Israel, there is ample testimony in both the Old and New Testament that this covenant will never be repealed. We already saw that God promised Abraham an everlasting covenant in Genesis 17:7. Paul confirms that this covenant is irrevocable in Romans 11:29.
Wasn’t God’s covenant with Israel conditional?
No. But this will require a bit of explanation. First of all, there is undeniably a conditional aspect to all of God’s covenants. He does not force us to remain in relationship with Him. So, yes, we can remove ourselves from the benefits of the covenant. Deuteronomy 28 offers a vivid illustration of this conditional aspect.
1And if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
In the verses that follow, He describes these blessings in detail, and he describes the curses that attend disobedience in even more detail. But the entire testimony of the Bible demonstrates that even when Israel is unfaithful, God is faithful to His covenant. One example is Hosea 11:
8 How can I give you up, O E′phraim!
How can I hand you over, O Israel!
How can I make you like Admah!
How can I treat you like Zeboi′im!
My heart recoils within me,
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my fierce anger,
I will not again destroy E′phraim;
for I am God and not man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come to destroy.
The New Testament confirms this in 2 Timothy 2:13:
If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.
So, God never repeals His covenants, but we can remove ourselves from the benefits of covenant blessing.
Isn’t the Church the new Israel?
No. This supposition is often supported with a misuse of a statement from the Vatican II document Ad Gentes section 5 (later cited in paragraph 877 of the Catechism): “The Apostles were the first budding-forth of the New Israel.” But of course the Apostles were all a part of Old Israel, as well, so the intent here probably has to do more with the correspondence of the Twelve Apostles to the Twelve Patriarchs of the Tribes of Israel. It is a renewal of Israel, but not a replacement of Israel with something else. And this is abundantly clear in Romans 11.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. … 24 For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.
So, there is one tree, Israel. God didn’t uproot Israel and replace it with another tree, the Church. No, Gentile Christians have simply been grafted onto the ancient trunk of Israel.