7 BIBLICAL reasons why I'm not a Christian Zionist (Part 1)

Summary

In this video, Disciple Dojo delves into a thought-provoking exploration of why they do not subscribe to Christian Zionism, a significant movement influencing American and global political landscapes. The discussion centers on theological arguments, moving beyond mere political stances to root in biblical interpretation. The video's message emphasizes theological accuracy, plus respectful discourse amidst differing views, reinforcing the need for deep scriptural understanding while addressing controversial topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Highlights

• Disciple Dojo urges everyone to critically assess their theological beliefs and engage with opposing views for deeper understanding. 🔍
• The discourse separates Christian love for Jewish people from support for the political state of Israel. 🚫
• The video stresses that the land belongs to God, and Jewish claims without Torah adherence are biblically unjustified. 🌏
• Disciple Dojo promotes engaging, respectful conversations even when tearing down certain theological systems. 🗨
• The video highlights the importance of not conflating Jewish identity with the political state of Israel. 🎯

Key Takeaways

• Disciple Dojo challenges Christian Zionism by emphasizing rigorous theological study. 📚
• The video distinguishes between supporting the Jewish people and supporting a political state based on Zionism. ⚖️
• Christian Zionism is critiqued for conflating biblical covenant narratives with modern political entities. 🌍
• The primary argument distinguishes God's ownership of the land over any national claims. 🌿
• Followers of Jesus are urged to pursue theological accuracy over political alignment. ✝️

Overview

Disciple Dojo opens this series by questioning Christian Zionism from a biblical perspective, inviting viewers to thoroughly examine their own beliefs. The message centers on engaging with theological rigor and openness to opposing views, fostering an environment where nuanced discussions shape comprehensive understanding.

Central to the video's argument is the delineation between political and theological support for the state of Israel, challenging the ideology that modern land claims are inherently religious. By highlighting God's explicit ownership of land and dismissing modern nationalistic interpretations without covenantal adherence, the video calls for a shift from political allegiance to scriptural fidelity.

Encouraging viewers to embrace complex discussions, Disciple Dojo deconstructs the conflation of faith and politics, advocating for love and respect for all people while critically assessing Zionist ideologies. The series embarks on an enlightening journey to re-evaluate longstanding theological concepts and their implications today.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:00: Introduction In this chapter titled 'Introduction,' the focus is on encouraging individuals to critically examine their theological beliefs, urging them to challenge long-held teachings through rigorous study and by considering opposing perspectives. This approach is deemed especially crucial in theology intersecting with ethics and political issues, highlighting the importance of thoughtful discourse in these overlapping areas.
• 02:00 - 05:00: Personal Experience and Motivation The chapter explores the importance of being specific, nuanced, charitable, and biblical in beliefs and arguments, with a particular focus on followers of Jesus. It touches upon the concept of Christian Zionism, referencing past discussions and debates, including private debates with fellow evangelicals.
• 05:00 - 10:00: Understanding Christian Zionism The chapter "Understanding Christian Zionism" explores discussions between conservative radio host Dr. Michael Brown and a speaker at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Brown is recognized as a Messianic Jewish scholar and a strong supporter of Zionism. The chapter reviews events in the Middle East, indicating that the issues extend beyond the recent escalation that supposedly began on October 7th, stressing that the conflict's roots stretch further back in history. To provide additional context, supplementary video resources are mentioned for deeper insight.
• 10:00 - 15:00: Christian Duty and Nationalism The speaker discusses their long-standing interest and involvement in the topic of Christian duty and nationalism. They emphasize that although this may be a new subject for many individuals, it is a familiar and deeply rooted issue for them, having engaged with it for over a decade. Furthermore, the speaker expresses openness to having their views challenged or debated.
• 15:00 - 25:00: First Biblical Reason against Christian Zionism The chapter discusses the perspective of a friend who is a strong supporter of the modern state of Israel. This individual views modern Israel as a continuation of biblical Israel. He believes that by honoring modern Israel, he is also honoring God and His covenant with the Jewish people. The chapter likely delves into how these views align or conflict with Christian Zionism, exploring biblical reasoning behind these beliefs.

7 BIBLICAL reasons why I'm not a Christian Zionist (Part 1) Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 here at Disciple Dojo we try to encourage people to challenge their theological views and to never be afraid to question what they've always been taught about something until they've had a chance to do rigorous in-depth study and to hear opposing views that's important for any area of theology but it's particularly important when areas of theology overlap with areas of ethics and when those get brought into the sphere of political that's when it is
• 00:30 - 01:00 crucial absolutely crucial for followers of Jesus in particular to be specific and nuanced charitable and biblical in whatever it is we believe and whatever position we're arguing for we've talked about here on the channel before the concept of Christian Zionism if you haven't seen it I'll link to that video in the description below i've debated with fellow evangelicals both privately and in a
• 01:00 - 01:30 public forum i'll link to the video I did at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary with conservative radio show host Dr michael Brown who is also a Messianic Jewish scholar and a staunch proponent of Zionism and with what's been going on in the Middle East particularly for the past year and a half but it didn't start on October 7th it's been going on long before that i have a video I'll link that as well from
• 01:30 - 02:00 about 11 years ago that I shot while I was over there this is an issue this is not new this may be new to a lot of people but it's not new in general and and it's not new to me it's something like I said I have been heavily invested in this area of of discussion and study and interaction for over a decade now this really is a deep-seated issue to me and I'm happy to have anything I say on it challenged pushed back against
• 02:00 - 02:30 because I think that's ultimately how we get better in in our views whatever they are and so this video is going to be um it's based on a blog post that a friend who who is a very strong supporter of the modern state of Israel because he sees it as a continuation of biblical Israel and therefore because of how God speaks about biblical Israel he then sees part of of honoring God and his heart for the Jewish people he sees that
• 02:30 - 03:00 as tied to fundamentally how we view look at and support the modern state of Israel which claims to represent the Jewish people and he and I have a good relationship i love him to death we we very much disagree on the politics of the situation but we both love the Lord and we both love people and we both at the end of the day want to love people in a way that honors the Lord so he asked me if I would write uh all of my reasons why I don't hold to the position
• 03:00 - 03:30 known as Christian Zionism and I said "Sure I'd be happy to." And and so I wrote it up as a a post on the website Disciple Dojo's website uh we have a blog a lot of people viewing this channel may not even know that but I wanted to make it also available here on YouTube because let's be honest a lot of people don't read blogs they'd rather watch something than read something and and I'm not faulting them for that there are times when I'd rather watch something than read something as well so I wanted to bring that content and present it here to our YouTube audience
• 03:30 - 04:00 as as a friendly challenge disciple Dojo is all about sparring and sometimes sparring means you you take some hard throws and and some you know some tough hits and that's okay because the goal again is not to tear one another down but it's to build each other up and now in the process some theological systems may need to be torn down but that has no bearing on on the people who hold to those systems at least that's my approach so in this video that's what we're going to look at we're going to look at seven reasons i'm going to give
• 04:00 - 04:30 you seven biblical reasons these will not be political reasons and and I'll give a disclaimer uh right up front you can hold any number of political positions and still these biblical reasons I think apply all seven of them so let's get right into [Applause] [Music] it now if you're not familiar with Christian Zionism again check out the
• 04:30 - 05:00 video the intro video we've done here on the channel but it is by far the most politically influential view in the last century of American politics i'd say you've seen rallies with Christians United for Israel Kufi or Kufi headed up by John Hegy out in Texas their rallies are a who's who of of American political leaders both Democrats and Republicans they along with Apac are are super PAC
• 05:00 - 05:30 donors and pretty much drive bipartisan American foreign policy in the Middle East this is none of this is controversial they they openly state this and brag about this uh on their website and in their fundraising efforts this is not a Democrat or a Republican thing this is across the board so let's talk about Christian Zionism and why seven reasons why I'm not one of them the definition Christian Zionism and this is what I'm so you'll know what I'm
• 05:30 - 06:00 referring to i'm referring specifically to the belief among many Christians that the Holy Land belongs exclusively to the Jewish people this is key zionism and and particularly Christian Zionism zionism is not a Christian movement it was originally a secular movement started by European Jews uh at the late 1800s picked up steam in the early 1900s it's not a slur using the word Zionist is not an insult the the first
• 06:00 - 06:30 gatherings were the World Zionist Congress so take away all the baggage we're just going to speak as plainly as possible using the terms themselves so you had Zionism and then Christian Zionism was a belief that arose among Christians that as part of the unfolding of biblical prophecy God was going to reather Jews back into the Holy Land particularly Jerusalem all of Jerusalem that they would have sovereignty over it
• 06:30 - 07:00 that they he would reestablish the nation of Israel and then there would be various end time schemes that come from that but it had to happen first and a lot of the time Christian Zionists would also say and things like the temple needs to be rebuilt so you'll have Christian Zionists who are heavy into supporting things like the breeding program for the red heers so that they can be taken over to Israel and they can be used or some are already over in Israel and they their ashes can be used to consecrate the ground when the third
• 07:00 - 07:30 temple is built now of course the problem is right now Al Axa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are sitting where that temple will or would be built so for the temple to be built that's got to come down and and Christian Zionists may have different views on how that's going to happen some may think it's an act of God uh unfortunately some may think it's going to be an act of man that that the temple that the Dome of the Rock should be destroyed so that the temple can be built and then there are different streams of Jewish Zionist thought that
• 07:30 - 08:00 think along the same lines as well but the difference is most Jewish Zionists they don't tie Zionism to an esquetology they see Zionism as you'll hear it popularly phrased people like Ben Shapiro Abraham Foxman any of the Apac spokespeople you know they'll phrase it as all Zionism is is the belief that the Jewish people have a right to live in safety and to determine their own national destiny that's how Zionism is
• 08:00 - 08:30 is usually presented um in the public sphere but the key is in order for a people to determine its own national destiny in a land where there are other people outside of that people group then that means that their national destiny must by default come at the expense in this case of Palestinian national destiny so you have two peoples that want to determine their own national destiny that that say they should live
• 08:30 - 09:00 in safety that Jerusalem should be their capital and so in that instance you got two people claiming the same thing they either got to share it or something's got to give so Christian Zionism is the belief that the claims by Palestinians most Christian Zionists they don't even think Palestinians exist you'll hear Mike Huckabe uh Marco Rubio Nikki Haley you you'll hear a lot of these pundits you also hear people on the left as well it's it's not a left right thing uh you'll hear a lot of people claim well
• 09:00 - 09:30 Palestine doesn't exist or the Palestinians didn't exist or if they do exist they don't really have a claim to the land because we the Jewish people or for Christians they the Jewish people were there first they were driven out of the land and now they've come home so it's their land god gave them the deed they tie it back to Genesis 12 god's promise to Abraham and his offspring which we'll look at in a minute and so it's the belief that and this is important that the land the holy land from the river to the sea that's a phrase that both sides use by the way
• 09:30 - 10:00 not just Palestinians but Israelis use that phrase as well uh from the river to the sea from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea that belongs exclusively to the Jewish people and and and you can hear any presentation John Hegy's done on this he's probably the most bombastic in this claim but but there are so many others as well david Jeremiah and K Arthur and and all of these others you'll hear the same thing and so Christian Zionism is the belief that the land belongs exclusively to the Jewish people and so the modern state of
• 10:00 - 10:30 Israel is the fulfillment or a fulfillment or part of the fulfillment to God's promises to reather them to reather his people and so some will say "Oh it happened in 1948." And some will say "No because Israel didn't fully control Jerusalem until 1967." So they'll say "That's when it happened." and others will say "No they still don't completely control it because Palestinians are there uh the Dome of the Rock's still there the temple hasn't been rebuilt all this stuff so it's still a future date." This is where various esquetologies start to splinter
• 10:30 - 11:00 off what they all have in common is they believe that it the land belongs only to the Jewish people and no one else and therefore Christian Zionism believes that the state of Israel the modern state of Israel should be politically financially and morally supported by Christians as a reflection of our faith in faithfulness to God's purposes in this world i had Michael
• 11:00 - 11:30 Brown tell me "If you're not standing with Israel you are working against God's purpose in the world you're not on God's side i've had other friends say it very similar language uh some more direct some less direct but this is a common charge among Zionists towards those who are not is that it is part of your Christian duty and no one beats this drum louder than John Haggy but also Mike Huckabe too i mean he's you know the ambassador to Israel now and
• 11:30 - 12:00 you know David Freriedman and others may have done it come at it from a more secular angle but from a Christian angle christian Zionism says it is your duty as a Christian to completely support the state of Israel no matter what that's why you'll see Christians wearing the Star of David necklaces or or getting tattoos with it you'll see um in Israel the tourism industry is huge that caters to Christian Zionists so you'll see a lot of uh t-shirts and stickers and
• 12:00 - 12:30 things having to do with like the lion of Judah is going to roar um don't worry America Israel's got your back meaning because you stand with us and there's pictures of helicopters and tanks meaning because you stand with us God's going to stand with you there's there's just so many of the Christian tours that go to the Holy Land are operated from this perspective of you have to stand with Israel you have to bless Israel you have to support Israel you have to give to organizations that bring Jews to Israel as a Christian that's your
• 12:30 - 13:00 Christian duty now they often don't tell you that the land that they bring a lot of the European Jews to is land is is in the West Bank that there settlements and so they're actually bringing them and giving them Palestinian land which is part of the ongoing issue and and at the heart of it whereas Zionists would say "No that's not Palestine doesn't exist that's Judea and Samaria." You'll hear that referred to if you're watching events and and you hear somebody talk about Judea and Samaria you you can rest
• 13:00 - 13:30 assured that is a Zionist perspective now they may not be Christian Zionist uh but that Christian Zionist and Zionist both will use that language of Judea and Samaria rather than the West Bank or even worse for them Palestine so this is Christian Z this is Christian Zionism key points this is what I am saying i do not believe is that the land belongs exclusively by biblical warrant to the Jewish people and no one else and that
• 13:30 - 14:00 it is the duty of Christians to support in all ways the modern state of Israel those are the two beliefs that are encapsulated by Christian Zionism now before we even get into the seven reasons got to say this right up front some of you it's probably already too late you've already started typing or um are planning what you're going to say to me as being anti-semitic that this is you know this is Jew hatred
• 14:00 - 14:30 anti-semitism it should go without saying and sadly it doesn't particularly in our current political climate that opposition to Zionism is not opposition to Judaism or to the Jewish people see many Zionists as well as many anti-ionists like legit racist anti-semite ites what they have in common is they conflate the state of Israel with the Jewish people and and they see them as the same so for the people who are pro-Zionist and pro-
• 14:30 - 15:00 Israel well of course Israel is just the state of the Jewish people and so we love Israel because we love the Jewish people like the two are mixed and for the anti-semites it's Israel is evil and doing all these evil things in the world because they are Jews and therefore we because we hate what Israel is doing we hate the Jews and that's the irony is is conflating Judaism with Zionism is a tactic from both sides playbook but it it's just that it is conflation israel
• 15:00 - 15:30 the majority of Jews do not live in Israel israel politically likes to tout itself to the world as speaking for all Jews or being like the escape hatch if things get really bad anywhere in the world and that's a reasonable thing for Jews to fear given the 20th century that they can escape to Israel they always have that option to make aliyah and to be safe in their land so there's a very politically driven motivation to conflate the two but it also comes from reading the Hebrew Bible where Israel
• 15:30 - 16:00 and the Jewish people for most of the Hebrew Bible up until the exile were largely uh conflatable we'll see why that's not quite true in just a minute even in Torah and the early prophets but it is it's crucial to understand that that there are many not just some there are many anti-Zionist Jews there are many people who are thoroughly Jewish religious secular everything in between and they're anti-Zionism if you've seen
• 16:00 - 16:30 the film it came out about a year or so ago called Israelism it's done by a young Jewish woman and and a number of uh people raised American Jewish kids raised to be Zionist and then going and experiencing things over there and coming back and realizing this is not what I was brought up to believe and so the documentary chronicles that struggle and and it's it's it's fascinating and excellent and I actually some of my friends were in that movie so I highly
• 16:30 - 17:00 recommend watching it it's available on YouTube just look up Israelism and you can find it somewhere but it's important to say that's that's the first premise and I need to make that clear because as a teacher of the Hebrew Bible as someone who regularly interacts with Jewish scholarship and Jewish thinkers it's important to make that loud and clear especially here on YouTube that I believe every Christian every Christian has a biblical duty to love the Jewish
• 17:00 - 17:30 people that I'll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Zionists on that where we're going to part ways is when you try to extend that love to a people and apply it to a modern political entity a country then no then you've moved from ethics into nationalism and if you want to know why nationalism is bad see our superhero seminary episode where Professor Captain America behind me talks all about that so that's the first disclaimer and also
• 17:30 - 18:00 I I have to stress this what I'm going to say these seven points in no way negate the notion that Jewish people should be able to live in safety anywhere in the world including in the Holy Land some people who are anti-Zionist think "Oh all therefore Jews need to go." I I'm that's not what I'm going to be arguing and we'll see why but I want to be as clear about this as I can possibly be because I know some people already will try to dismiss this
• 18:00 - 18:30 as anti-Semitic and and those are people that they're not engaging in in truth they're engaging in smearing they're they're engaging in slander or liable they aren't interested in truth they're interested in in rhetoric and posturing i've dealt with them for over a decade now you can't do much except use them to show a watching world how blatantly dishonest they're being and I also don't want anyone to use any point that I make in this presentation to justify their
• 18:30 - 19:00 own genuine anti-semitism in the words of uh the Pharisee Shaol of Tarsus Saul Paul the Apostle may goto may it not be God forbid so nothing in this should be taken as in any way being anti-Jewish people or anti the religion of Judaism and if that's what you're looking for you're not going to find an ally here so let's start with the reasons here's reason one the main reason I'm not a Christian Zionist and that I also oppose
• 19:00 - 19:30 Jewish Zionism so both forms of Zionism but I'm a Christian so I'm speaking mainly to fellow Christians in this presentation because the land belongs to God and God alone he makes this clear in Torah that the land does not belong to Israel at best they are residents to whom he is leasing it covenant Israel and that's an important term you'll hear me say it a lot covenant Israel that is Israel in the Hebrew Bible that was in covenant the Sinai covenant the Mosaic
• 19:30 - 20:00 covenant the Levitical covenant whatever you want to call it that Israel theocratic Israel were to be stewards of the land and to reside there as foreigners the land does not belong to them and Torah makes it abundantly clear on multiple occasions that their remaining in the land is directly contingent upon their faithfulness to the covenant those two are inseparable broken covenant no right to the land we see this in Leviticus 25:23 i've just
• 20:00 - 20:30 pulled up the Christian Standard Bible it's a fairly popular translation particularly among evangelical and Baptists uh but you can read any translation you prefer and you're going to see the same thing leviticus 25:23 "The land is not to be permanently sold because it is mine and you are only aliens and temporary residents on my land." This is God speaking and you can see here's the text i just pulled it up in NIV niv uses the phrase uh you reside
• 20:30 - 21:00 as foreigners and strangers but here's what God tells Israelitz for to me is the land strangers foreigners aliens gr sojourners is this term at strangers in the land that's how the Septuagent translates it parocoy so you are gimm that's what you are Israel God is saying and then Leviticus 18 the
• 21:00 - 21:30 beginning or opening of the holiness code the first part is like kind of the heart of the heart of Torah god's giving Israel the requirements for what they're going to do how they're going to live once they get into the land and look what he warns them chapter 18:4 "Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices." And he's this is the sex chapter so all the crazy sexual practices of the Egyptians and the Canaanites God's saying you're not going to do that for the nations I'm driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things the land has become
• 21:30 - 22:00 defiled so I am punishing it for its iniquity and the land will vomit out its inhabitants this is what God's saying the land is going to do israel is coming in to take the land from the Amorites is because God has decided that the Amorites are going to be vomited out of the land like they've made it they've made the land so sick with their iniquity that the land is is just purging them vomiting them out it's a very graphic image so look what he says to Israel verse 26 but you are to keep
• 22:00 - 22:30 my statutes and ordinances you must not commit any of these detestable acts not the native or the alien who resides among you for the people who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable acts and the land has become defiled here's the key leviticus 18:28 "If you defile the land it will vomit you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you." This is God's promise to Israel this is after the promise to Abraham "To your
• 22:30 - 23:00 offspring I give this land." After all of that God puts clear covenant stipulations on their ability to remain in the land you can also see this we won't read through it um you can look at this on your own read all of Leviticus chapter 26 when God is giving like what he's going to do these are the blessings that I'll bestow as the covenant king you know I'll look with favor on you make you fruitful increase your numbers that's his part as their covenant lord
• 23:00 - 23:30 but then in verse 14 it shifts but if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands and if you reject my decrees and abhore my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant then I will do this to you and it gets rough these are all the covenant curses that God says he is going to bring upon Israel all of the devastation all of the exile i will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste
• 23:30 - 24:00 your sanctuaries i'll take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings i myself will lay waste to the land so that your enemies who live there will be appalled i will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you your land will be laid waste and your cities will lie in ruins so the key point reason number one that I am not a Christian Zionist is because it is unjustified biblically apart from covenant faithfulness apart from faithfulness to Torah not some later uh
• 24:00 - 24:30 rabbitic adaptation of Torah in exile after the temple was destroyed torah faithfulness to Torah as put forward by Moses on Mount Si apart from that no Israelite had any claim whatsoever to the land according to Torah itself in no inherent claim to the land now what I'm not saying again I'm not saying that this means that no Israelite can live there what I'm saying because Israelites stayed throughout the exile there were
• 24:30 - 25:00 always pockets of people that remain i'm not don't hear what I'm not saying what I'm saying is the claim for national ownership of the land is null and void apart from covenant obedience that's Torah 101 [Applause] [Music]