Earthly Kingdom by Force or Spiritual Kingdom by God? Dispensationalism and Zionism.

Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.”

John 18:36 (LEB)

Yeshua walked the earth in the first century at a time when Judea was controlled by Rome. There was a difference of opinion then, as now, as to how God was going to establish His kingdom. Was it going to be a military operation with a zealous leader who would defeat the Romans, or a miraculous, supernatural move of God where there would be a metaphysical change on earth?

Both dispensationalism theology and political Zionism are belief systems where the holy land is reclaimed by bullets and bombs or by some other political means. Dispensationalism theology teaches that the “Jews” will obtain an earthly kingdom and rebuild the temple of God. The “church” is somehow a separate people of God, and Jesus Christ will come rescue them in a secret rapture, while the “Jews” are fighting for their kingdom. There is a disagreement whether Jesus Christ will conduct this secret rapture before the temple is built or after, at a time when an antichrist figure will defile the temple. This is what they call “pre-trib”, “mid-trib” and “post-trib” rapture theories. This is a great over simplification, but it is the nuts and bolts of this theology system.

Zionism works hand in hand with the evangelical dispensational belief system because it is about the Jews returning to the holy land. Theodor Herzl wrote the following in his book, A Jewish State, which he wrote in 1898!

“Should the powers declare themselves willing to admit our sovereignty over a neutral piece of land, then the Society will enter into negotiations for the possession of this land. Here two territories come under consideration, Palestine and Argentina. In both countries important experiments in colonization have been made, though on the mistaken principle of a gradual infiltration of Jews. An infiltration is bound to end in disaster. It continues till the inevitable moment when the native population feels itself threatened, and forces the government to stop the further influx of Jews. Immigration is consequently futile unless based on an assured supremacy.“

If one ever wonders why protestants and evangelical Christians are so obsessed with the nation state of Israel formed in the land of Palestine in 1948, we need not to look any further than dispensationalism theology that makes this “Jewish state” a fulfillment of their view of prophecy. It also fits the plan of early Zionists such as Theodor Herzl. The two fit together like two peas in a pod.

The interesting aspect of both philosophies is that they are void of the workings of God and rely completely on political means to obtain their results. It is as if God has His hands tied and needs to work with United Nations and Arab states to fulfill prophecy. Here is another quote from Herzl’s book, A Jewish State.

“The Society will be the new Moses of the Jews. The undertaking of that great and ancient gestor of the Jews in primitive days bears much the same relation to ours that an old opera bears to a modern one. We are playing the same melody with many more violins, flutes, harps violinchellos, and bass-viols: with electric light, decorations, choirs, beautiful costumes, and with the first singers of their day.”

The problem with Herzl’s vision and Zionism is that Moses was lead by God. It’s as if the Exodus was a primitive event without the hand of God involved at all.

Exodus 3:10–12 (LEB): ¹⁰ And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you must bring my people, the Israelites, out from Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out from Egypt?” ¹² And he said, “Because I am with you, and this will be the sign for you that I myself have sent you: When you bring the people out from Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.”

On the evangelical side, they completely ignore the prophecies that show a metaphysical change in the world when the Messiah returns to gather his people. Many think this happened in 1948 with the creation of the political state of Israel; however, that place does not describe anything close to the kingdom of God described in the prophets.

Isaiah 11:1–10 (LEB)

11 And a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit. ² And the spirit of Yahweh shall rest on him—a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh. ³ And his breath is in the fear of Yahweh. And he shall judge not by his eyesight, and he shall rebuke not by what he hears with his ears. ⁴ But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, and he shall decide for the needy of the earth with rectitude. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and he shall kill the wicked person with the breath of his lips. ⁵ And righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. ⁶ And a wolf shall stay with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie down with a kid, and a calf and a lion and a fatling together as a small boy leads them. ⁷ And a cow and a bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together. And a lion shall eat straw like the cattle. ⁸ And an infant shall play over a serpent’s hole, and a toddler shall put his hand on a viper’s hole. ⁹ They will not injure and they will not destroy on all of my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰ And this shall happen on that day: the nations shall inquire of the root of Jesse, which shall be standing as a signal to the peoples, and his resting place shall be glorious.

This prophecy in Isaiah is void of bombs, bullets, navies and armies. The wicked will perish at the breath of Messiah’s lips. More interesting is how Yeshua describes the kingdom of God. Is this why dispensationlists will say that “the words in red are not for the church”? Meaning, Yeshua was not speaking to Christians, only Jews. Not all dispensationalists teach this, but there are many that do. They have to distance themselves from the Gospels and books like Revelation in order to make their theology work.

Revelation 19:15 (LEB): ¹⁵ And out of his mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it he could strike the nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the wine of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful.

Yeshua spent a lot of time describing the kingdom of God, and he was not describing a scenario where he would over throw Rome and retake the land. It was always a grander scale and appears to be after the resurrection of the dead, yet also here and now, if we choose to partake.

Luke 13:23–30 (LEB): ²³ And someone said to him, “Lord, are there only a few who are saved?” And he said to them, ²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able to, ²⁵ when once the master of the house has gotten up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ And he will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from!’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets!’ ²⁷ And he will reply, saying to you, ‘I do not know where you are from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ ²⁸ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown outside! ²⁹ And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Our job as followers of Yeshua is to walk like he walked, following his Father’s instructions, and to watch for the signs of his coming, not being deceived by those claiming to represent God, yet showing no indication that they are following the ways of God.

Photo by mohammed al bardawil on Unsplash