Christian Zionism––G-d’s Idea

The L-rd proclaimed that He Himself is a Zionist when He declared, “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the L-rd Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain” (Zechariah 8:3).

Zionism is simply a belief that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people by an unconditional covenant with G-d and will be the place of the L-rd’s return. For the Jewish people, it is the place where the Messiah will come to rule and reign in the earth. Although Zionism has its roots in the Bible as mentioned in the above Scripture, G-d began to restore this Zionist attitude in the hearts of many Christians as early as the 14th Century when He began to sow the seeds of reformation through men such as John Wycliffe and John Huss whose writings stirred Martin Luther. In 1517, Luther openly challenged the corruption in The Church, thereby being credited with the Reformation. As a result of the works of these men and others, the availability of the Bible was restored to the average person who could then read and study G-d’s Word, including the prophecies concerning the predicted rebirth of the Nation of Israel before the L-rd’s return.

It is clear that both the Nation of Israel and the Church are in the process of restoration. It is not surprising, therefore, that a pattern can be seen wherein biblical movements toward the restoration of the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel have coincided with renewals in the Church. This spiritual principle was revealed to the Apostle Paul, "[T]he spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual" (1 Corinthians 15:46). For that reason, we can expect natural manifestations [in the Jewish people and Israel] to precede supernatural manifestations [revival in the Church]. Church history reinforces this principle, revealing that the fate of the Church and the fate of Israel are inextricably intertwined.

In the late 16th and early 17th Centuries, with Bibles once again available to the laity, the English Puritans began to publish books on the biblical promises that spoke of the blessed future of the Jewish people. Then, in 1727, a young German nobleman named Count von Zinzendorf gathered persecuted Christians to his large estate in Germany. These Christians, the Moravians, began a prayer meeting that continued 24 hours a day and lasted for 120 years, resulting in the first Protestant missions movement. The Moravians believed that the whole world had to hear the Gospel and that Israel would have to become a nation before the L-rd’s return.

Right after this great ‘prayer meeting’ began, the First Great Awakening ‘broke out’ in America, which coincided with the first mass movement of thousands of Jews between 1739 and 1749 immigrating to Palestine (former Israel) in expectation of Messianic predictions. The Second Great Awakening in the Church also occurred during this period. And, at the end of the 120-year prayer meeting, there was a major turning point in history; the focus in Palestine switched from the town of Acre to Jerusalem as the chief city. Then followed, in 1857, a major Holy Spirit Outpouring prior to the Civil War known as the Third Great Awakening in the Church.

In 1897, Theodore Herzl held the First Zionist Congress to discuss a homeland for Jews in the former Israel. Then, in 1902, a new wave of settlers arrived from Russia and Eastern Europe to Israel in response to Russian pogroms. During the corresponding period, 1903-1907, there was a great Holy Spirit Outpouring on the Church of Wales and on the Azusa Street mission.

It is truly wondrous to consider, how the establishment of a home for the scattered and broken nation of Israel in 1948 was followed by a great wave of evangelism and healing in the Body of Christ with the anointing on such individuals as William Brenham, Oral Roberts, and Kathryn Kuhlman. We can also see how the removal of the dividing wall between east and west Jerusalem and its reunification under Israeli rule in 1967 was mirrored in the Charismatic Outpouring in the Church beginning in 1968. During this Outpouring, members of diverse Christian denominations were transcending doctrinal walls to gather in large Charismatic conferences under the wings of the Holy Spirit.

With the retaking of Jerusalem, a marvelous phenomenon began to take place in a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit; there began to be a noticeable increase in the amount of Jewish believers in Yeshua (Jesus) worldwide. This is nothing less than the beginning of the fulfillment of Romans 11:15:

“For if their rejection [the Jews] is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”

In catching the vision of what G-d is revealing through these historical parallels, we should ask: "What is the next step in G-d's plan of restoration for Israel and the Church?" G-d has a blueprint of restoration for Israel, for the Church and ultimately for the entire world. He will bring His sovereign plans to fulfillment through the instrumentality of a praying and obedient people.

The Scripture states that the spiritual temple, the dwelling place of G-d in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22), is the Church. Paul reveals that the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Yeshua Himself being the Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-21). If that which is natural [Israel] must precede that which is spiritual [the Church], could it be that the restored spiritual foundation of the apostles and prophets and its Chief Cornerstone (Yeshua) will be unveiled after the natural foundation has been laid for the restored Temple in Israel and its cornerstone set in place?

The next move of the Holy Spirit, prophesied by the prophet Joel (Joel 2:23, 24) will give birth to true prophetic and apostolic ministries that will prepare the Body for the glorious unveiling of the L-rd Yeshua in His spiritual temple, the Church. Many of G-d's people have labored in prayer to see the outpouring of this purifying Latter Rain that will 'cleanse' the Body of Christ in preparation for the end-time harvest of souls. In light of the historical parallels noted above, is it reasonable to expect the full restoration of G-d's spiritual temple without the rebuilding of His natural parallel structure?

It is time to invest prayer towards the restoration of the Temple in Israel so that we may experience that which is sure to follow: the unveiling of the Glory of the L-rd Yeshua in the midst of His spiritual temple, the Church.

While every major move of G-d on behalf of Israel coincided with a major move of G-d on behalf of the Church, all were preceded by the fervent intercession of faithful believers. These intercessors caught the vision of what G-d was about to do in His ongoing plan to restore mankind to Himself. Daniel was one of those visionaries. Let his prayer (9:2-19) also be ours for the restoration of G-d's people Israel, for the rebuilding of the Temple and ultimately for the Messiah's return.

“Then I set my face toward the L-rd G-d to make my request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes...O L-rd, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain...[C]ause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate...Do not delay for Your own sake...for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” (Excerpts from Dan. 9:4-19)