Zionism Is Absolutely Scriptural

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.

Different people think of Zionism in different ways or from different perspectives. For example, the Wikipedia page for Zionism

describes several different types of Zionism, including Political and practical Zionism, Labor Zionism, Synthetic and General Zionism, Revisionist Zionism, Religious Zionism, Liberal Zionism, and Cultural Zionism.

For the official Jewish perspective, here's a quote from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website:

"Zionism is the national movement espousing repatriation of Jews to their homeland - the Land of Israel - and the resumption of sovereign Jewish life there...
The origin of the word "Zionism" is the biblical word "Zion," often used as a synonym for Jerusalem and the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). Zionism is an ideology which expresses the yearning of Jews the world over for their historical homeland - Zion, the Land of Israel." (Zionism-an Introduction )

The "historical homeland" described in the above quote refers to the land that God had promised to Abraham's descendants (the Jews), which has very specific boundaries:

"On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates - the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."" (Genesis 15:18-21)

"The LORD said to Moses, "Command the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries: Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea, cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon, where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea. Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This will be your boundary on the west. For your northern boundary, run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad, continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north. For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee. Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.'"" (Numbers 34:1-12)

A number of prophecies throughout the Bible require the existence of a modern country of Israel, and many of those prophecies involve a regathering of modern Jews back to their historical homeland (see my article called End-Times Prophecies Are Coming to Pass Right before Our Eyes). Some of those prophecies were fulfilled in the twentieth century, and some are being fulfilled today, right in front of our eyes, and some will be fulfilled before the Second Coming, and some will be fulfilled soon after the Second Coming (see my article).

Zionism, in the sense of the Jews having a very specific homeland and returning to their homeland, is absolutely scriptural.

An issue that's difficult for us to understand is that in Abraham's time, and in Moses' time, there were other groups of people living in the land that God gave to the Jews. In the Old Testament, before Jesus came and reconciled humans to God, this is what God told the Jews to do:

[Moses is speaking to the Israelites:] "However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them - the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - as the LORD your God has commanded you." (Deuteronomy 20:16-17)

"The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent...When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it - men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys." (Joshua 6:16-21)

[The prophet Samuel is speaking to the king of Israel:] "Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys." (1 Samuel 15:3)

It's difficult for us to understand the above passages, but when we dig deeper we find God explaining in advance why He will punish specific groups of people:

"As the sun was setting, Abram [whose name was changed to Abraham in Genesis 17:5] fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."" (Genesis 15:12-16)

"The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."...So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven." Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, "Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."" (Exodus 17:8-16)

"Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Everyone who does any of these detestable things - such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 18:24-30)

"When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so." (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

"However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them - the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - as the LORD your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God." (Deuteronomy 20:16-18)

"Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'"" (1 Samuel 15:1-3)

"A song. A psalm of Asaph. O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel's name is remembered no more." With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you - the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Byblos, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to reinforce Lot's descendants." (Psalms 83:1-8)

One thing that many Christians don't seem to understand is that there are only two sides to choose from. We're either on God's side or else we're on the devil's side. Those are the only two options (see my article called We Need to See Ourselves as Soldiers in Enemy-Occupied Territory). In the above passages (and in other passages) we can see that God gave people centuries to stop being wicked and evil (toward each other, toward other people, and toward God) before He punished them. Those people continually chose to follow the devil's ways instead of God's ways, which God knew would happen (because of His omniscience), yet He waited hundreds of years before punishing them.

All throughout the Bible we see God punishing people for choosing to be wicked and evil, but why did He tell the Jews to kill the children and the animals in the above passages? It's difficult for us to understand why God gave them those commands, but the only way you're going to get an answer is to ask Him about that (see my article called How to Discern God's Guidance).

Here some things that various Bible scholars say about some of the above passages:

"The reason why they must not have the land of promise in possession till the fourth generation, is because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. The righteous God has determined, that they shall not be cut off till they are arrived to such a pitch of wickedness; and therefore till it come to that, the seed of Abram must be kept out of possession." (John Wesley's Notes on the Bible, Genesis 15:16)

"iniquity of the Amorites: In a sense, the Lord was granting a stay of execution for the peoples of Canaan (Gen 12:5). He would allow their sin to reach a critical level - the word "iniquity" (Heb. awon) also speaks of "guilt." The command of God to take the land from the Canaanite peoples (Deut. 20) would come only when their iniquity was complete." (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary, Genesis 15:16)

"The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full; but in the fourth generation they should be expelled, and the descendants of Abram established in their place. From these words we learn that there is a certain pitch of iniquity to which nations may arrive before they are destroyed, and beyond which Divine justice does not permit them to pass." (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Genesis 15:16)

"for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full; and therefore as yet would not be turned out of the land, and the seed of Abram could not till then inherit it: wicked people have a measure of iniquity to fill up, which is known of God; some are longer, some are quicker in filling it up, during which time God waits patiently and bears with them; but, when it is completed, he stays no longer, but takes vengeance on them, Mat 23:32. The Amorites were only one of the nations of the Canaanites, but were a very strong and powerful one, and are put for them all, and are the rather mentioned, because Abram at this time dwelt among them; and it seems as if there were some good men among them, such as the confederates of Abram might be, and they were not arrived to that depth of wickedness they afterwards would and did, and which brought on their ruin, and so made way for the posterity of Abram to inherit their land. Ben Melech interprets it of the punishment of the sin of the Amorites, the time for that was not come to dispossess them of their land." (John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, Genesis 15:16)

"For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. - From this simple sentence we have much to learn. First. The Lord foreknows the moral character of people. Second. In his providence he administers the affairs of nations on the principle of moral rectitude. Third. Nations are spared until their iniquity is full. Fourth. They are then cut off in retributive justice." (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, Genesis 15:16)

"God is just, and wished to permit the sin of the Amorites to be full before He would judge them (Gen 15:16). (See comments on the Amorites at Gen 14:13-16.) God would tolerate their sins until Israel under Joshua conquered Palestine. Thus the fulfillment of the promises to Abram involves a retributive judgment on the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Abram's seed would get the land - but not one hour before absolute justice required it. God had much to do before fulfilling His promise - including disciplining His nation to make it fit for receiving the promise." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord and Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, Genesis 15:11-16)

"They were to destroy the people of Canaan as part of God's judgment on those immoral peoples. But of the cities of these peoples: The people who lived in Canaan had practiced disgusting religious and social perversions for centuries. God had given them time to repent, but their judgment had come." (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy 20:15-16)

"Amalek - the powerful tribe which inhabited the country immediately to the eastward of the northern Cushites. Their territory extended over the whole of the eastern portion of the desert of Sinai to Rephidim - the earliest opponent (Deu 25:18; Exo 17:8-16) - the hereditary and restless enemy of Israel (Num 14:45; Jdg 3:13; Jdg 6:3), and who had not repented (1Sa 14:48) of their bitter and sleepless hatred during the five hundred years that had elapsed since their doom was pronounced. Being a people of nomadic habits, they were as plundering and dangerous as the Bedouin Arabs, particularly to the southern tribes. The national interest required, and God, as KING OF ISRAEL, decreed that this public enemy should be removed. Their destruction was to be without reservation or exception." (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, 1 Samuel 15:2-3)

"and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; all were to be devoted to destruction, and nothing remain to be made use of in any way, to any profit and advantage; living creatures were to be put to death, and everything else burnt and destroyed:
but slay both men and women, infant and suckling; neither sex nor age were to be regarded, no mercy and pity shown to any; they had shown none to Israel when weak and feeble, and by the law of retaliation none was to be exercised on them" (John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, 1 Samuel 15:3)

"Long before the time of Saul, in the days of the wilderness wandering, Israel had been savagely attacked from the rear by the Amalekites, a deed the Lord had promised to avenge someday (Exo 17:8-16). The time had now come, so Samuel commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites totally, that is, to "place them under the ban (herem) of holy war" (1Sa 15:3; cf. 1Sa 15:8-9, 1Sa 15:15, 1Sa 15:18, 1Sa 15:20-21; Deu 20:16-18; see comments on Jos 6:21). However, Saul was to spare the Kenites since they had shown kindness to Israel in the wilderness wandering (1Sa 15:6; cf. Exo 18:9-10 [Jethro was a Kenite, Jdg 1:16])." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord and Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1 Samuel 15:1-8)

During Old Testament times, God sometimes punished entire cities or nations for their wickedness as we've seen. During the Church Age, as described throughout the New Testament, we never see God punishing or denouncing any specific nations, cities, or peoples as He did throughout the Old Covenant period (see my article called Under the New Covenant, God Is Not Dealing with Nations, Cities, or People-Groups).