I have previously written how Dispensationalism, which is the root that produced Christian Zionism, opposes the New Covenant. In this article I will show that Christian Zionism also contradicts Jesus’ own words. My goal in this series of articles is to illustrate that Dispensationalism and Christian Zionism both oppose the clear teachings of Jesus and the New Testament. This I believe will help the reader move from a misguided Israel-centered eschatology to a proper New Covenant Jesus-focused view of salvation and the end times. Through ignorance of God’s Word we should not allow Israel to usurp what belongs to Christ alone.
Example #1
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34 “When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35 “The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 “Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37 “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’? 43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet. Matthew 21:33–46 (NASB95)
This parable clearly illustrates Israel’s ongoing hostile attitude toward Jesus the Lord. They killed him and are still doing their best to usurp Jesus’ kingdom for themselves. This is despite the fact that God summarily destroyed the city, temple, and nation in 70 AD at the hands of the Romans, just as Jesus prophesied. Except for those descendants of Abraham who are part of God’s elect and confess Christ is Lord, the Jews still oppose Jesus, which makes them, by definition, anti-Christ. The kingdom has been given to another people, who before were not a people. (Romans 9:25-26) This new people is called the church, which is composed of both Jew and Gentile. The church is also called the body of Christ, “one new man in Christ,” (Ephesians 2:15) and the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). One becomes part of this nation (1 Peter 2:9) through the new birth. Biological inheritance has no meaning whatsoever in God’s New Covenant kingdom.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:10–13 (NKJV)
Example #2
33 Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm [literally: from here].” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:33–37 (NASB95)
Jesus own testimony is that his kingdom is not of this world or “from here.” He rules over the kingdom of heaven, a very real place where he now sits at his Father’s right hand waiting for his enemies to made his footstool. (Luke 20:42-43, Ephesians 1:20, Hebrews 8:1) At this point in history, the earth is a battleground that is destined to be destroyed and replaced along with the current heaven. (2 Peter 3:10-13) God sits in heaven and laughs at his enemies who conspire to throw off his rule. (Psalm 2:1-4) This ongoing conspiracy among the nations includes the Jewish people who have not submitted themselves to Christ’s rule. All of the efforts to secure the land of Palestine by modern day Jews is an illegitimate attempt to do so with authorization from God. It is impossible for natural born Jewish people to inherit God’s spiritual kingdom, which can only be inherited spiritually from Christ through the new birth. Trying to build a physical kingdom on earth through natural means is misguided and doomed to failure.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 1 Corinthians 15:50 (NKJV)
Example #3
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” John 8:37–47 (NKJV)
This passage undoes every argument that physical descendants of Abraham are still God’s chosen people. Jesus made it clear that those biologically descended from Abraham are not automatically God’s children. This agrees with Jesus’ authoritative statement, “You must be born again.” (John 3:7) The new birth is the only way into God’s New Covenant kingdom. Biological descent means absolutely nothing.
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. Romans 9:6–8 (NKJV)
Jesus went further to assert that the father of the Jews who refuse his rule is the devil. As a result of the New Covenant, there are two groups of people in the world – those who are God’s born-again children and those who are not and are, by default, children of the devil. A remnant of biological descendants of Abraham have and will come to Christ, but the rest are lost. Those who refuse to acknowledge Christ as Lord are “not of God” according to Jesus. This agrees with John’s other statements.
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:22–23 (NKJV) 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. John 15:23 (NKJV)
Isn’t it about time for Christians to agree with what God’s Word says rather than continue to believe the teachings of a convicted fraudster named Cyrus Scofield? Those who refuse to confess that Christ is Lord cannot possibly be God’s “chosen people.” There is only one chosen people, those who are elect in Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3–6 (NKJV)
In fact, according to Jesus, those who refuse to believe in him are not God’s at all. This includes both Jews and Gentiles who reject Christ. Jews are not a special class of people to whom Jesus’ words do not apply. The ground is level at the foot of the cross, and in Christ all are equal.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26–29 (NKJV)
