Dear John,
Popular commentator Tucker Carlson recently claimed that “Christian Zionism” is a “heresy” and a “brain virus.” He made these remarks during his interview with Nick Fuentes, a polarizing commentator whose remarks have been broadly denounced as racist and antisemitic. Carlson’s comments are not only irresponsible; they are dangerously false and must be unequivocally rejected by Christians.
“Zionism” is simply the conviction that the Jewish people have the right to live as a sovereign nation in their ancient and historic homeland. Far from being heresy, this belief flows naturally from both historical reality and the plain teaching of Scripture. To deny the Jewish people this right is to deny history, reject God’s promises, and align oneself against the purposes of God.
Here are five of the many reasons Christians must support Israel’s right to exist.
1. The Jewish people deserve a homeland after millennia of persecution
The story of the Jewish people is marked by unimaginable suffering. From the earliest pages of Scripture, Israel faced hostile nations — including the Egyptians, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans. After the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the Jewish people were scattered across the world.
For nearly 1,900 years, they lived as strangers in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa. During that time, they experienced:
- Exclusion and forced ghettos
- Violent pogroms
- Accusations from “Christians” as “Christ-killers”
- Oppression under Islamic regimes
- The horrors of the Holocaust
- Mass imprisonment under Soviet communism
No other people in history have preserved their identity for nearly two millennia while lacking land or sovereignty. Their survival is nothing short of miraculous and a living testimony that God keeps His promises. After such relentless persecution, it is morally right — and long overdue — that they have a sovereign nation where they can live and worship in peace.
2. God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people forever
Scripture is clear: God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting possession.
Genesis 12:1–2: “Get thee out … unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation …”
Genesis 17:8: “I will give … all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
God does not revoke His covenants. To oppose the Jewish right to their land is to oppose God’s revealed will as written in Scripture.
3. Scripture commands us to bless Israel, not curse it
God’s covenant with Abraham includes a direct promise and warning to the nations:
Genesis 12:3: “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.”
Supporting Israel does not mean endorsing every policy of its government. It means aligning ourselves with God’s redemptive plan and honoring the people through whom He brought the Scriptures and the Messiah.
Israel’s calling is unique:
- “In you all families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
- “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” (Amos 3:2)
- “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:6)
- “I … will give You as a light to the Gentiles.” (Isaiah 42:6)
Some argue that the Church has “replaced” Israel. Paul refutes this plainly:
Romans 11:1–2: “Hath God cast away his people? God forbid … God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.”
Paul teaches:
- Israel’s blindness to Jesus as the Messiah is partial and temporary (11:25).
- God will graft the Jewish people back into their own olive tree (11:16–23).
- “All Israel shall be saved.” (11:26).
4. The modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of prophecy
Jesus foretold not only the destruction of Jerusalem but also the Jewish return.
Luke 21:24: “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
The prophets likewise predicted a global regathering:
Isaiah 11:11: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people.”
Amos 9:14–15: “They shall be planted in their land, and shall no more be pulled up.”
Ezekiel 37:21–28 foretells their national, physical and spiritual restoration.
Three prophetic details in particular stand out in Israel’s modern rebirth:
Israel was reborn in a single day
Exactly as Isaiah foresaw (Isaiah 66:8), on May 14, 1948, the British Mandate ended, and Israel declared independence. The United States recognized the new state within minutes, and the nation was reborn “in a day.”
The Hebrew language was restored
No language has ever died and returned to life — except Hebrew. Zephaniah 3:9 predicted a restored “pure language,” which many see as being fulfilled in the resurrection of Hebrew as Israel’s national tongue.
Israel has repeatedly won impossible military victories
Surrounded by hostile nations and vastly outnumbered, Israel has survived — and prevailed — in conflicts that, by all natural analysis, it should have lost. Many describe these victories as miraculous and see them as fulfillments of prophetic passages like Isaiah 11:13–14.
5. Israel’s restoration signals the nearness of Christ’s return
Going back to Luke 21, immediately after discussing the end of Gentile domination, Jesus said:
“Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory … lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:27–28:
Scripture teaches that when Christ returns, He will come to Israel, defeat the nations that will be attacking her, open the eyes of the Jewish people, and rule from Jerusalem.
Israel’s rebirth is not merely political — it is prophetic. Christian Zionism is not a fringe doctrine. It is not heresy. It is not a “brain virus.”
It is the logical, moral, historical, and biblical position for Christians who take Scripture seriously.
Supporting Israel’s right to its homeland is:
- Morally right, after centuries of persecution.
- Biblically mandated, through God’s everlasting covenant.
- Spiritually wise, for God blesses those who bless Israel.
- Prophetically aligned, as Israel’s rebirth prepares the world for Christ’s return.
Supporting Israel’s right to exist, therefore, is not merely sound policy — it is a Christian duty.
