Article by David Brickner, Executive Director of Jews for Jesus

The National Council of Churches describes
Christian Zionism as “a danger to true
peace in the Middle East.” Anglican Vicar
Stephen Sizer, in his scorching and widely read
book, Christian Zionism: Roadmap to
Armageddon, attacks Christian Zionism as
“racist” and “unbiblical.”

We can shrug off such attacks on Christian
Zionism, knowing that many of its critics seem
to have little love for the Jewish people, and do
not believe that God has or will fulfill His
promises to them literally.

Yet there is a serious problem with Christian
Zionism that cannot be chalked up to the biases
or lack of balance that some critics demonstrate.
That problem ought not go without scrutiny and
censure, but unfortunately the average Christian
is unaware of it. The problem is, many Christian
Zionists are involved (some proactively, others
unknowingly) in preventing Jews from hearing
the gospel.

So maybe the time has come for us to ask, “How
Christian is today’s Christian Zionism?” Please
note the word “today’s,” because the landscape of
Christian Zionism has dramatically shifted in
recent years.

Once called “restorationism,” Christian Zionism
(which I’ll refer to as biblical Christian Zionism)
began as a two-fold belief rooted in a
commitment to Scripture. At its core was the
conviction that God would one day return the
Jewish people to the land He had given to their
ancestors and that they would finally come to
recognize Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah.
Great nineteenth century preachers such as
Simeon and Spurgeon frequently preached about
both a physical and spiritual restoration of the
Jewish people. Nineteenth century British
political leaders such as Lord Byron and Lord
Shaftesbury promoted the cause of a Jewish
homeland, while also supporting the efforts of
Jewish evangelism and missions.

In the United States, biblical Christian Zionism
was promoted by a wide range of theologians,
though it became more widespread, in part due to
the rise of dispensational theology. William
Blackstone championed the cause and rallied four
hundred American business leaders and
politicians—both Christian and Jewish—to sign a
bold statement calling for the establishment of a
Jewish homeland. That petition is known as the
BlackstoneMemorial. Blackstone was also
committed to Jewish evangelism, and founded a
Jewish mission agency known as “Life inMessiah.”
When Israel finally became a modern state in
1948, it was a glorious, faith-strengthening
confirmation of biblical Christian Zionism. And
when Jerusalem was reclaimed in 1967, many
believed the “times of the Gentiles” had been
fulfilled and the end-times scenario of rapture
and tribulation was about to unfold.

Certainly there did seem to be many Jewish people
coming to believe in Jesus in the late ’60s and early
’70s. Jews for Jesus and the widerMessianic
movement came into existence during that time.
Yet the numbers of Jesus-believing Jews, especially
in Israel, remained few. One might think that
Christian Zionism would see this as a challenge to
be met by greater fervor and commitment to
proclaiming the good news to Jewish people. But
curiously, the opposite occurred.

A new form of Christian Zionism emerged in the
mid 1970s and early 1980s; it was more political
and actually divorced itself from Jewish evangelism,
contending that a Christian’s biblical duty to the
Jews and Israel was best carried out through
providing material comfort, political support and
helping fund Jewish immigration to Israel.
These new Christian Zionist organizations, best
represented by Bridges for Peace and the
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem,
made it very clear to Jewish leaders in Israel and
abroad they had no intention of evangelizing
Jews. Some, not all, of their leaders argued that
evangelism of Jews was a waste of time and
unnecessarily offensive. Jewish evangelism, in any
case, was not a cause that would endear these
leaders to the people with whom they were
beginning to network. The hope seemed to be
that eventually those networks would help open
people’s hearts to the gospel in a way that direct
evangelism would not. If this has proven to be
the case, it is a well-kept secret.

Recently, the two above-mentioned organizations
have been dwarfed in scope and influence by the
rise of two other organizations: the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) and
Christians United For Israel (CUFI). These
financial juggernauts successfully tap into the
deep reservoir of Christian Zionist sentiment
here in America. (IFCJ raised 75 million dollars
last year. CUFI does not disclose its finances but
is on record as giving millions of dollars to
various Jewish groups in Israel each year). Both
organizations are currently run by Jewish people
who do not know Jesus: Yechiel Eckstein of IFCJ
is an Orthodox rabbi, and David Brog of CUFI
an attorney and former chief of staff to Senator
Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

These newer “Christian” Zionist organizations
have set themselves against Jewish evangelism in
ways that their predecessors did not. In his book
What Christians Should Know About Jews and
Judaism (as well as in other printed material)
Rabbi Eckstein suggests that, “The rejection of
Jesus as Messiah is the key to Jewish survival.”
Accordingly, a good deal of the money Eckstein
raises from Christians goes to organizations
whose agendas include anti-missionary activity.
As for David Brog, in an interview with
Katherine Jean Lopez on Beliefnet, he boasts on
behalf of the Christians he knows that, “I and
others who have worked with Christians in
support of Israel all report that no one has ever
tried to convert us,” and in his book Standing
With Israel he says that “While there is no
evidence that the Christian-Jewish alliance in
support of Israel [aka CUFI] facilitates the
conversion of Jews, there is evidence that the
alliance actually works to impede efforts to
convert Jews” (David Brog, StandingWith Israel,
Lake Mary, Fla.: Frontline Publishers, 2006,
188-189).While this is meant to reassure the
Jewish community concerning Christian Zionists,
it ought to have the opposite effect on Christians
who care about the salvation of Jewish people.

It might seem like the phrases “try to convert”
or “efforts to convert” imply a certain
overbearing attempt at sharing the gospel, but
the fact is, Brog is referring to any attempt to
tell Jewish people the gospel.Washington Jewish
Week interviewed Brog and published an article
explaining, “Brog said the group (CUFI) tells
people, ‘If you cannot put aside your desire to
share the Gospel with Jews, there’s the door’”
(Eric Fingerhut, “Educating on Evangelicals.”
Washington Jewish Week. July 4, 2007).

I am absolutely convinced the vast majority of
Christians supporting CUFI and IFCJ do not
know about these policies and practices. My guess
is that many who support these groups genuinely
believe in Jewish evangelism and expect that their
support will help Jewish people come to Christ.
Sadly, their resources are going to projects run by
people who are committed to preventing Jewish
people from hearing about Jesus.

This is not meant to discourage Christians from
providing material help and support in a truly
Christian way; but it is fair to question how
“Christian” such support can really be in
situations where Christ himself is excluded from
the conversation, and where funds are raised and
channeled by people who do not know Him.
Jewish people in Israel are more open to the
gospel message than any other Jewish community
in the world today! The responses we’ve seen to
our Behold Your God Israel campaigns have
signaled us that now is the time to make an all
out effort to make the Savior known in the Land
of Israel.

It is time for all true Christian Zionists to recall
the biblical vision that not only supports God’s
promises to restore a homeland for the Jewish
people, but also addresses the greatest need of all.
Just like anyone else, Jewish people need to have
a restored relationship with God through Jesus.
Now more than ever is the time for true
Christian Zionists to open their eyes to the
phenomenal opportunity to take part in that
original vision.

It is not enough to raise funds for Israel.
Christian Zionists ought also to raise the
awareness that Jesus, the Messiah, loves Israelis
and Palestinians—and that only He can bring
the peace that those who live in the Land so
urgently need and so earnestly desire.
When those who stand by Israel are willing to
bring the good news of Jesus to the Jew first,
then Christian Zionism will once again be
fully Christian.

In the meantime, please consider this:
When someone makes an appeal for Christians to
show their love for Jewish people, please
remember that our love is incomplete at best and
misleading at worst if it does not point beyond
ourselves and to the One who loved us so much
that He sent His Son to die, so thatWHOEVER
BELIEVES IN HIM will not perish, but have
eternal life.

If you are concerned about where a Christian
Zionist organization you support (or would like
to support) stands when it comes to the gospel,
write and ask them for a written response to
these questions:
• Are participants on your projects permitted
to speak of their faith in Jesus to the Jewish
people they meet through your program?
• Are Jews who believe the teachings of the
New Testament concerning Jesus allowed to
participate in your programs?
• Do any of the organizations to whom you
send funds include a component for
countering Christian missionary work?
God bless you as you look for biblical ways to
bless the people of Israel!
How “Christian”is Christian Zionism?
by David Brickner
60 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-5895
e-mail: jfj@jewsforjesus.org
web: jewsforjesus.org415.864.2600