N. Romanos, theologian | September 24, 2026 | Orthodoxos Typos
Christian Zionism is a modern
Protestant movement, particularly influential in the evangelical world of the
United States, which maintains that the Jewish nation and the land of Israel
continue to occupy a special and decisive role in God’s plan.
Christian Zionism reads many
prophecies of the Old Testament literally and politically, as though they
constituted a divinely inspired geopolitical map of the Middle East. The return
of the Jews to Palestine, the establishment of the State of Israel, and
contemporary political developments are thus regarded as the fulfillment of
prophecies.
But here a fundamental
theological question arises: where is Christ within this interpretation?
The Patristic tradition does not
read the Old Testament as though it were a book simply awaiting the fulfillment
of certain national and territorial promises. It reads it Christologically. The
promises find their fulfillment in Christ and in the economy of salvation that
reaches its culmination in Him.
Christian Zionism, by contrast,
risks creating a parallel history of salvation: on the one hand, the Church and
Christ; and on the other, Israel, the land, and a distinct eschatological plan.
This leads to a second serious
danger: the absolutization of the modern State of Israel. A modern state, like
every political reality, is subject to history, politics, international law,
and human sin. It cannot be regarded a priori as the bearer of a divine mission
and therefore placed beyond all criticism.
Even more problematic is the
eschatological use of political events. Wars, conflicts, population movements,
and political decisions are often interpreted as parts of a prophetic scenario
leading toward the Second Coming.
Thus, however, Christian
eschatology is transformed into geopolitical divination.
Holy Scripture was not given to
us so that we might decode the newspapers and search in every war for the
fulfillment of a prophecy. Nor did Christ give us a map by which to calculate
when and in what manner history will reach its completion.
Finally, there is a deeper
contradiction. Christianity proclaims that, with respect to the new humanity in
Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Greek.” Salvation is no longer the concern of
a national state, a race, or a particular geographical territory. The Church is
the Body of Christ, and the Kingdom of God is not identified with any earthly
political authority.
For this reason, Christian
Zionism requires serious theological criticism. Not because we should deny the
historical significance of Israel or cultivate hostility toward the Jews, but
because we cannot baptize every political development as “the will of God” and
every geopolitical objective as “biblical prophecy.”
When the policy of a state
acquires theological infallibility, theology ceases to hold politics
accountable and begins to serve politics.
The issue, therefore, is not to
replace one nationalism with another, nor to turn theological discussion into
political confrontation. It is to preserve a clear distinction between faith
and the ideological use of faith. Christian witness must defend human dignity,
justice, and peace for all peoples, without granting any government the right
to present itself as an infallible representative of God.
The Church is not called to bless
borders, strategies, and state decisions, but to bear witness to the Gospel, to
denounce injustice, and to stand beside every person who suffers. Jerusalem
cannot become a pretext for violence, nor prophecy a tool of political
legitimation.
And when geopolitics is presented
as eschatology, faith risks losing its true center: not Jerusalem as a
political symbol, not a state, not a national idea, but Jesus Christ Himself.
Christians are called to await
the Jerusalem above, that is, the uncreated Kingdom of God, and not to baptize
the political games of the earthly Jerusalem as theology.
Greek
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