Zionism, Hyper-Zionism, and Passive-Zionism
Zionism in balance is good. It is clearly God’s will since He is the whole reason for Zionism.
Zionism in balance is to recognize that God has promised to restore His chosen people, Israel, to their homeland and to its holiest site (Zion); and that Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, will literally return to establish His one thousand year reign on earth there. Zionists are those who support God’s plan by helping the Jews return to their homeland.
The explanation for modern Zionism put forth in the Britannica Encyclopedia showing its origin and continuing development is a good summary of the movement. I have pasted their article just as it is written below, in hopes that it will help you understand how God began in our time to fulfill His prophecy of the Valley of Dry Bones found in Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven. Let there be no doubt about it, God was the first Zionist. It is He who brought Zion’s new hope about in these last days, and it is He who will complete it.
ZIONISM
(This portion was borrowed directly from the Britannica Encyclopedia, 2008.)
Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews (Hebrew: Eretz Yisraʾel, “the Land of Israel" Though Zionism originated in eastern and central Europe in the latter part of the 19th century, it is in many ways a continuation of the ancient nationalist attachment of the Jews and of the Jewish religion to the historical region of Palestine, where one of the hills of ancient Jerusalem was called Zion.
In the 16th and 17th centuries a number of “messiahs” came forward trying to persuade Jews to “return” to Palestine. The Haskala (“Enlightenment”) movement of the late 18th century, however, urged Jews to assimilate into Western secular culture. In the early 19th century interest in a return of the Jews to Palestine was kept alive mostly by Christian millenarians. Despite the Haskala, eastern European Jews did not assimilate and in reaction to tsarist pogroms formed the Ḥovevei Ẕiyyon (“Lovers of Zion”) to promote the settlement of Jewish farmers and artisans in Palestine.
A political turn was given to Zionism by Theodor Herzl, an Austrian journalist who regarded assimilation as most desirable but, in view of anti-Semitism, impossible to realize. Thus, he argued, if Jews were forced by external pressure to form a nation, they could lead a normal existence only through concentration in one territory. In 1897 Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress at Basel, Switz., which drew up the Basel program of the movement, stating that “Zionism strives to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.”
The centre of the movement was established in Vienna, where Herzl published the official weekly Die Welt (“The World”). Zionist congresses met yearly until 1901 and then every two years. When the Ottoman government refused Herzl's request for Palestinian autonomy, he found support in Great Britain. In 1903 the British government offered 6,000 square miles (15,500 square km) of uninhabited Uganda for settlement, but the Zionists held out for Palestine.
At the death of Herzl in 1904, the leadership moved from Vienna to Cologne, then to Berlin. Prior to World War I Zionism represented only a minority of Jews, mostly from Russia but led by Austrians and Germans. It developed propaganda through orators and pamphlets, created its own newspapers, and gave an impetus to what was called a “Jewish renaissance” in letters and arts. The development of the Modern Hebrew language largely took place during this period.
The failure of the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the wave of pogroms and repressions that followed caused growing numbers of Russian Jewish youth to migrate to Palestine as pioneer settlers. By 1914 there were about 90,000 Jews in Palestine; 13,000 settlers lived in 43 Jewish agricultural settlements, many of them supported by the French Jewish philanthropist Baron Edmond de Rothschild.
Upon the outbreak of World War I political Zionism reasserted itself, and its leadership passed to Russian Jews living in England. Two such Zionists, Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow, were instrumental in obtaining the Balfour Declaration from Great Britain (Nov. 2, 1917), which promised British support for the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine. The declaration was included in Britain's League of Nations mandate over Palestine (1922).
In the following years the Zionists built up the Jewish urban and rural settlements in Palestine, perfecting autonomous organizations and solidifying Jewish cultural life and Hebrew education. In March 1925 the Jewish population in Palestine was officially estimated at 108,000, and it had risen to about 238,000 (20 percent of the population) by 1933. Jewish immigration remained relatively slow, however, until the rise of Hitlerism in Europe. Nevertheless, the Arab population feared Palestine eventually would become a Jewish state and bitterly resisted Zionism and the British policy supporting it. Several Arab revolts, especially in 1929 and 1936–39, caused the British to devise schemes to reconcile the Arab and Zionist demands.
Hitlerism and the large-scale extermination of European Jews led many Jews to seek refuge in Palestine and many others, especially in the United States, to embrace Zionism. As tensions grew among Arabs and Zionists, Britain submitted the Palestine problem first to Anglo-U.S. discussion for solution and later to the United Nations, which on Nov. 29, 1947, proposed partition of the country into separate Arab and Jewish states and the internationalization of Jerusalem. The creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, brought about the Arab–Israeli war of 1948–49, in the course of which Israel obtained more land than had been provided by the UN resolution, and drove out 800,000 Arabs who became displaced persons known as Palestinians. Thus 50 years after the first Zionist congress and 30 years after the Balfour Declaration, Zionism achieved its aim of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine, but at the same time it became an armed camp surrounded by hostile Arab nations and Palestinian “liberation” organizations engaged in terrorism in and outside of Israel.
During the next two decades Zionist organizations in many countries continued to raise financial support for Israel and to encourage Jews to immigrate there. Most Jews, however, reject the view propagated by many very Orthodox Jews in Israel that the Jews outside Israel were living in “exile” and could live a full life only in Israel.
(This is the end of the Britannica Encyclopedia portion.)
HYPER-ZIONISM
A hyper-Zionist is one who is a Zionist to an extreme. This extreme belief in restoring the people of Israel to their homeland is revealed in many different ways. Some who are hyper-Zionists insist that one cannot be a Christian unless he financially supports the return movement, rather than allowing him to lend support in accordance with the directions of the Spirit of God for him. Many of this kind actually believe that the promise of God will not come to pass if we do not help Him bring it about. They either do not understand or have forgotten what God spoke to the high priest Zerubbabel through the prophet Zechariah concerning the construction of His house in these Last Days, when He said: “Not by (man’s) might, nor by (man’s) power, but by My Spirit.” (Zech. 4:6) This prophetic scripture directly pertains to all things that God is building in these Last Days, including His New Covenant body (the Israel by faith) and the resurrection of the nation of natural Israel. So it is that as we cooperate with His Spirit’s directive, we can be loyal Zionists without going overboard.
Others who are hyper-Zionists actually give more respect and allegiance to Jews and their development of the land of Israel than they do to the New Covenant church and its spiritual development and maturity. Some insist that Christians learn Hebrew and go back to the practice of Old Covenant types and shadows of that which has already come, even to abide in the roots of Israel rather than in the Vine who came out of the roots. They have such a hyper view of God’s promise to Israel that their sight has become warped. Through their “zeal without knowledge,” many of them have forgotten that the fruit of the Spirit comes from the branches, and that branches grow out of the vine, not the root. They believe we should become like Old Covenant Jews as much as possible so that we identify with them in their plight. They believe since God favored the Jews, and told us that we would be blessed in doing so, that we are more acceptable to God by being hyper over the issue. They in fact reflect through their actions that one cannot be too hyper about Zionism.
There are even some preachers who are so hyper-Zionists that they go so far as to teach what is properly called Dual Covenant Theology. This is a form of hyper-Zionism that is a dangerous heresy and against the gospel of God through Jesus Christ. It is another gospel, and thus a doctrine of men that may also be considered a doctrine of devils. Duel Covenant Theology teaches that the Jews do not have to be born again by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. These preachers teach that God made a separate covenant with the Jews whereby all of them will be saved simply because they are… Jews.
Hyper-Zionism, just like hyper-anything, can be taken to such extremes that it may ultimately destroy one’s living faith and life through Jesus Christ. We should avoid hyper-Zionism altogether, realizing that God will watch over His Word to perform it. He will include us as He likes, but He would not have us get in the flesh regarding any of His promises, including Zionism.
PASSIVE-ZIONISM
Someone who is neither here nor there about this important promise of the Father is not seeing through God’s eyes. While we are not to be hyper, neither should we have a “que sera, sera” attitude (whatever will be, will be). All believers should be aware and concerned about the rebuilding of the nation of Israel – its health and welfare. We should ask God what role He would have us take in agreeing with His divine plan – and do it. The Bible clearly says that at the very least we are to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).
Take part to the extent that the Holy Spirit shows you; but do not be lazy and passive about this, one of God’s great last-day promises. Stay informed so that you know how to pray specifically. He will bless you when you come into agreement with Him. Again, the Spirit will show you to what extent you are to participate, whether it is through intercession alone, or through giving of other resources. Zionism is important, but it is not the most important thing; important also is the glorious Bride among the Gentiles. We should not neglect one for the other.
Zionism in balance is to recognize that God has promised to restore His chosen people, Israel, to their homeland and to its holiest site (Zion); and that Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, will literally return to establish His one thousand year reign on earth there. Zionists are those who support God’s plan by helping the Jews return to their homeland.
The explanation for modern Zionism put forth in the Britannica Encyclopedia showing its origin and continuing development is a good summary of the movement. I have pasted their article just as it is written below, in hopes that it will help you understand how God began in our time to fulfill His prophecy of the Valley of Dry Bones found in Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven. Let there be no doubt about it, God was the first Zionist. It is He who brought Zion’s new hope about in these last days, and it is He who will complete it.
ZIONISM
(This portion was borrowed directly from the Britannica Encyclopedia, 2008.)
Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews (Hebrew: Eretz Yisraʾel, “the Land of Israel" Though Zionism originated in eastern and central Europe in the latter part of the 19th century, it is in many ways a continuation of the ancient nationalist attachment of the Jews and of the Jewish religion to the historical region of Palestine, where one of the hills of ancient Jerusalem was called Zion.
In the 16th and 17th centuries a number of “messiahs” came forward trying to persuade Jews to “return” to Palestine. The Haskala (“Enlightenment”) movement of the late 18th century, however, urged Jews to assimilate into Western secular culture. In the early 19th century interest in a return of the Jews to Palestine was kept alive mostly by Christian millenarians. Despite the Haskala, eastern European Jews did not assimilate and in reaction to tsarist pogroms formed the Ḥovevei Ẕiyyon (“Lovers of Zion”) to promote the settlement of Jewish farmers and artisans in Palestine.
A political turn was given to Zionism by Theodor Herzl, an Austrian journalist who regarded assimilation as most desirable but, in view of anti-Semitism, impossible to realize. Thus, he argued, if Jews were forced by external pressure to form a nation, they could lead a normal existence only through concentration in one territory. In 1897 Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress at Basel, Switz., which drew up the Basel program of the movement, stating that “Zionism strives to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.”
The centre of the movement was established in Vienna, where Herzl published the official weekly Die Welt (“The World”). Zionist congresses met yearly until 1901 and then every two years. When the Ottoman government refused Herzl's request for Palestinian autonomy, he found support in Great Britain. In 1903 the British government offered 6,000 square miles (15,500 square km) of uninhabited Uganda for settlement, but the Zionists held out for Palestine.
At the death of Herzl in 1904, the leadership moved from Vienna to Cologne, then to Berlin. Prior to World War I Zionism represented only a minority of Jews, mostly from Russia but led by Austrians and Germans. It developed propaganda through orators and pamphlets, created its own newspapers, and gave an impetus to what was called a “Jewish renaissance” in letters and arts. The development of the Modern Hebrew language largely took place during this period.
The failure of the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the wave of pogroms and repressions that followed caused growing numbers of Russian Jewish youth to migrate to Palestine as pioneer settlers. By 1914 there were about 90,000 Jews in Palestine; 13,000 settlers lived in 43 Jewish agricultural settlements, many of them supported by the French Jewish philanthropist Baron Edmond de Rothschild.
Upon the outbreak of World War I political Zionism reasserted itself, and its leadership passed to Russian Jews living in England. Two such Zionists, Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow, were instrumental in obtaining the Balfour Declaration from Great Britain (Nov. 2, 1917), which promised British support for the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine. The declaration was included in Britain's League of Nations mandate over Palestine (1922).
In the following years the Zionists built up the Jewish urban and rural settlements in Palestine, perfecting autonomous organizations and solidifying Jewish cultural life and Hebrew education. In March 1925 the Jewish population in Palestine was officially estimated at 108,000, and it had risen to about 238,000 (20 percent of the population) by 1933. Jewish immigration remained relatively slow, however, until the rise of Hitlerism in Europe. Nevertheless, the Arab population feared Palestine eventually would become a Jewish state and bitterly resisted Zionism and the British policy supporting it. Several Arab revolts, especially in 1929 and 1936–39, caused the British to devise schemes to reconcile the Arab and Zionist demands.
Hitlerism and the large-scale extermination of European Jews led many Jews to seek refuge in Palestine and many others, especially in the United States, to embrace Zionism. As tensions grew among Arabs and Zionists, Britain submitted the Palestine problem first to Anglo-U.S. discussion for solution and later to the United Nations, which on Nov. 29, 1947, proposed partition of the country into separate Arab and Jewish states and the internationalization of Jerusalem. The creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, brought about the Arab–Israeli war of 1948–49, in the course of which Israel obtained more land than had been provided by the UN resolution, and drove out 800,000 Arabs who became displaced persons known as Palestinians. Thus 50 years after the first Zionist congress and 30 years after the Balfour Declaration, Zionism achieved its aim of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine, but at the same time it became an armed camp surrounded by hostile Arab nations and Palestinian “liberation” organizations engaged in terrorism in and outside of Israel.
During the next two decades Zionist organizations in many countries continued to raise financial support for Israel and to encourage Jews to immigrate there. Most Jews, however, reject the view propagated by many very Orthodox Jews in Israel that the Jews outside Israel were living in “exile” and could live a full life only in Israel.
(This is the end of the Britannica Encyclopedia portion.)
HYPER-ZIONISM
A hyper-Zionist is one who is a Zionist to an extreme. This extreme belief in restoring the people of Israel to their homeland is revealed in many different ways. Some who are hyper-Zionists insist that one cannot be a Christian unless he financially supports the return movement, rather than allowing him to lend support in accordance with the directions of the Spirit of God for him. Many of this kind actually believe that the promise of God will not come to pass if we do not help Him bring it about. They either do not understand or have forgotten what God spoke to the high priest Zerubbabel through the prophet Zechariah concerning the construction of His house in these Last Days, when He said: “Not by (man’s) might, nor by (man’s) power, but by My Spirit.” (Zech. 4:6) This prophetic scripture directly pertains to all things that God is building in these Last Days, including His New Covenant body (the Israel by faith) and the resurrection of the nation of natural Israel. So it is that as we cooperate with His Spirit’s directive, we can be loyal Zionists without going overboard.
Others who are hyper-Zionists actually give more respect and allegiance to Jews and their development of the land of Israel than they do to the New Covenant church and its spiritual development and maturity. Some insist that Christians learn Hebrew and go back to the practice of Old Covenant types and shadows of that which has already come, even to abide in the roots of Israel rather than in the Vine who came out of the roots. They have such a hyper view of God’s promise to Israel that their sight has become warped. Through their “zeal without knowledge,” many of them have forgotten that the fruit of the Spirit comes from the branches, and that branches grow out of the vine, not the root. They believe we should become like Old Covenant Jews as much as possible so that we identify with them in their plight. They believe since God favored the Jews, and told us that we would be blessed in doing so, that we are more acceptable to God by being hyper over the issue. They in fact reflect through their actions that one cannot be too hyper about Zionism.
There are even some preachers who are so hyper-Zionists that they go so far as to teach what is properly called Dual Covenant Theology. This is a form of hyper-Zionism that is a dangerous heresy and against the gospel of God through Jesus Christ. It is another gospel, and thus a doctrine of men that may also be considered a doctrine of devils. Duel Covenant Theology teaches that the Jews do not have to be born again by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. These preachers teach that God made a separate covenant with the Jews whereby all of them will be saved simply because they are… Jews.
Hyper-Zionism, just like hyper-anything, can be taken to such extremes that it may ultimately destroy one’s living faith and life through Jesus Christ. We should avoid hyper-Zionism altogether, realizing that God will watch over His Word to perform it. He will include us as He likes, but He would not have us get in the flesh regarding any of His promises, including Zionism.
PASSIVE-ZIONISM
Someone who is neither here nor there about this important promise of the Father is not seeing through God’s eyes. While we are not to be hyper, neither should we have a “que sera, sera” attitude (whatever will be, will be). All believers should be aware and concerned about the rebuilding of the nation of Israel – its health and welfare. We should ask God what role He would have us take in agreeing with His divine plan – and do it. The Bible clearly says that at the very least we are to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).
Take part to the extent that the Holy Spirit shows you; but do not be lazy and passive about this, one of God’s great last-day promises. Stay informed so that you know how to pray specifically. He will bless you when you come into agreement with Him. Again, the Spirit will show you to what extent you are to participate, whether it is through intercession alone, or through giving of other resources. Zionism is important, but it is not the most important thing; important also is the glorious Bride among the Gentiles. We should not neglect one for the other.