Christian Zionists and the Episltes of John

Every time I read the Bible I always find some new bit of information that I didn’t see before, or sometimes my circumstances have changed and when I read the same passage it applies differently. I suppose that’s why we are told in Hebrews that “the word of God is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12; NIV). This week I have been studying over the Epistle’s of John and something really stood out to me within the text of his letters. As I read them, I began to think about Christian Zionists who are so devoted to helping the modern Jews gain complete control of the land of Israel (and stand by them no matter how many people they kill) because they believe that it is biblical prophecy.

Not only are Zionists misunderstanding the prophetical interpretations, but they are also doing things that John tells us explicitly not to do. John is writing to the churches to remain firm in the faith, but also to be aware of false teachers. And it is those false teachers that I would like to focus on.

In 1 John we are told that “it is the last hour; and just as [we] have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared” (1 John 2:18). The point here is that there are many antichrists already roaming about the world. But who/what are the antichrists John is referring to? Of course those of you who are familiar with the Epistle’s of John know that he goes on to answer this question for us. A few verses later, John writes “Who is a liar but the [one] who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the [one] who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). He says also that: “2 By this the Spirit of God is known: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit which does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the [spirit] of the Antichrist, which you have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world” (1 John 4:2, 3). And again in 2 John: “Because many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 1:7).

We can see that according to John those who deny that Jesus is the Christ is the antichrist, and they do not have the Spirit of God. As I said in the beginning, when I came across this I immediately began to think of Christian Zionists who are sending millions of dollars to Israel for support, however, the Jews don’t believe that Jesus is the Christ. Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The belief that Jesus is God, the Son of God, or a person of the Trinity is incompatible with Jewish theology. Jews believe Jesus did not fulfill messianic prophecies that establish the criteria for the coming of the messiah. Authoritative texts of Judaism reject Jesus as God, Divine Being, intermediary between humans and God, messiah or saint. Belief in the Trinity is also held to be incompatible with Judaism, as are a number of other tenets of Christianity[1]

Some even deny that He even existed at all:

Jews do not believe that Jesus was the mashiach [messiah]. Assuming that he existed, and assuming that the Christian scriptures are accurate in describing him (both matters that are debatable), he simply did not fulfill the mission of the mashiach as it is described in the biblical passages cited above. Jesus did not do any of the things that the scriptures said the messiah would do.[2]

How can a true Christian support a group of people who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is God, that He is the Messiah, or that He even existed, by assuming that they are God’s chosen people? It is clear that John says that these people have the spirit of the antichrist and are, therefore, not of God. Saying specifically that we aren’t even to welcome or greet them because “he who greets him shares in his evil works” (2 John 1:11). If John tells us not even to greet those who teach such things, then why do Christian Zionists support them? By doing so, they, too, are sharing in the evil works they are committing each and every day.

I feel it is of the utmost importance to understand this. We cannot be Christians and support the antichrist; it is the ultimate hypocrisy. I ask that you think about this and look into the beliefs of the Jews and Judaism, and see that they completely deny that Jesus is the Messiah and even go so far as hatred toward Him. It is written in the Talmud that He is in hell boiling in excrement for teaching against the Jewish authority figures.[3]

But as Christians, Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith:

10 [L]et it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this [name] this [man] stands here before you whole. 11 ‘This is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, which became the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven which has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:10–12)

To deny Christ is to deny life: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The Jews are expecting an earthly warrior to come and destroy empires and establish a worldly kingdom, but Jesus tells Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I might not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). The Jews continue in their carnal mindset and hardheartedness. However, Christ has come and established a heavenly kingdom that is through Spiritual means not carnal ones. And through faith and love we all can obtain this kingdom that has been established, because there is “neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

[1] Taken from Wikipedia: Judaism’s View of Jesus
[2] Judaism 101: Mashiach (The Messiah)
[3] Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Gittin