The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70AD —
a painting by David Roberts (1796-1849).

In our first post on Zionism, we briefly defined what Zionism is, and gave a broad sketch of history. Here we dig deeper and look at what happened between the early Christian and Jewish communities after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

The early Christian church was primarily Jewish and mainly worshipped in the synagogues. However, Christians mostly did not support Jewish efforts to rebel against the Roman authorities during the conflict leading up to and after 70 A.D., as the Temple was no longer central to the life of the Christians. Instead of fighting alongside their other Jewish brethren to repel the Romans, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and the surrounding area fled the city to escape the coming bloodbath, when the Romans began to take seige of the ancient, holy city. This, along with the rejection of many Jewish practices, created resentment by traditional Jews against their Jewish Christian brethren.

The increasingly predominant Gentile Christian movement eventually overwhelmed Judaism in terms of numerical growth, and then Christianity became the official religion of the old Roman empire, further marginalizing Judaism. Over time, Jewish and Christian communities had parted ways from each other.
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Is the secular nation state of Israel a fulfillment of Bible prophecy? Veracity tackles a “hot potato.”

On May 15, 1948, the modern nation state of Israel was created. Ever since then, students of the Bible have taken a great interest in the Jewish return to the Holy Land. Is this a fulfillment of biblical prophecy?

Many people are interested in events surrounding the End Times. A number of Christians say that the establishment of the Israel in 1948 is proof that God has fulfilled biblical prophecy. Other Christians are not so sure. Some even question the idea that the Scriptures teach about a literal return of Jews to the Holy Land as a modern nation state. How do we sort these difficult and complicated issues out?

Here we begin a multi-part series¹ of blog postings that examines the question of the founding of the modern nation of Israel and its relationship to Bible prophecy. We will look at the history of why there was a felt need to create a Jewish state in the modern Middle East. We will address some of the events that led to the creation of this Jewish state and the conflict that resulted. We will then consider the relationship between modern Israel, Judaism, and the Christian community in the Holy Land. After that, we will survey different Christian approaches to Bible prophecy that address the role of modern Israel. Towards the end of the series, I hope to share some of my personal reflections as I have studied this issue in the Bible.

Many Christians have strong views on “Israel,” and this has forced me to dig into both Scripture and history to work this out. As you will see, I mainly offer some food for thought, as I seek to submit to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, that this might become a blessing to others as they struggle in this area. I invite your feedback in the comments section, as we think together through this.

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