Will the Real Israel Please Stand? A Nazarene Jewish Response to Rising Anti-Zionism

Antisemitism is once again on the rise—globally, in the United States, and even here in Texas. Tragically, some of this resurgence is emerging within conservative political circles, including the Texas Republican Party. While our state party has long stood as a champion of the State of Israel, recent developments are alarming. Efforts were made during the platform deliberations to remove pro-Israel planks. And although those efforts largely failed, an amendment excluding the term “antisemitism” from the platform did succeed. This is a warning sign.

Now, some voices in our movement are asking, “Will the Real Israel Please Stand?”—challenging not only the legitimacy of the modern State of Israel but the very idea of Zionism itself. This challenge often masquerades as theological discourse—specifically, eschatological interpretation—but in reality, it frequently serves as a smokescreen for antisemitism.

Let’s be clear: Zionism is simply the belief that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. If you deny the Japanese their only homeland, you are anti-Japanese. If you deny the Jewish people their only homeland, you are an antisemite. Anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

The Mask of Eschatology

Anti-Zionist rhetoric in some religious circles disguises itself as a mere interpretation of prophecy. It presents the modern State of Israel as illegitimate—a “false Israel” or even, in some radical interpretations, as the “synagogue of Satan” mentioned in Revelation. These claims are not only unscriptural; they are dangerous.

To understand where this thinking comes from, we must consider the theological frameworks shaping views of Israel:

Premillennialism holds that Yeshua will return before a literal 1,000-year Kingdom. Dispensational premillennialists, the majority among American Evangelicals, believe that Israel and the Church are distinct and that God’s covenant with Israel is ongoing.
Postmillennialism teaches that the Church builds the Kingdom and Yeshua returns after its establishment. This view undergirds Kingdom Now and Dominion Theology, the ideological seedbeds of modern Christian Nationalism.
Amillennialism believes the Kingdom is spiritual and present now in the Church.

Those with replacement theology—mostly postmillennialists and amillennialists—often see the Church as having replaced Israel. In its extreme forms, this theology strips the Jewish people of their role in redemption history. Though some embrace a more moderate “dual covenant” view, others deny the legitimacy of modern Israel entirely.

Christian Nationalist writer Andrew Isker recently decried dispensationalism and its pro-Israel theology as “dubious theological shackles.” That tells you everything you need to know.

Catholicism and the Jews

A special note must be made about the Roman Catholic Church. Since Vatican II, the Church has officially renounced antisemitism and affirmed the enduring covenant between God and the Jewish people. In 1994, the Vatican established diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. However, some fundamentalist Catholic groups reject these developments and persist in older supersessionist thinking.

What Do the Scriptures Say?

Allow me to share my own view, of biblical prophecy concerning the birth of modern Israel.

1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:
2 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:
3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
5 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
(Ezekiel 36:1-7 KJV)

I have included only the first seven verses here, but you may want to read the whole chapter. God does not restore the Jewish nation because of merit. He does not do so because of anything the Jews have done. Ezekiel 36 tells us that God would restore the Jewish people to their land because of their terrible mistreatment at the hands of other nations. And this is exactly what happened. In the wake of the holocaust, there was great sympathy for the Jewish people, and the UN voted to partition land for Israel out of the British Mandate (there was never a Palestinian State there).

Is God done with the Jewish People? The prophet Jeremiah writes:

35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
(Jer. 31:35-37 KJV)

What is the “Synagogue of Satan” mentioned in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9? Both passages identify this group as “those who say they are Jews but lie”.

An interpretation of the above texts have surfaced which interprets these texts to refer to those Jews who do not accept Yeshua as the Messiah. But an honest look at the Scriptures will show that it is not possible to identify the “Synagogue of Satan” in this way.

To begin with it is important to recognize that the same John wrote both Revelation and the Gospel of John. Not only is this the traditional understanding, but there are a number of common elements that point to the common authorship of these two books. Both books identify the Messiah as the “lamb” (Jn. 1:29; Rev. 5:6, 8, 12; 14:1) and as the incarnate “word” (Jn. 1:1-3, 14; Rev. 19:13) and both refer to the “living waters” (Jn. 4:10; 7:38; Rev. 22:1).

Now we must look at how John uses the word “Jew” in his own writings. John himself frequently invokes the term “Jews” to refer to Jewish people who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. For example:

“therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus” (Jn. 5:16)
“the Jews sought more to kill him” (Jn. 5:18)
“the Jews then murmured at him” (Jn. 6:41)
“the Jews sought to kill him” (Jn. 7:1)
etc. etc. etc.

Clearly John has absolutely no objection whatsoever to using the term “Jews” to refer either to Jews who accepted Messiah or those that rejected him. Therefore the statement in Rev. 2:9 and 3:9 cannot be criticizing the usage of the word “Jews” to describe Jews who don’t believe Jesus in the Messiah. Otherwise John would here be criticizing his own inspired writing in the Gospel of John in which he does just that himself frequently!

The Secular Origins of Modern Israel—and God’s Hand in It

It is true that the birth of modern Israel in 1948 came through secular Zionism, not a mass national return to Torah. And yet, Scripture foretells just such a gathering—even of a “shameless nation”:

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O shameless nation…”
— Zephaniah 2:1

Rashi interprets “shameless” here as “those who have no desire to return to the Torah.” That is secular Zionism. Yet Zephaniah says that even so, they are gathered by divine decree. Rav Kook insightfully taught that even secular Zionists are moved by a divine spark—nitzotz—guiding them unwittingly toward fulfilling God’s prophetic plan.

Religious Zionism and the Halachic Duty to Defend

Despite their differences, many religious Jews support the modern State of Israel. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 329) rules that even on the Sabbath, arms may be taken up to defend a Jewish community—even for minimal threats. The Lubavitcher Rebbe cited this ruling as justification for defending the modern State of Israel militarily, regardless of its secular origin.

In truth, the prophetic regathering described in Ezekiel and Isaiah is partially fulfilled in modern Israel—but not yet complete. More will come.

“And I will bring you into your own land… and a new spirit will I put within you.”
— Ezekiel 36:24–28

A Nazarene Zionism

As Nazarene Jews, we must be clear: we do not conflate the modern State of Israel with the full restoration of the Kingdom promised in the Prophets. That Kingdom awaits the return of Messiah. But we also do not deny the prophetic significance of 1948. And we certainly do not join hands with those who question Israel’s right to exist or the Jewish people’s ongoing covenant.

We are commanded to remember God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and to support our brothers and sisters in the Land.

In a time of rising antisemitism and moral confusion, we must reject the deceptive mask of anti-Zionist “prophecy talk.” We must expose it for what it is: a modern echo of ancient hatred.

Am Yisrael Chai!
The People of Israel Live.

At NazareneSpace, we are committed to restoring Nazarene Judaism, defending the Jewish people, and standing boldly for the truth—especially in times of rising antisemitism and spiritual confusion.

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