A Pronomian Christian Must Be A Zionist

On the Pronomian Theology group, a frequenter asks,

My answer is no, it's logically inconsistent to be Pronomian without being a Zionist.

I'll explain why, but let's first define terms.

• Pronomian: a Christian who holds to the ongoing validity and applicability of God's law. Pronomians believe that salvation is by faith and that keeping the commandments is how we practice faith and love God.
  
  In the context of the Messianic movement, Pronomian Christianity can serve as an alternative to Hebrew Roots and Messianic Judaism. An alternative to Hebrew Roots, because much of Hebrew Roots has been polluted by wild-eyed conspiracies and bad theology. An alternative to Messianic Judaism, because Messianic Judaism is meant for Jews. Or it can function as a descriptor: pro-Torah Messianic Jews and pro-Torah Hebrew Roots Christians may both identify as Pronomian.
   
• Zionist: A person who believes Jews should have the right to return to the land of Israel.

It is really just that. If someone tells you it is something more, they are probably misinformed or they are lying to you for political reasons.

It's worth mentioning what Zionism isn't.

Zionism isn't the belief that the modern nation of Israel is inerrant. It doesn't mean you can't critique policies or laws of the state of Israel. I've done so my whole life and consider myself an ardent Zionist.

Zionism isn't colonialism. Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel going back nearly 4,000 years. Zionism is a return to Israel, not a colonial project.

Zionism isn't a license to mistreat Muslims, Christians, or other minorities in and around Israel.

Zionism just means that Jews should be able to return to Israel. That's it.

Back to our question, can a person be Pronomian but reject Zionism? Put another way, can a person believe the Law is applicable, but believe Jews have no right to return to Israel?

My answer is no, that view is logically inconsistent:

1. Pronomians believe God's Torah is still relevant and applicable.
2. God's Torah promises the land of Israel to the Jewish people.
3. Therefore, Pronomians must be Zionist.

To claim to be Pronomian but not Zionist is inconsistent. It means you reject parts of the Torah where Jews are promised the land of Israel.

If you doubt this, consider the anti-Zionist far-left Jews who, when reading the Torah, will skip over or mumble parts of the Torah that promise the land of Israel to Jews:

English version they did is just as funny https://t.co/rnoehbtmr2

— Aharon Acharon Chaviv (@achaviv) November 20, 2023

In their case, they are not pronomian. They may pay lip service to the Torah, but their application of it omits the central parts of the Torah where God gives the land to Israel. Some practice a form of airy spiritual, feelings-based Judaism (tikkun olam-ify everything!) that is embarrassed by the actual text of the Torah. But mostly, it's people whose lives don't conform to the Bible in meaningful ways. Typically, their lives are not much different than the lives of secular non-Jews. None of it can be described as pronomian in practice.

If we pronomian Christians claim to take the Torah seriously, we must accept that God has promised the land of Israel to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

"But Jews aren't all of Israel"

When I posted my answer to the Pronomian Theology group, the woman asking the question responded,

Do you think the Land promises made to Abraham’s descendants or Jacob’s descendants apply exclusively to Jewish people, that is, those who identify by ancestry, birth, or conversion with Judaism?

I know this is a potentially fraught can of worms to open, but… “Jews” aren’t promised the Land in Scripture. Israel is. (“Jewish” as a religion or national identity didn’t exist when the Land promises were made.)

If Zionism is about a Jewish right of return, then that’s a modern political question, not theological. [...]

But to be a Zionist because “Jews deserve a homeland” (19th century ethnonationalism) is not the same as to be a Zionist because “God promised the Land to the tribes of Israel” (a theological covenant claim).

I think a Zionism that’s based on Jewish nationalism rather than God’s covenant with Israel is political, not spiritual. I’m skeptical of that since Yeshua’s kingdom is not political.

There's a lot to unpack in these objections. The first is that the land of Israel was promised to Abraham's descendants, which includes but is not limited to Jews. The New Testament states, for example, that believers in Israel's Messiah are the seed of Abraham. Does that mean the land promises are extended to Christians? I don't think so, though I admit my thinking and study on that particular question is still shallow. Even so, this is irrelevant to the question of whether Pronomians should be Zionists. The question remains because Jews are at least part of Israel.

This person also notes that Israel was promised the land, not Jews. Jews weren't known as a distinct people per se; they existed as subgroups within Israel. The tribe of Judah, primarily, with the tribes of Levi and Benjamin secondarily. These groups later were identified as the Kingdom of Judah after King David's reign. Following the Assyrian captivity, Judahites (Jews) became the only surviving group of Israelites with significant numbers.

It's true there may be other peoples with Israelite lineage. Bnei Manashe of India, Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and numerous other groups claim, with varying legitimacy, descent from Jacob. And of course, Two House theology believes that there are more descendants of Jacob mixed in with the nations of the world. I consider these interesting but irrelevant to the question at hand. The question is whether one can be a Pronomian Christian without Zionism. And unless we deny Jews are part of Israel -- something that only extreme anti-Semities do -- we must concede that Zionism is Biblical and central to the Torah.

If you claim to be Pronomian, if you believe the Law is applicable and relevant to God's people, then you must be a Zionist and confirm that Jews should be able to return to the land of Israel.