A Beginners Guide to why “Christian Zionism” is irreconcilable with Traditional Catholicism

The Church must reject any teaching that obscures the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist, playwright, and political activist who founded modern political Zionism. (Wikipedia)

“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness.” – 1 Corinthians 1:23

As I write this, a catastrophic global conflict has narrowly been avoided with a ceasefire currently in place between Israel and Iran, while genocidal hell continues in Palestine.

Why? Zionism.

The opening paragraph presents just two examples of the destructive consequences of Zionism—consequences that are more often than not enforced by its Western retarded stooge: "Christian Zionism."

Why so-called Christians, especially those who pride themselves on basing their entire theology on Scripture alone, continue to support the aspirations of a people who rejected the Messiah and continue to do so is beyond me. That Christian Zionists completely miss the fact that they are Israel's useful idiots is farcical, to say the least. It is also more than a bit embarrassing and represents a serious indictment of the depth of their "theology."

This nonsense has, of course, also infiltrated Catholicism. Multiple factors have contributed to this development. These range from the erroneous Nostra Aetate to false ecumenism and religious indifferentism, to the confusing acts of the hierarchy. Notable examples include three post-conciliar popes—St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis—praying at the Wailing Wall, where Jews pray for various intentions, including the coming of the Messiah!

Zionism and the Jewish question are a sensitive and complex issue, and I want to make it clear that this article will by no means attempt to address it definitively. This is just a very basic guide to serve as a starting point for understanding why Zionism is not reconcilable with our Catholic Faith and to give some pointers as to refuting those pesky Protestants (especially the Hebrew Roots crowd) and their out-of-context Bible quoting.

Before I continue, though, I want to emphatically state the following: I am not anti-Semitic, racist, pro-terrorism, or pro-Islam. I want all people, regardless of what error they find themselves in, to come to Christ.

Now we have that out of the way, let’s continue.

From the beginning of the Church, it has been clearly understood that Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled and thereby replaced the Old Covenant with a New and eternal one. This truth is not a novelty but the foundation of Catholic doctrine, consistently taught through Sacred Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, the Doctors, and the Magisterium.

Yet, the declaration Nostra Aetate issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 introduced a tone and teaching that conflict with this longstanding tradition, particularly in its treatment of Judaism and the Jewish people’s relationship to the covenant after Christ.

Our Lord Himself said, “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). This fulfillment was total: the Mosaic Law and its ceremonial prefigurations were shadows pointing to Christ, and His death on the Cross ended their necessity. As the Letter to the Hebrews states, He “abolishes the first to establish the second” (Hebrews 10:9), and “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). The great Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, explains that the Old Law’s ceremonies “became deadly” after Christ’s coming (Summa Theologiae, I‑II, q.103, a.4), a teaching solemnly echoed by the Council of Florence in 1442, which declared that those who continue to observe the Mosaic Law post-Christ “cannot be saved” (Cantate Domino). The Catechism of Trent affirms that the Church has succeeded the Synagogue, becoming the true people of God under the New Covenant.

Some who advocate Christian Zionism cite biblical verses such as Genesis 12:3 — “I will bless those who bless you” — to argue for an ongoing divine favor on the Jewish people as an ethnic group or nation. Yet St. Paul teaches us that these promises were made to Abraham’s true offspring, “who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). The blessing promised to Abraham is fulfilled spiritually in Christ, not simply by physical descent or national identity. Similarly, Romans 11:29 is often misused to claim that God’s calling of Israel is irrevocable. However, Paul’s broader context explains that Jews were “broken off” because of unbelief but can be “grafted back in” through faith (Romans 11:20, 23). The Apostle stresses, “Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Romans 9:6), affirming that faith in Christ is the key to covenant membership.

Other frequently referenced Old Testament prophecies about Israel’s restoration (such as those in Isaiah, Amos, Ezekiel, and Zechariah) are best understood in their fulfillment within the Church — the New Israel — which is the true spiritual Jerusalem (Galatians 4:26). As St. Augustine taught in The City of God, Jerusalem is not merely a physical city but the Church herself, the heavenly city of the faithful.

Our Lord’s own words in John 4:22 and the apostolic declaration in Acts 4:12 leave no room for ambiguity: salvation comes only through Jesus Christ, “the name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” The Great Commission commands all to “repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). This call to conversion is universal and applies to all peoples, including the Jews.

The Fathers of the Church were clear and unwavering on this point. St. Justin Martyr, addressing the Jews, stated that the Scriptures are Christian Scriptures and that rejection of Christ means rejecting the fulfilment of those very Scriptures. St. Irenaeus emphasized that those who reject the Son also reject the Father and forfeit divine election. St. Cyprian noted that the people who once belonged to God under the Old Covenant ceased to be His people after Christ established the Church as the new kingdom. St. John Chrysostom’s sermons bluntly referred to the synagogue as a dwelling of demons, noting that the Jews were abandoned by God after the death of His Son. St. Augustine famously described Judaism after Christ as a dead religion, a “carcass” maintained only as a witness to the truth of Christianity. St. Bernard of Clairvaux called the Jews “living letters of the Law,” but letters that testified to their own damnation due to rejection of Christ. St. Robert Bellarmine explicitly called the Jews “a synagogue of Satan” after their rejection of the Messiah.

The Magisterium has continually upheld these teachings. Pope Eugene IV declared at the Council of Florence that the Mosaic Law has ceased and that those who observe it cannot be saved. Pope Innocent III affirmed that the Jews, responsible for the death of Christ, must remain subject to Christian authority. Pope Benedict XIV described the Jews as condemned to perpetual slavery because of their guilt. Pope Pius XII taught that the New Testament took the place of the Old Law, which was abolished by Christ’s death. The traditional Good Friday prayer for the “perfidis Judaeis” (unbelieving Jews) prayed for the veil to be removed from their hearts so that they might come to faith in Christ, a prayer removed only in the liturgical reforms of the mid-20th century.

Nostra Aetate, however, presents a more ambiguous teaching. It calls the Church’s relationship to Israel a “root,” and insists that the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God. While charitable in tone, the document’s failure to explicitly affirm that salvation requires faith in Christ alone, and that the Old Covenant is fulfilled and thus terminated in Him, has led to theological confusion and the rise of “dual covenant” theories. Such ideas imply that Jews can be saved through their own covenant apart from Christ, contradicting the apostolic mission and the Church’s perennial teaching. Pope St. Pius X, in a meeting with Theodor Herzl, declared, “We cannot prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem—but we could never sanction it. The soil of Jerusalem, if it was not always sacred, has been sanctified by the life of Jesus Christ. As the head of the Church I cannot tell you anything different. The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people... And so, if you come to Palestine and settle your people there, we shall have churches and priests ready to baptize all of you.”

This theological ambiguity has led to pastoral paralysis and confusion about the Church’s mission. How can a priest preach the necessity of faith in Christ for salvation, including for Jews, without appearing to contradict Nostra Aetate? Such questions reveal the depth of the crisis introduced by this rupture in doctrinal clarity.

Yet the perennial faith of the Church remains steadfast: the true Israel is the Church, the “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). The Jerusalem above, free and spiritual, is our mother (Galatians 4:26). The Church, not ethnicity or physical descent, defines the new people of God.

An “At-a-Glance” guide for refuting the most popular Scriptures misused by Christian Zionists

Among many Protestant circles—particularly within evangelical and dispensationalist communities—Christian Zionism has emerged as a significant yet theologically flawed movement. This teaching asserts that the Jewish people remain God’s chosen nation and that the modern State of Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Such claims, however, misappropriate Scripture and deviate from the authentic understanding upheld by the Catholic Church. The following is an examination of the most frequently cited verses used to support Christian Zionism, presented alongside their correct interpretation within Catholic tradition.

Genesis 12:3 – “I will bless those who bless you…”

Christian Zionists often quote this verse to suggest that blessing modern Israel is a divine mandate. However, this promise was originally made to Abram and finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, as clarified by St. Paul:

“To Abraham were the promises made and to his seed. He saith not, And to his seeds, as of many: but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

— Galatians 3:16

The blessing given to Abraham is fulfilled in Christ and, by extension, in His Church—not in ethnic Israel or the political state founded in 1948.

Romans 11:28–29 – “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

This passage is frequently cited to argue that Jews retain their status as God’s chosen people regardless of their belief in Christ. Yet, when read in context, Romans 11 presents a different message:

· Jews were “broken off” due to unbelief (v. 20).

· They may be “grafted back in” only if they abandon their unbelief (v. 23).

· Paul's statement about the “irrevocability” of God's gifts refers to God's fidelity, not to an unconditional covenantal status for those who reject Christ.

God’s promises remain firm in Christ, but individuals and entire nations may forfeit their share in them through rejection of the Messiah.

Romans 9:4–5 – “To them belong the covenants…”

Here, Paul acknowledges the Jewish people's historical privileges. However, his tone is one of sorrow, recognizing that despite these blessings, they did not embrace Christ:

“For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.”

— Romans 9:6

“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

— Romans 10:4

This clearly distinguishes between the physical descendants of Israel and the true Israel, constituted by faith in Christ.

Zechariah 2:8 – “He who touches you touches the apple of His eye.”

This verse is often misused to justify unconditional political support for the State of Israel. However, “the apple of God's eye” refers to His faithful people—not to any nation that rejects Christ. In New Testament understanding, the true Israel is the Church:

“…peace on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God..”

— Galatians 6:16

Psalm 122:6 – “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

Christian Zionists interpret this as a directive to pray for the modern city of Jerusalem. Yet, the Church Fathers consistently understood “Jerusalem” as a symbol of the Church itself—the New Jerusalem, the spiritual city of God. As St. Augustine taught:

“Jerusalem is the Church... in her we are born anew.”

— City of God, Book XVII

Amos 9:15, Isaiah 60, Ezekiel 37

These Old Testament prophecies are commonly invoked to support the idea that the 1948 establishment of the State of Israel was a divine restoration. However, the Catholic tradition, including the early Church Fathers, affirms that these prophecies were fulfilled spiritually in Christ and His Church. The restoration promised by the prophets pertains to the new covenant people of God—the Catholic Church—not to a political nation-state.

While Scripture contains many references to Israel and the Jewish people, the Catholic understanding—rooted in Sacred Tradition and the teaching of the Apostles—recognizes these references as ultimately fulfilled in Christ and His Church. Christian Zionism, by insisting on a purely ethnic and political reading, distorts the deeper spiritual truths of divine revelation. The true Israel is not a nation defined by borders, but the Body of Christ, into which all are called through faith and baptism.

Charity demands that we love the Jewish people enough to proclaim Christ boldly. St. Paul’s heartfelt prayer expresses this zeal: “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). Christian love is never silence in the face of error but zeal for the salvation of souls.

The Church must reject any teaching that obscures the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. In the spirit of the Apostles, she must again call to Israel and the world:

“Do penance and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins” (Acts 2:38).

Christus vincit!

Christus regnat!

Christus imperat!

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