Christian Zionism - New Life Tabernacle of Chattanooga

still apply. An examination of the scriptural claim to the land will lead to an
analysis of how the borders of Eretz Israel are defined.
4.1 Eretz Israel: In Prophecy Fulfilled
The claim to the land is based on the covenant God made with Abraham in
Genesis 12, 13 and 15. Fruchtenbaum says Abraham is ‘commanded to
make what amounts to the first Holy Land tour of Israel, for all the land that he
sees on its length and breadth is his.’ 877 The covenant is later confirmed to
Isaac in Genesis 26 and Jacob in Genesis 28. Both Isaac and Jacob are
promised that they and their descendants will possess the land. By the time of
Moses, the Israelites are reminded that their residence in the land was,
however, conditional. They are warned that if they rebel against God they
would be ‘scattered among the nations’ (Leviticus 26:33), but that if they
confess their sins, ‘I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant
with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land’
(Leviticus 26:42). Invariably, however, Christian Zionists have minimised the
conditionality of the covenants in favour of Israel’s unconditional ‘rights’.
McNeile, for example, at the annual LJS conference of 1822, expressed the
hope that the Jewish people would, ‘unite in claiming possession of that land
which was given to them as a “heritage forever.”’ 878
During the 19 th Century, with the rise of the Jewish Zionist movement,
from 1948 with the founding of the State of Israel and 1967 with the capture of
East Jerusalem, the contemporary State of Israel has increasingly come to be
seen as the realisation of God’s covenant promises. As Hal Lindsey has
expressed it, ‘To Israel as a nation were made unique promises … they were
the only nation that was promised a specific plot of land, a city, and a
kingdom.’ 879 David Brickner reflects the views of contemporary Christian
Zionists generally when he affirms, ‘I believe the modern day State of Israel is
a miracle of God and a fulfilment of Bible prophecy.’ 880 John Hagee and John
Walvoord draw out the theological significance of these events. Hagee, for
877 Arnold Fruchtenbaum, ‘The Land is Mine,’ Issues, 2.4. http://www.jewsforjesus.org
878 McNeile, op.cit., p435.
879 Lindsey, Road, op.cit., p197.
880 David Brickner, ‘Don’t Pass Over Israel’s Jubilee,’ Jews for Jesus Newsletter, April
(1998).
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