Page 3 - TORCH Magazine #8 - Nov 2017

CHRISTIAN ZIONISM IN BRITAIN AND THE BALFOUR DECLARATION
hristians believing that the Jewish people have a right to live in their ancient homeland is not a new
BRITAIN’S STAND
that the Jews are God’s chosen people and that their return to the Promised Land is a ful lment of Bible prophecy.
WITH ISRAEL BEGINS
WCITH THE CHURCH
For example, Ezekiel 11:17 states, “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”
phenomenon. It has been an integral part of teaching in the Church in Britain for centuries.
Standing with Israel requires a simple act of obedience. The Bible states clearly that God has not forsaken Israel. Furthermore, Christians owe a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people for the treasured Scriptures with which we base our faith.
Yet for centuries, sadly in the name of Christianity, the Church was responsible for some of the worst anti-Semitism imaginable. Britain, and particularly England, was not exempt from responsibility for the brutal oppression of Jews, the massacres, the blood libels or the expulsions.
Getting back to the roots
Despite the shadow of Jew-hatred upon England’s green and pleasant land, there was still the silent presence of Christian
By the time Lord Arthur Balfour, Britain’s Foreign Secretary in 1917, penned one of the most important documents in modern history, pulpits up and down the British Isles were already carrying a vision that one day the Jewish people would return home.
The Church was instrumental in the story of Britain’s support for the establishment of the State of Israel. Its legacy bears testimony to the importance of a Church aligning itself with God’s heart for Israel and just as signi cantly, the symbolic strength of what happens when Christians stand with the Jewish people.
The realisation that Britain should support a Jewish national homeland stemmed from the strengthening of faithful Bible teaching
CUFI.ORG.UK 3