If at that time you and your children return to the LORD your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. (Deuteronomy 30:2-3 NLT)
This article "A Biblical Response to Christian Zionism - Christian Research Institute" argues that "Modern Israel fails to meet the biblical requirement for return to the land." Below is the quotation in context:
QUOTE
While Christian Zionists see the fact that Jerusalem is now completely in the hands of the Jews as validation for the Bible, nothing could be further from the truth. Even if one ignores the typological fulfillment of Jerusalem in Jesus, the Old Covenant promise of return to the land is inviolately conditioned on belief and faithfulness. Modern Israel fails to meet the biblical requirement for return to the land. As Moses unambiguously warned the children of Israel, disobedience against the Lord would result in dispersion (Deut. 28:58–64; 29:23–28), while return to the land requires repentance (Deut. 30:2–3).
There is therefore no warrant for the Christian Zionists' claims that the recapturing of Jerusalem by modern Israel signifies the preliminary fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. While one might well defend the right of the secular state of Israel to exist, the contention that the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy is indefensible. In truth, since coming under the exclusive control of modern Israel, Jerusalem has demonstrated a far greater resemblance to the harlot city spoken of by the prophets than to the holy city spoken of by the psalmists.
UNQUOTE
This reminded me of the reason why the Jews reject Jesus as Messiah. Jesus only fulfilled part of the prophecies required for the Messiah. He will come back again to fulfil the remaining prophecies. To the Jews, this is not acceptable. The Messiah must fulfil all the prophecies in one go or He is not the Messiah.
Now the Anti-Zionist Christians require the Jews to repent completely in one go before they can come back to the land of Israel to fulfil the condition given in Deuteronomy 30:2-3. They reject the idea that the Jews can come back first as unbelieves, have a gradual restoration as predicted in Ezekiel 37 and then repent on the day when Jesus lands on Mount Olive as predicted in Zechariah 14:4 and 12:10 as a nation born in one day (Isaiah 66:8). That will also fulfil Deuteronomy 30:2-3.
If the Jews missed the first coming of the Messiah because they interpreted the prophecies wrongly, will the anti-Zionists missed the seconding coming of the Messiah too?
Then he said to me, "Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, 'Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'" (Ezekiel 37:4-6 NLT)
On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south. (Zechariah 14:4 BSB)
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (Zechariah 12:10 BSB)
Who has heard of such as this? Who has seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be delivered in an instant? Yet as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. (Isaiah 66:8 BSB)
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