The New Idolatry of Christian Zionism and Its Parallels to Marian Devotion
Clinging to Shadows After the Substance Has Come
The modern Christian fixation on the state of Israel is not rooted in biblical theology. It is rooted in emotional impulse, confusion, and a refusal to receive the fullness of Christ’s kingship. The impulse behind Christian Zionism mirrors the same theological error that produced Marian devotion in Roman Catholicism. God acted through Israel. God acted through Mary. In both cases, God moved history forward in Christ. When Christians cling to the vessels God used rather than to the Christ who fulfilled every promise, they repeat the same error in a new form.
Scripture teaches that the covenant people of God are no longer identified by ethnicity, land, temple, or bloodline. They are identified by union with Jesus Christ. The prophets and apostles testify that the old order has been fulfilled and transformed. Christ is the seed of Abraham. Christ is the true Israelite. Christ is the cornerstone who joins Jew and Gentile into one new man.
“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruit of it.” - Matthew 21:43
“Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say ‘and to seeds’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘and to your seed,’ that is, Christ.” - Galatians 3:16
“For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes.” - 2 Corinthians 1:20
The New Testament does not leave room for a parallel covenant with a nation that rejected its Messiah. The kingdom has moved forward in Christ. The people of God have moved with Him.
How Marian Devotion Grew from the Same Root Error
Marian devotion emerged from a fear that recognizing Christ’s supremacy would eclipse the role God gave to Mary. Instead of rejoicing in the fulfillment of God’s promises, they attempted to preserve the earlier stage of redemptive history. Mary was blessed. Mary was chosen. Mary was honored by God. Yet God never called His people to build a shrine around her.
Christian Zionism grows from the same instinct. Israel was chosen. Israel was blessed. Israel received the covenants, the temple, the law, and the promises. Scripture never commands believers to preserve Israel’s former identity once Christ has fulfilled the covenant promises.
“For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year make perfect those who draw near.” - Hebrews 10:1
The point is simple. When the substance arrives, the shadow yields. When Christ fills the world with His presence, the old forms do not retain their covenant authority. Fear often hides beneath the appearance of loyalty when believers refuse to release what God has fulfilled.
Why Christian Zionism Feels Sacred to Many Believers
Many Christians hold tight to the modern state of Israel because it feels connected to biblical history. They imagine that defending the nation itself is an act of fidelity to Abraham. They confuse their emotional connection to Old Testament narratives with covenant loyalty to Christ. It feels sacred to them because Israel was sacred in the story of redemption, and they fear that acknowledging fulfillment in Christ dishonors that history.
This is the same psychological impulse behind Marian devotion. People feared that giving Christ His full glory diminished the honor given to Mary. They clung to a vessel God used because they did not know how to move forward in Christ without feeling disloyal to the past.
Scripture confronts this fear with clarity. Christ is the heir of every promise. Christ is the fulfillment and anchor of every covenant. Christ is the one in whom Jew and Gentile are brought near.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” - Ephesians 2:13
The church is not a parenthesis in God’s plan. The church is the fulfillment.
The Danger of Misplaced Loyalty
When Christians elevate the modern nation of Israel to covenant status, they confuse their mission, distort their politics, and weaken their confidence in Christ’s present rule. They begin to speak as though the kingdom of God advances by defending borders in the Middle East rather than proclaiming the authority of Jesus Christ over all nations.
They begin to treat the cross as unfinished. They treat the church as incomplete. They treat Christ’s reign as postponed. This is not a small doctrinal error. It is unbelief in the present kingship of Christ.
“Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so called ‘Circumcision,’ that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near.” - Ephesians 2:11-13
The church is not waiting for the restoration of national Israel. The church is the restored Israel. The heirs of Abraham are those who belong to Christ.
“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” - Galatians 3:29
Returning to Shadows After the Substance Has Come
The entire argument in Hebrews is a warning against returning to earlier stages of redemptive history. The priesthood is fulfilled. The temple is fulfilled. The sacrifices are fulfilled. The promises are fulfilled. To return to the old forms is to deny the work of Christ.
This is the exact mistake Christian Zionism makes. It attempts to preserve a covenant identity that no longer carries redemptive authority. It directs Christians backward when the Spirit directs them forward.
God has not abandoned His promises. He has fulfilled them.
A Pastoral Call to Clarity
Christians must learn to honor the Old Testament without confusing old covenant structures with present covenant realities. The history of Israel matters. The story of Mary matters. The law, the temple, the sacrifices, the land, and the people all reveal Christ. They lead to Christ. They bow to Christ.
True honor for Israel comes through acknowledging that Christ has completed every promise given to the fathers.
Christ reigns. He rules the nations. He is building a global kingdom. He is gathering a people from every language and tribe and nation. He is the true Israelite who accomplishes what the nation could not. The church is the new covenant people who inherit the world through Him.
Walk in this clarity. Stand in this confidence. Do not cling to shadows when the King has come. The substance is Christ. The promises are fulfilled in Christ. The future belongs to the kingdom He is advancing.
Jesus is on His throne.