Is Christian Zionism the same as Dispensationalism?

• Dispensationalism is a theology that holds a favorable view of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. However, it is not the same thing as Christian Zionism.
  • Dispensationalism is a biblical interpretation that was developed in the writings of John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren in the 19th century. It was propagated through works such as the Scofield Reference Bible, widely used in the United States. Dispensationalism understands God to have related to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants in a series of dispensations, or periods of history.

• Christian support for the restoration of the Jews to their homeland began well before doctrines such as dispensationalism came into existence
  • Christian support for the Jewish restoration can be found as far back as the early church, but the modern Christian Zionist movement began with the translation of the Bible -- and the Pietist and Puritan preachers of the 16th and 17th centuries.

• Approximately one in every ten Christians is a dispensationalist. A much larger group of Christians support the restoration of the Jews to their homeland. They come from a wide-variety of denominations and theological persuasions that do not ascribe to dispensationalism.

Resources

Christian Friends and Foes of Israelby David Parsons, ICEJ, February 2009

Christian Zionist Hall of Fame