Stephen E. Jones — Ecclesiology
b7 — Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?
Christian Zionism as an Ecclesiological Problem
Jones identifies Christian Zionism as a first-order ecclesiological problem: a false ecclesiology that drives the church to support a foreign political power as though it were a biblical obligation.
“There are many (Evangelical and Pentecostal in particular) Christians, that believe in a ‘Godly imperative’ to support the cause of the ‘Jews’, the ‘State of Israel’, and the ‘peace of Jerusalem’ — indeed one could go so far as calling these believers, ‘Christian Zionists’, fully persuaded of the ‘prophetic reinstatement of Israel.’ Tragically they have adopted one of the greatest deceptions of human history, and in so doing, propagate falsehoods which are seriously damaging to the Kingdom of God and themselves.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Preface)
Interpretation: Jones approaches Christian Zionism not primarily as a political or historical problem but as a theological error — a mistaken ecclesiology that diverts the church from its proper calling and even makes it an enemy of God.
In Chapter 1 Jones escalates the charge:
“WAKE UP church! Your misguided support of ‘Israel’ is nothing less than treason!”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1)
Interpretation: The call “Wake up, church” is a direct ecclesiological admonition. Jones treats Christian Zionism not as a peripheral issue but as treason against the Kingdom of God — implying that the church bears responsibility for God’s justice in the world, and that it is systematically failing that responsibility.
Church and Israel — Continuity Theology Without Replacement Theology
Jones rejects both classical replacement theology (the church replaces Israel) and chosen-people theology (ethnic Israel holds inalienable covenant rights). He articulates a third position: the church is true Judah.
“The church (ecclesia) did not replace the Jews; the church was, in fact, Judah from the start, because they are the only ones who ‘praise’ God in an acceptable manner (Judah means ‘praise’). That is the point of Paul’s teaching in Rom. 2:29, saying: ‘his praise is not from men, but from God.‘”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1)
Interpretation: This position is not replacement but redefinition: the church does not assume the name Israel, but is the organic continuation of true Judah — all who acknowledge the King of Judah, Jesus Christ. The tribe of Judah goes with its rightful King, regardless of genealogical claims.
Jones grounds this principle in Torah. He cites Num. 15:15-16:
“As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord. There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1; cf. also Ex. 12:49; Deut. 16:10-14)
Interpretation: Jones uses the Torah equality provisions as an ecclesiological foundation: the assembly of God was never exclusively ethnic but always open to all who join the covenant community. The ‘chosen people’ principle rests on faith, not blood.
‘One New Man’ — Equality in God’s Kingdom
Jones links his ecclesiology directly to Paul’s teaching on the ‘one new man’ (Eph. 2:15):
“any Jew or Edomite who receives heart circumcision is no longer a Jew or an Edomite but is part of the ‘one new man’ (Eph. 2:15) that God is creating in the earth. In God’s Kingdom, Paul says, ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek’ (Gal. 3:28), nor is anyone known as an Edomite. All are given new identities and equal citizenship status.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1)
Jones connects this to Eph. 2:14, Jesus’ demolition of the dividing wall:
“King Jesus ‘broke down the barrier of the dividing wall’ (Eph. 2:14) to re-establish unity and equal justice in the Kingdom.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1)
Interpretation: Jones’ church-and-Israel model is strictly non-hierarchical: there are not two classes (ethnic Israel and the church), but one assembly of all who acknowledge the King of Judah. The wall that Jesus tore down was not merely ceremonial but also juridical: the prohibition against equal civic rights for foreigners.
Jones adds an explicit statement about the nature of this new humanity:
“God is working with ‘one new man’ — not with two men who are unequal.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1)
Interpretation: The phrase “not with two men who are unequal” is a direct repudiation of any two-tier ecclesiology — a structure in which ethnic Jews hold a position that Gentile believers cannot share. For Jones, the gospel of the Kingdom is intrinsically egalitarian at the level of covenant identity.
Chosen-People Theology Rejected
Jones explicitly rejects the doctrine that an ethnic group possesses special rights on the basis of genealogy:
“The idea of a ‘chosen people’ based on their genealogy is not Scriptural, for it creates two unequal classes of citizens and gives the flesh dominance over faith.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1)
He grounds this in Paul’s teaching on circumcision of the heart:
“Heart circumcision is the only type of circumcision that has any value to God (Rom. 2:28, 29), and it raises people to a relationship that supersedes genealogy.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 1)
Interpretation: Jones’ argument is not that God does not elect, but that election is never genealogical — it is always based on faith. Heart circumcision (Rom. 2:28-29) is the sole legitimate criterion for membership in God’s people, and it abolishes all ethnic distinctions.
Church and State — The Church as Public Witness
In Chapter 12 Jones outlines the church’s active calling in the world:
“As Christians we are instructed to be the ‘salt of the earth’… Taking a pro-active, public and even judicial stand against wickedness and injustice in high places, is simply not negotiable for Kingdom overcomers.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 12)
Jones adds an eschatological-ecclesiological principle:
“There is no homeland for the Jew or the Israelite until they acknowledge their King, His Majesty Jesus, the Christ of God.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 12)
Interpretation: Jones couples the ‘salt of the earth’ motif to direct political and judicial action. The church has not only a spiritual but also a public, even juridical calling. At the same time, he insists that there can be no national restoration without recognition of Christ as King — positioning the church as the community that guards the norm for such recognition.
Conclusions (Chapter 11) — Ecclesiological Implications
“The State called ‘Israel’ exists at present only to satisfy God’s requirements for justice to be dispensed on behalf of the modern descendants of Esau.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 11)
Jones closes Chapter 11 with Isa. 2:3 as an ecclesiological horizon:
“And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.‘”
(Jones, Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?, Chapter 11, citing Isa. 2:3)
Interpretation: Jones sees the ultimate destiny of all nations not as a restoration of ethnic Israel but as a pilgrimage toward the community that teaches God’s ways — an ecclesiological description of the church as a teaching community and Kingdom community.