Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Thursday June 11 2026
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Luke 23:12-That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.
Truth wrapped in love unites people together.
So also does deception wrapped in hate.
If there were ever any doubt of this, all we need to remember are these words of Luke regarding Pilate and Herod. Long since enemies, they decided to unite together under their banner of hatred against Jesus of Nazareth. Their mutual opposition to Jesus brought them together in furtherance of their selfish goals and ambitions.
A truly unholy alliance, indeed.
We see the same thing taking place today in America, where our nation’s leaders and policies are being framed by an alliance with something known as Christian Zionism.
What exactly is Christian Zionism?
It is the belief system which states that the Jewish people (as an ethnic group) are the chosen people of God with the Divine prerogative and right to the land of Israel (including modern day Palestine). Historically, Zionism has greatly influenced American politics.
American politics concerning the nation of Israel have been and continue to be significantly shaped by dispensational beliefs concerning that nation. The May 2003 issue of Time magazine reveals that George W. Bush appeared to be under pressure from dispensational teachers regarding U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Condoleezza Rice, the then U.S. National Security Advisor, likewise in 2003, apparently called on dispensationalist Jack Van Impe as an adviser. Van Impe wrote regarding this invitation that, “He [George W. Bush] will know exactly what is going to happen in the Middle East and what part he will have under the leading of the Holy Spirit of God.” United States government consultation with dispensationalists is not a new phenomenon. Hal Lindsey acted as a consultant to the Pentagon after his publication of The Late Great Planet Earth in 1970. Both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were pro-Israel and opened the way for dispensational consultation. “In the last forty years, three Christian leaders, each given a White House platform by Reagan, have probably achieved more than any others in ensuring American foreign policy remains resolutely pro-Zionist. They are Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Hal Lindsey…President Bill Clinton in a 1994 speech affirmed the ongoing influence of dispensational thought in America’s political position when he echoed Blackstone’s sentiments, saying, “If you abandon Israel, God will never forgive you. . . . it is God’s will that Israel, the biblical home of the people of Israel, continue forever and ever,” and “your [Israel’s] journey is our journey, and America will stand with you now and always. (Alistair W. Donaldson & Stephen Sizer, The Last Days Of Dispensationalism: A Scholarly Critique Of Popular Misconceptions, chapter 2 (Logos Edition): Eugene, OR; Wipf And Stock)
We are seeing many examples of how Zionism is influencing American government, even in our time.
The Bible itself is clear that Zionism is a heresy. The Jewish people (as an ethnic group) are no longer the people of God. God fulfilled His land promises to the Jewish people long ago.
Joshua 21:43-45-So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
The Jews retaining control of that land was dependent on their faithfulness to God’s Word.
Joshua 23:14-16-Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. 15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you. 16 When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”
The Apostle Paul discusses how the Lord has a “new” people, or Israel, that is composed of both Jews and Gentiles.
Ephesians 2:11-22-Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—. 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The Apostle addresses our brothers and sisters at Ephesus, some of whom are Jewish and some of whom are non-Jewish (Gentile). He reminds the Gentile brethren that at one time they had had no possibility of being God’s chosen people, and they had been “aliens” and “strangers” from God’s covenants to Israel. As such, they possessed “no hope” because they were “without God” in the world.
However, thanks to Jesus, that has all changed!
Now, the Lord has brought them near with the Jewish people, having abolished in His death the Old Testament Law that separated them from the people of Israel. In the death of the Messiah, the Law and the separation between Jew and Gentile had been removed, so that God could now make “one new man,” composed of Jew and Gentile. This was all made possible by the cross of Jesus. The people within this new “body” are now reconciled-not only to each other, but to God!
What is the “new body” that God has made?
Ephesians 1:22-23-And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Now, as members of the “new” body (i.e., the church of Christ) both Jews and Gentiles have access to the Holy Spirit.
The church of Christ (Jew and Gentile) is now the household of God!
The church of Christ (Jew and Gentile) is built on the foundation of God’s Word!
The church of Christ (Jew and Gentile) is the temple of the Holy Spirit!
Make no mistake: the church of Christ is God’s Israel today!
Let us be wary of the unholy merger of American politics with Christian Zionism. Let us see the error that this is, and oppose it as members of the true Israel of God: the church of Christ.
Father, thank You for Your saving grace that allows us to be members of Your church, whether we are Jew or Gentile. Help us to speak Your Word in love with those around us. Give us eyes to see, Lord. Amen.