Is Christian Nationalism from God?

In the Old Testament, God raised up the nation of Israel to prepare the world for the Kingdom of God.
Then God sent His only Son, the Eternal Word of God, to show the Jews and all the world the character and the love of God.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue

In the Old Testament there are many prophecies telling of the coming of the Messiah from heaven to restore the nation of Israel as the headquarters of God’s global government. Jesus will return from heaven one day to do exactly that.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem shortly before His execution, the crowds welcomed him, expecting him to reveal himself as the heavenly ruler who would cast out the Roman occupiers and make Israel great again. It seemed to be a MAGA moment, but Jesus disappointed them.


When Jesus was trial before Pontius Pilate, he said to the Roman Governor:

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Jn 18:36 NRSV

Jesus did not come to restore the Jewish theocracy and rule the world. Jesus was not a Jewish nationalist and he never established any kind of Christian Nationalism.

After His execution on the cross, Jesus returned from death and spent 40 days with his disciples.

Before he returned to heaven, his disciples still expected God to restore a dominant nation of Israel.

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6 NRSVue

Jesus answered decisively:

He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:7–8 NRSVue

In other words, not yet.

Since then, there have been many attempts to set up earthly kingdoms and empires in the name of Jesus. These have often been very bad.

The Roman Catholic crusaders travelled through Constantinople on the way to drive the Muslims out of Israel. The Crusaders violently attacked the Eastern Orthodox Christians. The ugly face of Christian Nationalism.

The Spanish Inquisition ruthlessly persecuted the Jews. Christian Nationalism again.

The Spanish Inquisition followed the Conquistadors to Mexico and South America. Many indigenous people were murdered or enslaved. Christian Nationalism.

The colonists in North America had African slaves and committed genocide against indigenous people. They believed they were christianising North America. Christian Nationalism is so often savagely cruel.

American missionaries went to Hawaii in the middle of the 19th Century. They won many converts but they were not satisfied with that. They settled in Hawaii and successfully overthrew the benevolent Hawaiian monarchy. They replaced a free hospital with commercialised American health services. They punished Hawaiian children for speaking their native language. Christian Nationalism is not Christian.

Aboriginal children in Australia were treated even worse by many Christian missionaries. Christian Nationalism is not from God.