My
intent in titling this article obviously worked for you, and that is to give
you enticing bait to approach a subject that is of utmost concern in our time.
The title, “Premillennial Dispensationalism, Christian Zionism, and Terrorism:
Is There A Cure?” may seem a bit volatile at first, but rest assured, my
objective is to bring us to a better understanding of the virtually inseparable
relationship between premillennial dispensationalism, and terrorism, and, of
course, premillennial dispensationalism’s connection with Christian Zionism and
American foreign policy in the middle east. Because
of the nature of this article and the facts that will be presented, some may
erroneously conclude that I am a racist to some degree or another. I
emphatically assert that this is not the case. The apostle Paul stated:
God that made the world and
all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in
temples made with hands; {25} Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though
he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
{26} And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of
their habitation; {27} That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel
after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: {28} For in
him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets
have said, For we are also his offspring.
The
first and primary reason for the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was to abolish
the enmity between God and man, and second, to abolish the enmity between Jew
and Gentile, regardless of race. Therefore, if you come from this seminar with
a feeling that a form of racism was promoted, it is because you have
misunderstood or misinterpreted my statements. In fact, Christ came to abolish
racism and to establish unity among His people. God does not look upon the
outward, but God looks upon the heart. The facts that I present today are
intended to show the devastating effects of a carnal and human-centered
theology, and that the cure for this carnal theology and its effects is found
entirely in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Sadly, as I began my study, I
lost sight of this centerpiece. That is, I approached this subject without the
object of our faith in mind. And yet, as I delved through the many statements
of scholars and important figures in recent history, I became acutely aware
that apart from Christ we can do nothing. However ambitious we may be in our
endeavors to quell the division that has gripped the middle east, all such
endeavors will be fruitless without recognizing the object of our worship, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Though my aspirations appear to be noble, just, and
honorable, if I lose sight of the Prince of Peace, I would merely be attempting
to provide you with a human-centered antidote, destined only to fail along with
so many of the vain systems that our world offers as “roadmaps” to peace. We
can eliminate settlements, weapons of mass destruction, torture chambers, and
even, God forbid, Donald Rumsfeld, but if we do not rely solely upon the power,
presence, and person of Jesus Christ, we will simply follow the tradition of
those who have gone before us, and that is to die knowing that there was still
war in the middle east. But
I am confident that we are on the brink of something pointedly alive and powerful—a
host of exhilarating truths that, when presented in love and boldness can at
last solve what still remains utterly visible to all, and that is the problem
of tension in the middle east. Since September 11, 2001 I have become more
convinced than ever that a proper worldview is directly related to one’s
theological perspective, and in the case of the affairs of the middle east,
eschatology will play an integral part of curing what I call the heartland of
the world, and of course the world itself. You
may think it strange for me to spend a good portion of this article quoting
various people concerning this topic. But in order for us to understand the
significant role dispensationalism has played in terrorism we must get it from
the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
Before
I begin, I would like to share with you my background. I was born a
premillennial dispensationalist. Seriously, I was born into the home of a
Plymouth Brethren father and Southern Baptist mother. Dad’s mother was a
faithful teacher in the popular movement, Women’s Bible Study Fellowship, which
is foundationally dispensational, under the influence of Wetherell Johnson and
Rosemary Jensen. My mother was also a teaching leader of this group for 10
years. My father had the complete works of John Nelson Darby and William Kelly.
I attended a covenant church which was southern baptistic in nature and
certainly dispensational in its eschatology. But it didn’t preach
dispensationalism as a regular topic. Therefore Dad stayed home. Mom, my
sister, and I attended there until the age of 10. When I was 10 Dad began to
experience conviction from not attending church. So he found a local
dispensational church which was an offshoot of the Plymouth Brethren movement.
It was the closest thing he could find to what he wanted. The pastor received
his ThM. from Dallas Theological Seminary, the fountain head of dispensational
thought. He regularly preached messages out of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation,
showing their striking parallels with current events. He regularly provided
field trips for the church to hear such dispensational greats as Dwight
Pentecost, John Walvoord, Charles Ryrie and John MacArthur. At the age of 17 I
accepted a Sunday school teaching position and the songleader position of the
same church. At the age of 18 I left this church to attend a 5000 member mega
church that was dispensational and had hip music. Ok, so that is not the
complete truth. A pretty girl I met in college invited me to attend this
church. But I really dug the music. Eventually I began leading bible studies
with musicians from the church, teaching the pre-tribulational, premillennial
perspective. And I taught it with authority. At the age of 22 I graduated from
California State University with a degree in music. However, 6 months before my
graduation I got engaged to a girl who later would dump me. However, during our
engagement I came under the conviction that I needed to go to seminary, start a
rural dispensational church, and have all the lovely old ladies bring me doughnuts
and meals as I would study into the wee hours of the night. So, I set off to
attend Talbot Theological Seminary located on the campus of BIOLA University,
the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, over which, Dr. David Hocking (long time
national radio bible teacher of the BIOLA HOUR )served as president. He
convinced me that Russia was the bear of Daniel. I began attending his church
during my first month at Talbot. They had great plans to begin using me as one
of their primary adult Sunday school teachers. At this time my
dispensationalist grandmother passed away and I inherited such outstanding
works as the Theocratic Kingdom, Lewis Sperry Chafer’s Systematic Theology,
Dwight Pentecost’s Things to Come, Charles Ryrie’s Dispensationalism today, and
of course, Lindsey’s the Late Great Planet Earth, among a truckload of other
dispensational greats. However, I was experiencing severe discouragement with
seminary. I was under the impression that in seminary I would be able to
immerse myself in Greek and Hebrew and become a real dispensational preacher.
Instead, I was getting bombarded with seminary material, commentaries, and this
nagging little Calvinistic undergraduate pest who would teach me about the
sovereignty of God in a day. I withdrew after 2 months. I returned to
Sacramento to become music director of that 5000 member mega church. I learned
quite a bit more about the Russian Bear mentioned in Daniel while ministering
there. Then I resigned after a year and nine months because I just wanted to
teach the Bible. A week after my resignation, the former college pastor of
Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, who had started a church just north of
Sacramento asked me if I wanted to be his music director. “No,” I thought to
myself. “I want to be a Calvinistic dispensationalist when I grow up,” though
my wording was somewhat different. I simply told him I wanted to teach the
Bible. He said, “Well, you can do that here too. Start a college Bible study.”
So I accepted. That relationship lasted about 7 months. However, I learned a
little more about the Russian Bear mentioned in Daniel. He took us to lots of
Calvary Chapel associated events, Greg Laurie crusades, Raul Ries revivals etc.
But for some reason my interest in the Russian Bear mentioned in Daniel was
waning. Presently, I don’t even believe that the locusts in Revelation are
Cobra Helicopters. The Virginia Slims motto was ringing loud and clear: “Ward,
you’ve come a long way, baby.” And the rest is preterism, or, history. Whenever
I approach a topic of concern and debate as heated as the Israeli-Arab
conflict, I almost always find out what the opposition is saying. In my studies
and preparation for these messages, I am continually awed by the media’s
complete disregard for the foundation of America’s alliance with Israel and the
media’s unwillingness to search out the history of the matter. And of course,
since abandoning premillennial dispensationalism I have been able to see and
become convinced that the eschatology that developed in the 19th
century called dispensationalism has brought about the devastating effects on
America through Christian Zionism and the American-Israeli alliance. Again, I
am in no way shape or form advocating violence, or support for Islam and
Israel. I am no left-wing liberal waving a flag of peace on the steps of the
capitol. In fact, the vast majority of those who protested the war in Iraq did
so with complete ignorance to the fact that this is an eschatological issue. I
am an American and love my country but I despise our ignorance. And having been
a die-hard dispensationalist for 26 of my 36 years of life, this issue is all
too real for me. It remains an open wound for me and will continue to remain an
open wound until America changes its policy in meddling in others’ affairs based
upon dispensational eschatology. At first, today’s message may seem merely
indirectly related to preterist or fulfilled eschatology. But if you follow
this presentation attentively, you will hopefully see how the fulfilled view of
eschatology (i.e. preterist or transmillennial eschatology) can drastically
affect not only the middle east, but the world as well. The
present middle east problem has as its foundation a view of Judeo-Christian
eschatology known as premillennial dispensationalism. Terrorist organizations
pertaining to this situation are secondary issues, or what I would view as
tributaries coming from a lake. America, ultimately in the name of the second
coming of Christ and the regathering of Jews to Israel (under the guise of
peacemakers), have meddled in an affair that is not ours in blatant
contradiction to the command of God and His work in the first century: Proverbs
26:17 He that passes by, and meddles
with strife belonging not to him, is like one that takes a dog by the ears. If
we are to have an impact on the middle-east, we must have an impact on American
foreign policy. If we are to have an impact on American foreign policy, we must
have an impact on American politicians. If we are to have an impact American
politicians, we must have an impact on fundamentalist Christian Zionists. If we
are to have an impact on Fundamentalist Christian Zionists, we must use the
Bible. For they claim that justification for their agenda can be found in the
pages of what we know as the Old and New Testaments. Therefore
having come to specific conclusions pertaining to eschatology and the
middle-east, I went to one of the strongest sources of pro-Israel/anti-Islam
propaganda, and that is the Anti-Defamation League. I wanted to see their
presentation. I have compiled what the ADL feels are the strongest statements
and complaints from Islamic leaders about the United States and the primary
reason those leaders are angry with us. http://www.adl.org/terrorism_america/bin_l.asp Statements
from Osama Bin Laden. "Our terrorism is a good accepted
terrorism because it's against America, it's for the purpose of defeating
oppression so America would stop supporting Israel, who is killing our
children." "To
all the Mujah: Your brothers in Palestine are waiting for you; it's time to
penetrate America and Israel and hit them where it hurts the most." September
23, 2001 - "We hope that these brothers (Muslim casualties in Pakistan)
are among the first martyrs in Islam's battle in this era against the new
Christian-Jewish crusade led by the big crusader Bush under the flag of the
Cross; this battle is considered one of Islam's battles. We
ask Allah to make him (Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar) victorious over the
forces of infidels and tyranny, and to crush the new Christian-Jewish
crusade on the land of Pakistan and Afghanistan... May
1997 - During an interview with CNN, bin Laden reaffirms his call for a holy
war against Americans. "We have focused our declaration of jihad on the
U.S. soldiers inside Arabia…The U.S. government has committed acts that are
extremely unjust, hideous and criminal through its support of the Israeli
occupation of Palestine." Bin
Laden in an interview with CNN’s Peter Arnett: "If the American government
is serious about avoiding the explosions inside the US, then let it stop
provoking the feelings of 1,250 million Muslims. Those hundreds of thousands
who have been killed or displaced in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, do have brothers
and relatives. They would make of Ramzi Yousef [convicted for his role in 1993
bombing of the World Trade Center] a symbol and a teacher. The US will drive
them to transfer the battle into the United States." Sunday November
24, 2002 In
answer to the question, Why are you fighting us? Bin Laden’s first response:
“Palestine, which has sunk under military occupation for more than 80 years.
The British handed over Palestine, with your help and your support, to the
Jews, who have occupied it for more than 50 years; years overflowing with
oppression, tyranny, crimes, killing, expulsion, destruction and devastation.
The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you
are the leaders of its criminals. And of course there is no need to explain and
prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a
crime which must be erased. Each and every person whose hands have become
polluted in the contribution towards this crime must pay its*price, and pay for
it heavily. (ii) It brings us
both laughter and tears to see that you have not yet tired of repeating your
fabricated lies that the Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was
promised to them in the Torah. Anyone who disputes with them on this alleged
fact is accused of anti-semitism. This is one of the most fallacious,
widely-circulated fabrications in history The American people are the ones who pay the taxes
which fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and
destroy our homes in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the
Arabian Gulf, and the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq. These tax
dollars are given to Israel for it to continue to attack us and penetrate our
lands. So the American people are the ones who fund the attacks against us, and
they are the ones who oversee the expenditure of these monies in the way they
wish, through their elected candidates. Also the American army is part of the American
people. It is this very same people who are shamelessly helping the Jews fight
against us.
Osama Bin Laden in
answer to the question: * What is the responsibility of the Muslim
populations towards the international campaign against Islam? “What bears no
doubt in this fierce Judao - Christian campaign against the Muslim world, the
likes of which has never been seen before, is that the Muslims must prepare all
the possible might to repel the enemy on the military, economic, missionary,
and all other areas.” STATEMENTS
FROM OTHERS CONCERNING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE U.S. SUPPORT OF ISRAEL AS
INSTIGATING TERRORISM. In
discussing the U.S.-led campaign to oust Saddam Hussein, newspapers in the
Muslim and Arab world turned to classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,
suggesting that Israel and the Jews were the "invisible hand" behind
America’s foreign policy toward Iraq. Editorial
cartoons appearing in popular daily newspapers, including those of America’s
strategic allies in the region, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, regularly turn to
classical anti-Semitic canards in depicting Jews and Israel: With
the war against Iraq, newspapers in these and other Arab nations used the
classic canard of "Jewish control" to suggest that Jews were steering
American foreign policy. Others published cartoons that suggest that the U.S.
war was a diversion manufactured by Israel to turn international attention away
from its treatment of the Palestinians. Arab News, online Saudi English Language Daily, Hussein Shobokshi "This War
Lacks Credibility" March 18, 2003 Arab News, online Saudi English
Language Daily, Mohammed Al-Khereiji, "How a Cabal Manipulates America's
Post-Sept. 11 Psyche," March 17, 2003 "George
W. Bush has been on a mission to get rid of rogue regimes in the name of his
war on terrorism. That mission, while noble in its objectives, lacks
credibility and legitimacy. The main reason for that is its failure to address
the criminal record of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister. For those who
realize the special relationship which exists between the neocons who have
taken over the American foreign policy and Israel, it should not come as a
surprise when Sharon goes out on a killing spree every week to murder women,
men and children without encountering the slightest criticism . . . The real
problem is that these acts of terrorism come with the support and blessing of
important political figures in America, people who have made the security of
Israel as important (some will argue more important) than America's. Richard
Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and their henchmen have made no secret of their desire to
dismantle and change all political systems in the Arab world in order to ensure
Israel's safety. "The
war against Iraq may be just around the corner, worldwide protests
notwithstanding. US public protests against such a war have only lately
gathered steam - not in defense of Saddam Hussein, whom most detest, but directed
at a war to be waged against another nation based on dubious, if not outright
fabricated information, and cooked up not by the president of the US, but by a
cabal controlling the American administration who were pushing for an Iraqi
invasion policy well before George W. Bush's assumption of the US presidency. In
a cynical and well-orchestrated campaign, they manipulated America's
post-Sept.11 psyche to push for their anti-Arab, anti-Islamic policies
beginning with an invasion of Iraq to cement US hegemony as the world's only
superpower. One of the godfathers of this cabal is a brilliant and articulate
strategist named Richard Perle. But for his chairmanship of the Pentagon's
Defense Advisory Board, Perle would have been just another rabid anti-Arab and anti-Islamic
Jewish demagogue espousing Israeli interests within any number of American
administrations. But an examination of how Perle, Wolfowitz, and their cohorts
in the administration misled the president and the American public is already
beginning.
Al-Ahram, Egyptian Government Daily, Ibrahim Nafi', "Facts," March 4,
2003 "…
Choosing the Iraqi problem in order to cover up the Israeli massacres against
the Palestinians is a brilliant plan by the Israeli Right power that wishes to
repeat the events of World War II, when the world was busy with an existential
war. In this period, the Zionist groups' massacres were intended to eliminate
the Palestinian Arabs. It was the same plan, when (the Zionist groups)
destroyed the Arab lands in the 1967's catastrophe…" Ar-Riyadh, Saudi Government Daily, Dr. Nura as-Sa'ed "Fulfill the
Obligation of Reliability," March 3, 2003 "What
our world is going through today is the most dangerous thing that was produced
by the strategy of the war's lobbyists and the hawks, which are supportive of
the Likud, within Bush's administration. The conspiracy is clear, and its
application is going through stages that are shocking the certainty of the
ingenuous Muslim citizen, which used to believe in the justice institutions in
his country. Some of these institutions open their lands, minds and petrol
stores in order to help the occupier of the land and petrol, to kill, destroy,
and partition the region on behalf of the map of the Big Israel- the Zionist
enemy". Sanaa
Republic of Yemen Television in Arabic Official television station of the
Republic of Yemen Live sermon by Shaykh Akram Abd-al-Razzaq al-Ruqayhi at Grand
Mosque in Sanaa February 21, 2003 (Independent Media Review and Analysis (IMRA)
translation of FBIS report in Arabic.) "[The
Muslim brothers] in Palestine and Iraq are suffering from aggression by the
forces of arrogance and hegemony, which are dreaming of ruling the world,
taking control of its revenues, and imposing their ambitions on the world . . .
O God, help our mujahidin brothers in Palestine and Iraq score victory over
their enemies. O God, destroy the unjust sons of Zion and the arrogant
Americans. O God, shake the ground under them, instill panic into their hearts,
and disperse them. O God, destroy them, for they are within your power." –Saddam
Hussein from The Saddam Hussein Interview, Published: 04-Feb-2003 From: www.channel4.com/news/home/z/stories/20030204/saddam_benn.html “It seems that
the authorities in the US are motivated by aggression that has been evident for
more than a decade against the region. The first factor is the role of those
influential people in the decision taken by the President of the US based on
sympathy with the Zionist entity that was created at the expense of Palestine
and its people and their humanity. ”These people
force the hand of the American administration by claiming that the Arabs pose a
danger to Israel, without remembering their obligation to God and how the
Palestinian people were driven out of their homeland”. Fundamentalist
Christian-Zionist Conspiracy by Dr. M. Amir Ali, Ph.D. http://www.iiie.net/Articles/FundChristZionConsp.html
The Institute of Islamic Information and Education. “Colonialism
has given to the West the gift of Islam. Islam is here in the Western countries
of Europe and North America to stay. For some people in the Western continents
the presence of Muslims among them is a matter of concern; some are alarmed;
for others, Islam is a curse and they are looking for a cure. The concerned
groups are Zionists (Jews and non-Jews), atheists, secular humanists, secular
nationalists, some of the immigrant Hindus, and in the forefront are
fundamentalist Christians.” Sunday,
December 08 2002 @ 04:43 PM GMT "The
letter, written in a vitriolic tone, demanded that the Orthodox Patriarch of
Jerusalem punish and banish Rev. Hanna Atallah .."
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021208164336650 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The so-called “Christian Embassy,” in West
Jerusalem, run by a group of European and North American Jews, has sent a
threatening letter to the Christian Orthodox Patriarchy headquarters in East
Jerusalem, demanding the dismissal of an outspoken Orthodox leader for
criticizing ‘Israeli state terror’ against Palestinians. The letter, written in a vitriolic tone, demanded that the
Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem punish and banish Rev. Hanna Atallah because of
“his incitement against Christian Zionism churches.” The Orthodox Church dismissed the letter as “insignificant,”
adding that the so-called Christian embassy of Jerusalem was not an authentic
Christian body. “Those people are not really Christians, they are Zionist Jews in
heart who bear Christian names and titles in order to deceive common people,”
said a source at the Orthodox Patriarchy offices. “The raison d’être of this group is to enlist Christian support
for Israel’s genocidal terror against Palestinians, Muslims and Christians
alike. In light, I would like to ask: Since when (do) supporting terror and
murder and all other acts of repression represent the way of Christ?” The “Christian embassy,” while ignoring Christian Palestinians,
often raises money to build Jewish-only settlements on the West Bank and Gaza
Strip and also finances the transfer of Jewish immigrants from the former
Soviet Union to Palestine. The Balfour Declaration http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00pp0 (MFA-Ministry
of Foreign Affairs)The Balfour Declaration was an official statement issued on
behalf of the British government in 1917, announcing its support in principle
of a proposed home for the Jewish people in Palestine. It was drafted by
British Foreign Minister Arthur J. Balfour in concert with prominent Jewish
leaders and the British cabinet and was issued by Balfour in the following
communication to the 2nd Baron Rothschild on November 2, 1917: "I have much
pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of his Majesty's Government, the
following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations, which has
been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet. "His Majesty's
Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home
for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the
achievement of this object. It being clearly understood that nothing
shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing
non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed
by Jews in any other country. ‘I should be
grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist
Federation.’ This declaration,
which Zionists interpreted as a promise for a Jewish state in Palestine, was
formally approved by representatives of the Allied governments at Versailles in
1919 and was the basis of the League of Nations mandate for Palestine. From
Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, by J. N. Darby, British Theologian
and founder of pretribulational dispensationalism wrote: "A very clear
prophecy of Israel's condition in the last days is contained in Isaiah
18. They shall be restored by means of some powerful nation, outside the
limits of their then national relationships; but Jehovah stands apart from His
own relationship with them, though ordering all things. Then, when Israel
shall begin to bud as a vine in the land, they shall be given up as a prey to
the nations. Nevertheless in that time they shall be brought as an
offering to Jehovah, and shall themselves bring an offering too." Evangelicals
and Israel: Theological Roots of a Political Alliance by
Donald Wagner http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showarticle?item_id=216 Donald
Wagner is director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at North Park
University in Chicago and director of Evangelicals for Middle East
Understanding. This article appeared in The Christian Century, November 4,
1998, pp. 1020-1026. “Through Darby's influence, premillennial
dispensationalism became a dominant method of biblical interpretation and
influenced a generation of evangelical leaders, including Dwight L. Moody.
Perhaps the most influential instrument of dispensational thinking was the
Scofield Bible (1909) which included a commentary that interpreted prophetic
texts according to a premillennial hermeneutic. Another early Darby disciple,
William E. Blackstone, brought dispensationalism to millions of Americans
through his best seller Jesus Is Coming (1882). Blackstone
organized the first Zionist lobbying effort in the U.S. in 1891 when he
enlisted J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Charles B. Scribner and other
financiers to underwrite a massive newspaper campaign requesting President
Benjamin Harrison to support the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. Likud also turned to evangelical and fundamentalist
Christians to offset the decline in contributions for Israel from the American
Jewish community. In response to the increasing power of the Orthodox parties
in Netanyahu's government and the second-class status these parties assigned to
non-Orthodox Jews, Reformed and Conservative Jewish communities cut back their
usual generous contributions to the Jewish National Fund and other agencies in
the U.S. that support Israel. But the International Fellowship of Christians
and Jews, led by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein of Chicago, raised more than $5 million
for the United Jewish Appeal, almost all of it from evangelicals and
fundamentalists.” In a separate initiative, John Hagee, pastor of the
Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, and a signer of the Christians for a
United Jerusalem Statement, announced in February of this year that his church
was giving more than $1 million to Israel. He claimed that the money would be
used to help resettle Jews from the former Soviet Union in the West Bank and
Jerusalem. "We feel like the coming of Soviet Jews to Israel is a
fulfillment of biblical prophecy," Hagee stated. When asked if he realized
that his support of Israel's Likud policies was at cross-purposes with U.S.
government policy and possibly illegal, Hagee retorted: "I am a Bible
scholar and a theologian and from my perspective, the law of God transcends the
law of the United States government and the U.S. State Department." Important Developments of Christian Zionism 1978: "...a Likud plan to encourage
fundamentalist churches to give their support to Israel" was
published. The Likud is a conservative party in Israel; as of 2002-JUL, they
are the leading party in a coalition government. The guide was written by Yona
Malachy, and was titled "American Fundamentalism and Israel: The
Relation of Fundamentalist Churches to Zionism and the State of Israel."
It was published by the Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem. 1985: At a "National Prayer Breakfast for Israel,"
on FEB-6, Benjamin Netanyahu discussed how "A sense of history, poetry
and morality imbued the Christian Zionists who, more than a century ago, began
to write, plan and organize for Israel's restoration (Very likely Netanyahu was referring to John Nelson Darby, founder of premillennial dispensationalism)." 1 1985: The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
hosted the first International Christian Zionist Congress, in Basel,
Switzerland. 2002-MAY: The Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC,
organized a prayer breakfast for Christian Zionists. "Present were
Alonzo Short, a member of the board of 'Promise Keepers'... Michael Little who
is president of the 'Christian Broadcasting Network' (as well as) Jerry Falwell
and Pat Robertson." http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_isra.htm F.
William Engdahl, author of Mit der Ölwaffe zur Weltmacht F. William
Engdahl is Chief Economist of Virginia-based Pacific-Tech Bridge, a strategic
consultancy engaged in hi-tech partnerships in emerging markets, Japan, North
America, Europe and the Middle East. He is the author of “A Century of War:
Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order”, a widely acclaimed book.
He has written extensively on energy and economic themes for numerous
publications in the USA and internationally, and has served as a private
strategic consultant. Mr. Engdahl graduated from Princeton University with a BA
in International Politics with postgraduate studies in economics at the
University of Stockholm. http://www.studien-von-zeitfragen.de/Weltmacht/Neo-Cons_Manuscript/neo-cons_manuscript.HTM From
the article: American Power: A great debate has just begun “Christian
Zionists and the Israeli right wing Likud Party firmed their alliance in
1980, when J. W. van der Hoeven, and several other Christian Zionists founded
the International Christian Embassy-Jerusalem (ICEJ), as a defiant support of
Begin's illegal annexation of Arab East Jerusalem. The ICEJ receives financial
support from Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network and other U.S.
Christian Zionist groups. “This
bizarre but deliberate alliance of Christian Zionist groups such as the
Christian Coalition, with the pro-Israel neo-conservatives who back Sharon and
Netanyahu, has become one of the most influential political interest groups in
U.S. politics... Christian Zionist financial contributions to specific U.S.
Congressmen give them enormous influence over Congress. Christian Zionist
"friends" in Congress include Senator James Inhofe or Republican
House whip, Tom DeLay, and Senate Foreign Relations head, Jesse Helms, all
closely tied to the support of Christian Zionist Israel policy” An interesting
quote. (Stephen Sizer): While browsing through articles on the internet, I
found a spectacular article perhaps on par with Donald Wagner’s article. I won’t
tell you the author until the end. (Revised April 11, 1999) “Hal
Lindsey is undoubtedly the most influential of all Christian Zionists of the
20th century. Although rarely quoted by others, he has nevertheless been
described by Time as 'The Jeremiah for this Generation', and by the New York
Times as 'the best selling author of the decade.'1
His newest publisher describes him as 'The Father of the Modern-Day Bible
Prophecy Movement,'2
and, 'the best known prophecy teacher in the world.'3
He is apparently one of very few authors to have had three books on the New
York Times best seller list at the same time.4 Like Darby, Lindsey
claims his novel interpretations to have been revealed directly and personally
by God. ‘I believe that the Spirit of God gave me a special
insight, not only into how John described what he actually experienced, but
also into how this whole phenomenon encoded the prophecies so that they could
be fully understood only when their fulfillment drew near. There is no doubt
that Lindsey has had a profound and lasting impact on the American as well as
British Christian scene. Indeed, the popular influence Christian Zionists such
as Lindsey have had, even in American political circles, is highlighted by Don
Wagner who claims that as long ago as 1980, The election of Ronald Reagan ushered in not only
the most pro-Israel administration in history but gave several Christian
Zionists prominent political posts... Once the Reagan Administration opened the
door, leading Evangelical Christian Zionist televangelists and writers were
given direct access to the President and cabinet members. Rev. Jerry Falwell,
Christian Zionist televangelist Mike Evans and author Hal Lindsey among them.45
'White House
Seminars' became a regular feature of Reagan's administration bringing Lindsey
into direct personal contact with national and Congressional leaders. Lindsey
subsequently became a consultant on Middle Eastern affairs not only to the
Pentagon but also to the Israeli Government. By 1994, while
persisting in his belief that Jesus meant this present generation, Lindsey had
begun to prevaricate and lengthen a 'biblical generation' since Jesus had not
returned by 1988 as he had confidently predicted. Based on his revised
calculations Lindsey claimed Jesus would return some time between now and 2067.
Jesus promised us that the generation that witnessed
the restoration of the Jewish people to their homeland would not pass until
'all these things' - including his return to Earth - would be done. The Jewish
people declared the rebirth of their nation in 1948. They recaptured Jerusalem
in 1967. A biblical generation is somewhere between 40 to 100 years, depending
on whether you take the example from Abraham's day or from the discipline of
Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. In either case, you do the arithmetic,
folks. No matter how you cut it, there's not much time left.294
I also said that 'if' a generation was 40 years and 'if' the generation of the
'fig tree' (Matthew 24:32-34) started with the foundation of the State of Israel,
then Jesus 'might come back by 1988.' But I put a lot of ifs and maybes in
because I knew that no one could be absolutely certain.295
Many biblical scholars have pointed out the fact that a generation in the Bible
is generally regarded as 40 years. Some people point out that 40 years has
already passed since the rebirth of Israel and Jesus has not returned. Well
folks, we simply don't know for certain how long a biblical generation is. In
addition, we're not certain when that final countdown began. Did it begin in
1948 when Israel was reborn? Or could it have begun in 1967 when Jerusalem, the
apple of God's eye, was recaptured and reunified under Jewish control? We simply
don't know and that is the way God wants it.296
http://www.virginiawater.co.uk/christchurch/articles/hallindsey.HTM --Stephen Sizer In understanding
the facts it is evident that the American-British-Christian-Jewish alliance is
not merely a conspiracy theory. It is a fact that has its roots in an
eschatological paradigm invented by dispensationalist John Nelson Darby and
systematized by C.I. Scofield. Their agenda is to usher in the second coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ through the regathering of Jews into the land of Israel,
regardless of the loss of life that must take place to do so. If we can prove
that Christ has fulfilled this prophecy then we can begin a roadmap to peace in
the middle east.
FROM
THE ADL
‘Christian Zionist Embassy‘
Vilifies Christian Leader for Criticizing Israel
Conspiracy Theory or The Worst
Theological Blunder to Strike Humanity
Similar efforts were under way in England, led by the social reformer Lord
Shaftesbury, who, like Blackstone, was so taken with Darby's eschatology that
he translated it into a political agenda. These seeds of the Christian Zionist
movement preceded Jewish Zionism by several years. Loni Shaftesbury is also
credited with coining an early version of the slogan adopted by Jewish Zionist
fathers Max Nordau and Theodor Herzl: "A land of no people for a people
with no land." Both Lord Arthur Balfour, author of the famous 1917 Balfour
Declaration, and Prime Minister David Lloyd George, the two most powerful men
in British foreign policy at the close of World War I, were raised in
dispensationalist churches and were publicly committed to the Zionist agenda
for "biblical" and colonialist reasons.”
The establishment of Israel in 1948 gave dispensationalism new momentum. The
restoration of a Jewish nation was taken as a sign that the clock of biblical
prophecy was ticking and we were rapidly approaching the final events leading
to the return of Jesus. During the cold war, dispensationalists readily
interpreted the Soviet Union and its allies as the Antichrist. Passages such as
Ezekiel 38-39 were read as predictions of an impending Soviet attack on Israel.
A ten-member confederation--often interpreted as the European Union--was
expected to join the Soviet Union in this attack.
When Israel captured Jerusalem in the 1967 war; dispensationalists were certain
that the end was near. L. Nelson Bell, Billy Graham's father-in-law and editor
of Christianity Today, wrote in July 1967: "That for the first
time in more than 2,000 years Jerusalem is now completely in the hands of the
Jews gives the student of the Bible a thrill and a renewed faith in the
accuracy and validity of the Bible."
By the early 1970s numerous books, films and television specials publicized the
premillennial dispensationalist perspective. Hal Lindsay made a virtual
industry out of his book The Late Great Planet Earth: it sold more
than 25 million copies and led to two films, as well as a consulting business
with a clientele that has included several members of Congress, the Pentagon,
and Ronald Reagan.
In the mid 1970s at least five trends converged that accelerated the rise of
Christian Zionism. First, evangelical and charismatic movements became the
fastest-growing branch of North American Christianity. Mainline Protestant
denominations and the Roman Catholic Church were declining both in budgets and
attendance.
The election of Jimmy Carter; a Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher; to the
presidency in 1976 increased the visibility and legitimacy of the
once-marginalized evangelical movement. Time magazine declared
1976 "the year of the evangelical." Still, the mainstream media
seemed confused by the various traditions and polarities within the complex
evangelical movement, failing to distinguish between the diverse political and
theological voices clamoring to claim the term "evangelical" for
their particular viewpoint.
Israel's occupation of Arab lands after 1967 created tension between many
Jewish organizations and the mainline Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic
communities. Many Jewish organizations, particularly lobbying groups such as
the American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC), turned to the growing
evangelical community for support. As Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum of the American
Jewish Committee stated, "The evangelical community is the largest and
fastest-growing bloc of pro-Jewish sentiment in this country." AIPAC and
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) added staff to focus on relationships with evangelicals
and fundamentalists. The Israeli ministry of tourism eyed evangelicals as a
major new market for Holy Land tours and thus a source of revenue.
The fourth factor that stimulated the emerging evangelical Christian Zionist
movement's political agenda was the election of Menachem Begin as Israel's
prime minister in May 1977. Prior to Begin's election, Israeli politics had
been dominated by the secular Labor Party. Begin's Likud Party was dominated by
hard-line military figures such as Raphael Eitan and Ariel Sharon, and
supported by the increasingly powerful settler movement and by small Orthodox
religious parties. Likud constituencies used the biblical names "Judea and
Samaria" for the West Bank and employed a religious argument to justify
Israel's confiscation of Arab land for settlements: since God gave the land
exclusively to Jews, they have a divine right to settle anywhere in Eretz
Israel. Evangelicals welcomed the Likud leaders and endorsed their political
and religious agendas.
The final development that accelerated the alliance between Likud and the
Religious Right was Carter's March 1977 statement that he supported Palestinian
human rights, including the "right to a homeland." Likud, when it
came to power just two months later; immediately reached out to Christian
evangelicals. Likud's strategy was simple: split evangelical and fundamentalist
Christians from Carter's political base and rally support among conservative
Christians for Israel's opposition to the United Nations' proposed Middle East
Peace Conference.
Within weeks, full-page advertisements appeared in major U.S. newspapers
stating, "The time has come for evangelical Christians to affirm their
belief in biblical prophecy and Israel's divine right to the land."
Targeting Soviet involvement in the UN conference, the ad went on to say:
"We affirm as evangelicals our belief in the promised land to the Jewish
people . . . . We would view with grave concern any effort to carve out of the
Jewish homeland another nation or political entity."
The ad was financed and coordinated by Jerusalem's Institute for Holy Land
Studies, an evangelical organization with a Christian Zionist orientation.
Several leading dispensationalists signed the ad, including Kenneth Kantzer of Christianity
Today and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, singer Pat Boone, and
dispensationalist theologian and Dallas Theological Seminary president John
Walvoord.
The advertising campaign was one of the first public signs of a
Likud-evangelical alliance. A former employee of the American Jewish Committee,
Jerry Strober, who had coordinated the campaign, made the political connection
in a statement to Newsweek: "[The evangelicals] are Carter's
constituency and he [had] better listen to them... The real source of strength
the Jews have in this country is from the evangelicals."
At times the new alliance was uncomfortable for Jewish leaders. On one such
occasion, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Bailey Smith,
stated that "God does not hear the prayers of the Jews." Within weeks,
the AIC took Smith on a trip to Israel and corrected his views. While Christian
Zionists and Jewish organizations agree on many points, the Christian Right's
enthusiasm for evangelizing Jews remains an unresolved point of tension.
Evangelicals, major Jewish organizations and the pro-Israel lobby supported
Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election. Carter's loss of the evangelical vote
played a significant role in his defeat. Likud policy was aggressively
represented by AIPAC both on Capitol Hill and within the Reagan administration.
For example, when Israel decided to invade Lebanon in the spring of 1982, Begin
sent Ariel Sharon, his defense minister, to Washington to enlist the Reagan
administration's support. By late May, Sharon was reportedly given the green
light by Secretary of State Alexander Haig. Within days of the June invasion,
full-page ads appeared in leading newspapers requesting evangelical support for
the invasion.
Begin developed a unique relationship with Reagan and many fundamentalist leaders,
especially Jerry Falwell. Falwell and his Moral Majority had long supported
Israel. In 1979, Grace Halsell reports, Israel gave Falwell a Lear jet and in
1981 gave him the prestigious Jabotinsky Award during an elaborate dinner
ceremony in New York. When Israel bombed Iraq's nuclear plant in 1981, Begin
called Falwell before he called Reagan. He requested that Falwell "explain
to the Christian public the reasons for the bombing."
In March 1985, while speaking to the conservative Rabbinical Assembly in Miami,
FaIwell pledged to "mobilize 70 million conservative Christians for Israel
and against anti-Semitism." He also takes credit for converting Senator
Jesse Helms (R., N.C.) into one of Israel's staunchest allies. Helms soon
became chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Reagan administration regularly conducted briefings and seminars for its
Christian Right supporters, briefings in which the pro-Likud lobby (Americans
for a Safe Israel and AIPAC) participated. Among the approximately 150 Christian
fundamentalist leaders invited to each event were Hal Lindsay, Jimmy Swaggart,
Jim and Tammy Bakker; Pat Robertson and Tim and Bev LeHaye.
Reagan himself was a committed Christian Zionist. His support for Israel
derived from both strategic political concerns and a vague dispensationalist
perspective. He told Tom Dine, AIPAC's executive director; "I turn back to
your ancient prophets in the Old Testament and the signs foretelling
Armageddon, and I find myself wondering if we re the generation that is going
to see that come about." The remark was published by the Jerusalem
Post and widely distributed by the Associated Press.