Christian Zionism - Ari Sclar

1. Why do 90 million
Christians support
Israel?
The history of Christian Zionism

2. Christian Messianism
 In its early generations, Christianity was a messianic faith
 Once Church became dominant, predominant Christian trends
became amillennial
 Protestant Reformation brought burst of apocalyptic
expectations
 Emphasis on Book of Revelations

3. Evangelical Christianity
 De-emphasizes ritual and emphasizes piety of the
individual
Personal conversion – being ‘born again’
Biblical authority
Emphasis on death and resurrection of Jesus
Expression and sharing of the gospel

4. Historical and Futurist
messianism
 In the 19th
Century, two brands emerged as to when the
events of the End Times were to begin
 In Europe, predominant ‘historical’ messianism identified
current events with biblical passages
 In US, premillennialist faith – its ‘futurist’ dispensationalist
form served as a philosophy of history for conservative
Christians

5. Dispensationalism
 Predominant belief is that the Rapture of the church will
begin messianic times
The true believers will be snatched from earth and meet
Jesus in heaven
Those who die before will rise from the dead and join
the living in heaven
They will remain with Jesus for seven years and be
spared the natural disasters, wars, and murderous
dictatorial regimes
About 2/3 of humanity will have died by the time
Jesus then returns to earth

6. “Times of Jacob’s Troubles” (Jeremiah
30:7)
 For Jews, the time between the current era and
messianic times
Jews will return to their homeland in ‘unbelief’
without accepting Jesus as their savior
They will establish a political commonwealth
While still living in spiritual blindness, they will
allow themselves to be ruled by the Antichrist
 The arrival of Jesus will end the Antichrist’s rule and
he will establish the millennial kingdom
Those Jews who survived will accept Jesus as their
savior
Jerusalem will become the capital of the entire
world as a period of righteous rule of Christ begins

8. Six Day War
 By far the most important event in the emergence of evangelical
support for Israel was the Six Day War
 Fueled Christian prophetic belief – the dramatic victory, territorial
gains – and strengthened conviction that Israel was created for a
mission in history and was thus to play a key role in the
developments that were to precede the arrival of the Messiah
 The timing was key
 Evangelicals were about to emerge as a dominant force in
American politics
Culture wars of 1960s and 1970s culminated in support for
Ronald Reagan in 1980 and a close connection between
evangelicals and the Republican Party in particular but also
between evangelicals and American pro-Israel policy
Jimmy Carter was an evangelical Christian but his role in the
Middle East as president was one of statesman not Christian
 Reagan and then Bush and Clinton were all influenced either
directly or indirectly by premillennial understanding of the course
of history
The U.S. MUST maintain a friendly attitude toward Israel

9. Israelis and Christian Zionists
 Historically, Israeli officials have not differentiated between support
from mainline Christian Zionists and evangelicals
 Never heard of “Time of Jacob’s Trouble”
 Ben-Gurion believed that Christian supporters viewed Israel as the
fulfillment of prophecies rather than a step toward the millennial
kingdom
 Jews for Jesus and Messianic Judaism, two missions, have both
worked for pro-Zionist causes
 Other missionary groups such as the American Messianic Fellowship
and the Friends of Israel do not separate their support for Israel with
their intent to convert Jews
 Generally, secular Israelis look cynically at such activities as
inconsequential
 Begin called Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority in 1981 after Israel
bombed the Iraqi atomic plant and officials have relied on ICEJ to
reach Protestant supporters whom they believe constitute a large
portion of Christianity

10. Conversion efforts
 In 1990s, Israelis – both Orthodox and secular – attempted to restrict
missionary activity
 In 1996, an initial proposal passed in the Knesset and the outcry
was immediate
 Missionaries and their supports opposed immediately
“We call upon the international Christian community to join us
in our opposition to this law. As Christian believers in the God
of Israel and in Jesus the Messiah and Savior of the world, we
have a special respect and appreciation for the Jewish people
and the nation of Israel. We seek and pray for the welfare of all
of God’s people in the land. We view with grace concern the
erosion of Israel’s democratic freedom by this proposed law.”
 Many Christians wrote to the prime minister at the time, Benjamin
Netanyahu, and declared they were friends of Israel and wished the
country well but such a law would turn current supporters against
it
Netanyahu initially had supported the bill but promised
evangelical activists he would oppose it

11. Christians United for Israel
 Formed in 2005, it united many of the independent
organization into one umbrella group
Founded by Pastor John Hagee, he has stated he would
support the Israeli government unconditionally

12. A marriage of convenience
 Rare that members of one religious community consider members of
another to hold a special place in God’s plans for human redemption
 But this needs to be understood as a marriage of convenience
Rebuilding the Jewish state and the Temple are necessary
stages toward messianic age
Jews generally simply accept Christian support
 Key is the paradox
 Christian Zionists insist on the exclusivity of their faith as the only
means to salvation
Relations to Jews: supportive and appreciative but also
dismissive and patronizing
 Compared to mainline Protestant
Criticize Israel but respect Judaism (no push for conversion)
 Where does the support come from and where does it go?
 Israel remains important to the advancement of history as does the
(temporary?) concern about the well-being of Jews and Israel