Why Israel should break ranks from Armageddon hawks

Because Christian Zionists are, in Don Wagner's words, intrinsically and pathologically, "anxious for Armageddon" (pg 183 of Stephen Sizer's Christian Zionism)
Some among the apocalyptic right express their love for Israel as in

"I pray that even if it takes anti-Semitism in America, God may use it to get his millions back to Israel." -Jan Willem van der Hoeven (as cited pg 223 Christian Zionism). Willem is an Armageddonist Activist & Founder of International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and director of The International Christian Zionist Center.

He is saying that anti-semitism may be tolerated or justified if it serves the higher end of forcing Jews to return to Zion so that what has been prophecied should come to pass. Heaven forbid that a few million Jews' desire to live in America thwart Armageddon by not reaching God's quorum for the inevitable Apocalypse.
The only reason the deranged lunatic - Jan Willem - continues to operate in Israel is that he has convinced the settler movement he is their friend by encouraging settlements on the one hand and on the one hand putting forward propaganda which disconnects the inequities caused by the disenfranchisement of the Palestinians from the conflict. Here's a quote from this creep and another from a Benyamin Netanyahu, which represents the worldview that any well-meaning Jewish person would have if over-exposed to the filthy ideas of Armageddonism.

Jan Willem van der Hoeven

Benyamin Netanyahu

Today, most of the relatively uninformed journalists and politicians in the West are of the misguided opinion that as long as Israel withdraws from the “occupied territories,” namely Gaza, Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”) and the Golan Heights, there will be a chance for peace in the Middle East. The reason they think this is there false perception of the conflict as basically over land - rather than the reality that what is being sought is the elimination of Israel from the map of the Middle East. (van der Hoeven 1993: 133)

Today too we are told that it is we who provoke terrorism. We provoke it by building apartments in Jerusalem, we provoke it by providing for the natural growth of our communities... The real provocation … is not a housing project, it is not the settlements. The real provocation is pure and simple. It is our existence here. That is what is causing the provocation. It is not a provocation. This is our country, this is the Land of Israel; it is the country that belongs to the people of Israel, and we have an inalienable right to this land. (Netanyahu 1997)

The conclusion van der Hoeven wants to empart to his Jewish audience is that it's your destiny to fight Armageddon. There is no other route to peace.
Van der Hoeven believed that Muslims want to eliminate Israel from the map. This has an ounce of truth to it and a pound of lies. The cloak and dagger technique employed by van der Hoeven leaves out the fact that it's the nature of the democracy in Israel which many chafe at rather than a reaction to the presence of Jews. The nature of this democracy is a topic for discussion elsewhere. The point here is that van der Hoeven evokes the memory of the Holocaust here by evoking the memory of Hitler's attempt to eliminate Jews.
All this because van der Hoaven believes in a certain interpretation of prophecy which leaves him with a theology of history. In turn this belief shapes his perception of reality. And when it comes to identifying friend from foe, percepiton is reality.
He believes that non-Jews surrounding Israel must be destroyed so that the glory of God may be known. The fact that they happen to be Muslim is incidental.
Van der Hoeven and those like him - Hagee, Limbaugh, and well meaning pundits from the right and the left - all accept this line of thinking at face value. What else is one to do when you are told you are under attack? That's what Hitler told the Germans to get them to take up arms against their neighbors.
If you look at the news, you will indeed see news of Jews being attacked. What van der Hoeven asserts is that the cause of this conflict is something enherent to the inferior mind of the Palestinians. And his conclusion is that therefore, there is no way of avoiding armageddon. According to van der Hoeven, the ceansing of the earth is inevitable. People such as van der Hoeaven manage to find niches of acceptance within the Jewish community precisely because they manipulate the Jewish patriot's fears.
Van der Hoeven spends a lot of time explaining, for instance why Palestinians fire rockets. Israeli politicians take on the role of responders to the crisis. In effect, the situation on the ground as seen through the lense of the Armageddonist ideology provides the world-view to which the Jewish state responds.
What would happen if a Jewish politician differed from this script? If we look at history, Ariel Sharon for instance, during his final years, attempted to do just that by attempting a land for peace deal. Although I believe this soluiton is doomed to failure because it's a lot like separate but equal. Be as it may, he was mocked and rediculed by the base in America for even thinking of peace.

JStreet: brave Jewish voices speak out

JStreet.org: There is a new Jewish voice in town. This site is decidedly against the Armageddon hawks which call for war at every corner, yet unfortunately is still voicing support for the mirage of a two state solution of the 1900's rather than the single state solution that represents the new millennium.

Palestinian Doctor Endorses One State Solution

A Palestinian Doctor Ghada Karmi, who wrote the book entitled "Married to Another Man", was interviewed on Democracy Now today, where she endorsed a single democratic state solutions for Israel. A state where both ethnic Jews and non-Jews enjoy equal rights under the law. She asked a question whose answer she did not know. Her question was "Why on earth are we tolerating the situation which we have now, in which Jews are saying 'we as Jews have a right to this territory'? " [1]

In her view, the insistence on the part of a group to say that "we have a right to a place where only we can live" is the wrong solution. That racial exclusivity - is in the model of western secular democracies. She explains "We must challenge any states "

This "we" she refers are the enablers of the current situation in the West. Namely, its original proponents in Britain, and then those who follow in their footsteps in America. The original proponents for this movement are John Nelson Darby and his students. Their end times scenario expects an epic battle in Israel, which is why they wanted to have a Jewish state created so that it may partake in this battle which they believe is the destiny of the reason for the existence of the Jewish state. This mind set naturally believes Palestinians and Jews must be the collateral damage in the process of the fulfillment of God's plan, which they sometimes call the birth-pangs of the return of the Lord.

That was Britain before the creation of Israel. What about now? At this late day in 2008, why do we tolerate this situation? The answer is that most of us have unconsciously played into the agenda of rapturists. Our mistake is that we fail to grasp the important contribution that Armageddonist personalities have had in creating the problem. And we are mainly concerned with the symptoms rather than the disease.

To be perfectly clear, personalities such as Hagee are pushing the agenda of Armageddonism under the guise of supporting Israel. While in fact they work toward the realization of their prophetic ideology which expects war in the Middle East; And destruction for Israel as a Jewish state. They believe this as the inevitable destiny; and in the mean time, they will look you straight in the face and profess unflinching love for Israel. This is no love of Israel - it's only love for what they expect to happen after Israel's destruction. This is the supernatural purpose they zealously guard. It is because we have not called them out on this, that they will continue to drag us behind them. That is why we do not support a single state solution.

It's because these personalities use arguments which are inspired by their hard-line religious conviction, but presented in secular rationale. That is why we continue to tolerate the current state of affairs.

Jewish Zionists did not begin saying "we have a right to a state where only we can live" till they were told by Armageddonist Zionists such as John Nelson Darby that "you have a right to a state where only you can live."

Until we make that connection, we will never have the answer to Dr. Ghada Karmi's question, "Why on earth are we tolerating the situation which we have now."

---

------------------------------ References [1] See Democracy now broadcast, segment at time: 45min

As McCain basks in Hagee endorsement; Clinton and Obama Reach out to Hagee Supporters

Hagee calls himself the biggest supporter of Israel. To the secular crowd he praises its democratic credentials. And to the faithful, he preaches its significance as Jesus bait according to his version of prophesy.

Hagee's love for Israel, however is only skin deep. His vision for Israel includes the Jews converting due to the second coming, and does not include a future of Israel remaining a Jewish state. This vision of Jews as the people needing to be perfected through an impending violent war is part and parcel of what Hagee is about.

When Obama and Clinton make strong calls regarding Israel's security as top priority, or as "sacrosanct" while at the same time leaving Hagee's endorsement of McCain uncriticized is both a tacit envy for the support of Hagee's faithful followers, and a promise to continue this march to Armageddon that Hagee and his crowd have been advocating.

Here are a few reasons why Obama and Clinton should be critical of the McCain's acceptance of the Hagee endorsement:

• TV Evangelist John Hagee Wants War With Iran
• On more than one occasion, Hagee flat out says he is against American foreign policy if American policy is not in line with his weird end-time war-mongering ideology. This means Hagee is anti-American.

Roots of Armageddonist Support for Israel

• "The return of the Jewish people to their homeland was prophesied in the Bible. Their return to the Land is of great importance to Christians as it heralds the Coming of the Lord"
  - Christian Friends of Israel
• "The founding of Israel as a nation in 1948 was ordained of God to provide a homeland for the Jewish people and to prepare for the future return of Jesus Christ."
  - Jerry Falwell, Armageddonist Televangelist
• "The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West... a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ."
  - John Hagee, Armageddonist Televangelist
• "Persons of biblical faith are called to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' (Ps. 122). The ideology of Christian Zionism celebrates violence and the defeat of peacemaking efforts. It blesses neither Israelis nor Palestinians."
  - The Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism
• Pat Robertson published The End of the Age, a book he calls his first work of fiction — although he says it is "based solidly on the Bible." In the book, Robertson paints a bleak picture of the end times he says we are about to enter. He writes about a Christian militia-type group raised up to fight a tyrannical American government, and the dropping of a neutron bomb on Israel. Then, glory be to God, Jesus comes back with a company of angels and destroys the enemy, and the saved live happily ever after
  
  Based on this vision of current events, Robertson not only opposed Rabin's peace efforts, but claimed that God removed Rabin because he stood in the way of God's plan.

Reaction of Non-Armageddonists

• “God save us from these people... When you see what these people are encouraging Israel and the U.S. Administration to do that is, ignore the Palestinians, if not worse, if not kick them out, expand the settlements to the greatest extent possible, they are leading us into a scenario of out and out disaster.” - Yossi Alpher, who served 12 years in Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad. Later, he became Israel Director of the American Jewish Committee
• "Some Christians who I know very well, very devout people, believe a certain interpretation of Revelations, that in my opinion are quite weird, in that in the coming of Christ that the holy land has to be occupied by the Jews and not by anyone else and then in the end that all Jews will have to be killed or either converted to Christianity. This is a very seriously distorted interpretation of the Scriptures that I am very familiar with.
  -Jimmy Carter
• "...as a reflection of their End Times theology, the message of the Christian Right to U.S. policymakers is ‘don’t be involved in getting the parties to the negotiating table,’ then they certainly are... an impediment to the peace process, and that isn’t helpful."
  - Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Olmert warns against aparthied; calls for separate but equal

An Associated Press article quotes the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert as saying that"the state of Israel is finished" if a Palestinian state is not created, saying the alternative was a South African-style apartheid struggle.

Isn't this like saying that the solution to South Africa's apartheid system was to create a separate state for the blacks?  A two state solution is like rearranging the furniture on the deck of the titanic.  It's the underlying principle that is the problem.  Why is a democracy where the rights of all are protected not the goal?

Glen Beck and John Hagee Discuss Iran and the Second Coming

Glen Beck, a radio personality who has a show on CNN by his name, exposes fundamentalist reading of history which drives his understanding of the world. This is part 1 of 6:

In this series of videos, Hagee prophecies that the end of the world will (they add the refrain "as we know it" to circumvent criticism) will be within 20 years; that he is looking for candidates who are pro-Israel; that we live in the end times. And at the end of all this, Glen tells him that he has been saying the same thing for a long time now.

Here's another video to be watched in the context of the above belief system:

Mixing prophecy and politics

I was surprised to see an article titled Mixing prophecy and politics on the Christian Science Monitor newspaper. Here is what the subtitle says:

Christian Zionists are growing in influence - even as they fight for policies their critics say work against peace in the Mideast. For these believers, it's all about fulfilling biblical prophecy.
- read the full article here

Desmond Tutu Discusses the Only Apartheid Regime in the Middle East

While saying the situation in Israel is similar to aparthied in many ways, Desmond Tutu called for a two state solution:

"We believe in a two-state solution of two sovereign, viable states, each with contiguous borders, guaranteed as secure by the international community. "

While well intentioned, Tutu's solution is in fact a half baked potato. If in fact there is a two state solution, what would happen to those Jews who want to live on the Palestinian side of the border? What about the Palestinians who now call Israel home? Are they supposed to reciprocate refugees? Clearly this is not tenable. Especially since both sides share the same cities as "home."

The obvious solution is to create a United States of Israel-Palestine. A two state solution just gives Armageddonists a target for destruction. A one state solution is civilized. A two state solution is a throw back to the dark ages.

The most powerful message Tutu had to deliver was to the Jewish conscience:

Be not opposed to the God whose Spirit, when it anoints you, makes you concerned for the poor. This is your calling. If you disobey that calling, if you do not heed it, then as sure as anything one day you will come a cropper. You will probably not succumb to an outside assault militarily. With the unquestioning support of the United States of America, you are probably impregnable. But you who are called are they who are called, asked to deal with the oppressed, the weak, the despised, compassionately, caringly, remembering what happened to you in Egypt and, much more recently, in Germany. Remember and act appropriately. If you reject your calling, you may survive for a long time, but you will find it is all corrosive inside, and one day, one day, you will implode.
[source]

Rapture Prank

This girl is scared out of her mind when she thinks she has just been left behind.

A person who believes there will be no peace till after the rapture is pessimistic about peace in the middle east. Such a person will dismiss Annapolis as a non-starter. Here's what CUFI's newsletter had to say about this confrence:

So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, and they helped—but with evil intent.” ‘Therefore thus says the LORD: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts, “And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’ “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem."'" Zechariah 1:14-17

As the Annapolis Summit begins let us remember what the Lord says of His beloved Jerusalem. Let us who love Zion and who have taken a stand with her in this day of trouble intercede on her behalf. May those who defend her be as bold as a lion for the Lord will sustain them and they will be exalted above all nations. May those leaders and nations who come against her with “evil intent” be brought to confusion and may they be mocked and humiliated before their peers.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for Israel, her people and especially the city of Jerusalem.

Did you catch that? Hagee calls this day of peace talks a day of trouble. If you follow his other lectures, his angle is straight from the pessimistic dispensationalist play-book. The Jews will be attacked by their neighbors. Just before things get too bad, Jesus comes back to Rapture Hagee and like minded believers. Then those left behind are to suffer; Israel's neighbors will be destroyed of course; along with two-thirds of Israel. The rest will convert to Christianity and only then will there be peace.

The other day, I overheard an Armageddonist discussing a Hamas spokesman's statement "We don't want to push Israel into the sea." Reflexively, this Armageddonist dismissed this as a joke. Might it have something to do with his skewed vision of prophesy which informs him to just wait for Armageddon so that a lasting peace can be achieved? Draw you own conclusions.

Rabbi in Mosque discussing Zionism

No, this isn't the beginning of a joke; it's a series of 6 videos on youtube. Here's part one:

The Fall of the House of Bush

A brand new book by Craig Unger, The Fall of the House of Bush, sheds light on how Rapturist ideology is influential in undermining the America's national security.

The most terrifying news to emerge from the book is Unger's contention that the Cheney gang will do whatever it takes to crown their triumph in Iraq with something even lovelier: an additional war with Iran. It's the latest reminder that neither the Democrats nor the Washington press corps has ever come close to fighting this fire with the flood that will be necessary to extinguish it. Remember: The most energetic part of this coalition is praying for the apocalypse. Will enough of us reality-based types ever come together to defeat them?
-source

Jewish Voices Struggle with Armageddonism's Rough Edges

This article about Christian Zionism is a window into how a Jewish conscience struggles with the ramifications of Armageddonism, and somehow casts a blind eye to its evils and concludes that this theology is harmless.

I also found this other article on Christian Action for Israel website; again also speaking about Christian Zionism from a Jewish perspective. It would be interesting to read commentary on the topic from a Palestinian/Muslim perspective as well.

My own observation is that these Jewish voices are averting their eyes from a reality that the support they get from the Armageddonist ranks is ultimately bad for Israel not just on some philosophical grounds. But because it opposes any peace which does not march through the shadow of the valley of death - Armageddon.

David Brog, for instance, avoids talking about Armageddon by focusing on the narrow question of whether Rapture based theologians support Israel to convert them:

Evangelicals who support Israel most certainly do want to convert people. Evangelicals who don’t support Israel also want to convert people. The mission of sharing the ‘good news’ of Jesus Christ is central to being an evangelical. But it is important to note that this is not about converting just the Jews — Christians want to share their faith with Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and their Christian friends and neighbors who have yet to be born again. The important question is this: Is evangelical support for Israel merely a tool in the effort to convert the Jews? Is this merely some scheme to soften the Jews up so that they can better sell Jesus to them? And the answer to this question is absolutely not. If anything, the opposite it true.

Of course they don't want you to convert because if you convert now, then who will remain to fight and die in the battle of Armageddon?

The anytime rapture theologians have been saying for a long time now that they expect Armageddon to happen within their life time. They are tired of waiting and are not content to sit by and let prophesy fulfill itself.

Their game is now to play up fears and engage in pre-emptive strikes which will fulfill prophesy. After all, the Russian-Persian alliance that is supposed to attack Israel is taking too long to form. Fifty years is a long time.

So the game is now to raise phantoms such as "Iran wants to wipe out Jews" - a false allegation, even though it reverberates in the media. People hear what they want to hear. Cursory research indicates this statement is taken out of context and the intended message was to promote a true - one man one vote type democracy which would do away with the current system of occupier/occupied reality of Israel.

To conclude, Rapturists' goal is to put Jews in a state of panic and encourage them to view their neighbors as new Hitlers in the hope that they would lash out and begin the "inevitable" battle of Armageddon. They may be acting out of sincerity, but it is misdirected sincerity.

For Rapturists, the Middle East is not Foriegn; It's Personal

For 85% of the US electorate, the Middle East is a foreign issue, and therefore of secondary interest when they enter the polling booth. For 15% of the electorate, the Middle East is not just a domestic matter, it's a personal one: if the president fails to start a conflagration there, his core voters don't get to sit at the right hand of God. Bush, in other words, stands to lose fewer votes by encouraging Israeli aggression than he stands to lose by restraining it. He would be mad to listen to these people. He would also be mad not to.

-The Guardian Unlimited

It's the Rapture Stupid: Explaining the Robertson-Giuliani Alliance

According to Pat Robertson, the reason he supports pat has more to do with fighting Islamic extremism than any domestic policy.

We all know that when it comes to foreign policy, that Pat Robertson's only concern is to follow current events and point out where, how, and when end time prophesies are being fulfilled.

Clearly, Giuliani's view of Israel's future falls in line with that of Robertson. Which is why nothing else matters when it comes to whom Pat Robertson will support. In Robertson's view, peace is bad for Israel. The future is in the apocalypse. Any talk of peace by the surrounding countries is pure propaganda.

The only road-map to peace Robertson condones is one that passes through the Rapture and the Apocalypse. And so when Robertson talks about the Islamic Terrorist blood lust, his world-view is informed by a blood lust of his own. His own blood lust makes him blind to non-violent solutions to world problems. To Robertson, any calls for a the peaceful coexistence of Palestinians and Israelis is tantamount to treason against God.

And so Robertson's endorsement of Giuliani shows that nothing is as great a sin as betraying the path to peace through the Rapture. This issue is greater than abortion and gay marriage combined.

This rapturist theology is what binds Rudy and Pat. This is the theology Pat Robertson preaches day in and day out. Public officials cannot pronounce their allegiance to the rapture because America will vote it down at the polls. This allegiance is implied to the faithful when the candidate simply stands in friendship with the spokesmen for Armageddon.

Destruction of Iran is on "todo list" of Armageddon Hawks

Praise the lord! Now that prophesy regarding the destruction of Babylon is fulfilled; Next is the destruction of Persia.

The ratcheting up of rhetoric against Iran comes on the heals of high level officials in the US meeting with extremist religious leaders who promote World War III: Tim Lahaye, Pat Robertson et al.

The group which organized the meeting, "Council for National Policy" was founded by non other than the author of the Left Behind Series. It's not surprising for this rapture Guru to promote attacking Iran with the Rapture as THE exit strategy. This meeting was supposed to be a secret. The irony of it all; A government for the people and by the people, making decisions concerning national policy behind closed doors.

The news blackout wasn't absolute. Among the outlets which covered this story are the fake news show The Daily Show and The Salt Lake Tribune - the comments are worth a read.

The 2002 calendar year Form 990 return filed with the IRS lists the board of Directors as:

• Donald Paul Hodel President (former Secretary of Energy and former president of the Christian Coalition)
• Attorney General John Ashcroft (former member)
• Tommy Thompson, Health and Human Services Secretary (former member)
• Oliver North
• Tom DeLay
• Trent Lott
• Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Brainwashed by Armageddonists

After much analysis of the wasteland of "expert pundits." I find it necessary to also focus on a those who have been brainwashed by armageddonist propaganda. This would include people who do not believe in the rapture.

They make strange bedfellows with those who do hold on to this extremist belief system.

The reason being: Armageddonists are so good at marketing secular arguments for their religious beliefs.

The rapture as an exit strategy

This bumper sticker pretty much explains the exit strategy espoused by many around us. They have the courage to subject our sons to battle for this agenda. Yet are too cowardly to come right out and say it.

Muslims Spokesman Commenting on Current Affairs

Here is a commentary by Yasir Qadhi on current affairs:

In stark contrast to John Hagee's message of "them against us", and "they don't want to live, they want to die", listen to Yasir address the issue of terrorism.

If you listen closely, you will hear him pointing out that terrorism is the misdirected rage of a small group of Muslims to global political realities. I would argue that this political reality is the Agenda of armageddon based theology which seeks to hasten the second coming through the fulfillment of weird interpretations of bible prophesy.

Armageddonist propagandists have bloody hands when it comes to popularizing this global political reality which Qadhi alludes to. Proponents of Armageddonism, such as Hagee drape themselves in American and Israeli flags to cover up their barbaric goal of hastening Armageddon against Israel, destroying the middle east, and dismantling America's secular democracy so that the reign of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may replace it.

It may well be that America's perceived best friend may be its worst enemy.

Armageddonism's vicious in logic

"[The Pre-Trib Rapture] is built on a postulate, vicious in logic, violent in exegesis, contrary to experience, repudiated by the early Church, contradicted by the testimony of eighteen hundred years...and condemned by all the standard scholars of every age."
- Nathaniel West (1826-1906), The Apostle Paul and the "Any Moment" Theory, p. 30.