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.

Dick Cheney Meets With Evangelical Group

What were they doing? My guess: Synchronizing watches for the big day of left behind-ness.

The Elephant in the Room Nobody Talks About

A November 2006 article in the National Catholic Reporter, titled Christian Zionists rally in San Antonio notes:

“The dangers of Christian Zionism haven’t been talked about,” said Art Preisinger, a retired Lutheran minister and history professor attending the celebration at Cornerstone Church.

Elesi Nagalu, 41, said that Israel “belongs to the Jewish people. They [Palestinians] might have property deeds, but property deeds don’t mean anything to me.”

This pretty much sums up the Support Israel to speed up the second coming movement John Hagee, Pat Robertson, and other alarmist and armageddonist sinister ministers are teaching their flock.

As of late, their latest project which I call make our weird interpretation of prophesy come true so we can tell our congregation we were right all along, involved picking a fight with Iran.

For several weeks before the vote in the senate, CUFI newsletters have been urging everyone on their mailing list to please call or write the white house urging that Iran should be designated as a terrorist nation.

And this week, they celebrated their victory. Apparently Armageddon hawks got enough senators to believe them to walk in line with their prophetic visions. Epso facto: Iran is on the way to being destroyed. Just as the preacher man predicted. Yaaaaaay.

Armageddon Satire

For a bit of light humor, you may want to read this satire about Armageddonists by Terry Jones. It begins with "Those of us who support Armageddon have naturally been greatly cheered by way the US president has embraced our cause."

However, what you will find is that comments on this article have managed to attract both supporters and detractors of this movement. Reading the comments is an educational experience.

Armageddonism and AIPAC

John Hagee's stated desire is to see Israel engage in an apocalyptic nuclear war with Iran. And before that, he was for war with Iraq for the same reasons. He is not a flip flopper. The logic to the madness is consistent.

AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, applauds this. It appears that AIPAC members are promoted to positions of leadership due to their allegiance to this Armageddonist vision.

It is possible for individual members to dissent, as Abe Foxman once did. He quickly found himself isolated and ridiculed by the Armageddon crowd when he proclaimed that they essentially they pose the greatest existential threat to Israel.

He only redeemed himself after joining the ranks of the Armageddon crowd and singing the tune of lets attack Iran for the sake of peace.

What I am saying is that AIPAC members are victims of psychological manipulation by Armageddon hawks such as Hagee, Pat Robertson, and other talking heads who get goose-bumps just thinking of the coming of the glory of Armageddon.

Further reading:

• AIPAC Goes All the Way with Hagee

In other news, you will see Fox News pushing the ideas of these cult-like war fantasies to "NEWS" headlines:

• FOXNews.com - Christian Group Warns: Iran Wants to Hit Israel then U.S.

You might say, well I've read the entire news brief and it seems to be "Fair and Balanced." I say the headline could have read "Armageddonists Hastening the Second Coming."