AMERICAN ZIONISM
Jacob H. Benson ● Dr. Quincy D. Newell ● Religious Studies ● Honors Program
Apocalyptic Evangelical Christians and American-Israeli Relations
End Times Predictions
“Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things [signs of the end times] have taken place.”
Millerite prophetic time chart from 1843, about the prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation.
William Miller 1782-1849
End Times Predictions
September, 1994
May, 2011
Views toward Israel
44% of Americans believe that God gave the land
that is now Israel to the Jews
52% of Evangelical Leaders believe that Christ will
either “probably” or “definitely” return in their lifetime
36% of Americans believe that "the state of Israel
is a fulfillment of the biblical prophecy about the second coming of Jesus."
$3.15 Billion – proposed military financial aid to
Israel (2013-2018)
Pew Forum on Religious and Public life
Clifford Geertz – Religion as a cultural System
Religion is “a system of symbols which
acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and
long-lasting moods and motivations in
[humans] by formulating conceptions of a
general order of existence and clothing
these conceptions with such an aura of
factuality that the moods and motivations
seem uniquely realistic.”
Edward W. Said – Orientalism
“Orientalism is a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made
between "the Orient" and…"the Occident." Thus a very large mass of writers…have accepted the basic
distinction between East and West as the starting point for elaborate theories... And political accounts
concerning the Orient, its people, customs, "mind," destiny, and so on.”
American Zionism
Christian Zionism:
Support of the state of Israel for religious reasons, most notably the idea that Israel will be the place of Armageddon (the great battle) and the area where Jesus will return in order to bring about the end of time.
Religious Jewish Zionism:
The Idea that in order for the Messiah to come, Israel – and temple-based Judaism – must be re-established.
Secular Jewish Zionism:
Support of a Jewish state for the sake of ending the Jewish Diaspora and the anti-Semitism that many Jews experienced during the Diaspora.
Political Zionism:
In the realm of American politics, the support of Israel for the sake of security, democracy, and peace in the Middle East.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:17
John Nelson Darby (1800-1882)
Rapture of the Church:
Darby taught that the Rapture
would happen in two stages:
Jesus would catch up his saints
Jesus and his saints come back to
earth to rule the world at the end of the great tribulation.
Dispensationalism: the unfolding of God’s plan for the world in various dispensations, or stewardship agreements, throughout the history of the world.
Zionism and Orientalism
Commonplace in America to equate Muslim with
Arab
The Middle East and North Africa: 91.2% Muslim,
makes up 19.9% of the world’s Muslim population.
The Asia Pacific region: 24.8% Muslim, makes up
Darlene: First: Why is a non-Christian head of a
Christian organization? Second: Brog helps Israel hide their massive human rights abuses of all Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim. Jesus Christ is not who leads his life and his organization conflates Zionist Israel with ALL Jewish people, thus promoting the false idea that criticism of Israel is "Jew-hatred". His organization also promotes Islamophobia -- fear and hatred of Muslims when the reality is that Christians and Muslims live
together all over the world in peace. Wake up,
Christians! This man is head of an organization that teaches worship of Israel, not Jesus.
psalm118o8: Darlene you lying ignorant servant of
Satan.
Zionism is the reality that the MESSIAH will return to rule over all the nations from Jerusalem and like all of the enemies of God that really bothers you.
Unlike you, daughter of hell, We read and know the word of God. May the LORD speedily end your evil work.
