Gospel Prism

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Yesterday, I was listening to Christian radio and Jay Sekulow was talking about the upcoming Middle East talks in Annapolis. He was pleading with the audience to sign a petition to protest the talks on the basis of fighting for a united Jerusalem. His assumption was that the talks were poised to divide Jerusalem, creating a Palestinian sector and an Israeli sector. His logic was that once the Palestinians controlled part of Jerusalem, they would control all of Jerusalem. And once they control all of Jerusalem, they would eventually control all of Israel.

Without even discussing the matter of whether this argument is logically sound or not, I was struck by how much of evangelical Christianity continues to focus on Israel’s rights to land. This of course comes from the theological view that the nation of Israel will play a key role in Christ’s return. And usually this is in conjunction with a dispensational reading of the Bible. Most people think eschatology makes no practical difference in one’s life. Few articulate the distinctions between a pre-, post-, and amillennial view of the end times. And yet, this eschatological view has and will continue to shape world events. One could argue that if all Evangelical Christians were amillennial, there might not be such turmoil in the Middle East. After all, not only does the Jewish lobby in the US hold great sway as to American foreign policy in the Middle East, but also, post-millennial, evangelical Christians like Pat Robertson have also made a tremendous impact in the halls of American government and its view of Israel and Palestine. Without such strong influence by the politically active in Christianity regarding Israel, there might not have been a nation of Israel to begin with.

So when we think of practically impacting our lives, the Middle East conflict has been the breeding ground for today’s modern day conflicts between Muslims and Christians. You could argue there would have been no Osama bin Laden and no 9/11. There would be no ‘orange alert.’ There might not have been such long lines at the security sections of airports.

Eschatology matters, whether we want to believe it or not.

(You can read about the history of failed talks regarding Israel and the Palestinians.)