PamBG has reminded me of this important perspective from the academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. I saw this article last week and didn’t have time to post on it. See the posts on Pam’s site here and here. She also posts the timely words of Alan Gaunt‘s hymn ‘We pray for peace’ here.
I post this as someone who as a young Christian only ever heard the evangelical Zionist viewpoint from the books of writers such as Lance Lambert. Later I changed my views, whilst trying to remain faithful to Scripture. It came first of all from reading Colin Chapman’s book Whose Promised Land? and later having him as a theological lecturer in Bristol. (NB There is a critical review of the book here and you can find some more recent articles by Colin on Islamic terrorism and the Israel-Palestine conflict here.)
Israel was promised ‘the land’ by God in the Old Testament. It was given unconditionally but they were also expected to care for ‘the alien in [their] midst’ on the grounds that they had been slaves in Egypt. This seems particularly pertinent to the question of land for Palestinians. But further in the New Testament scholars such as Kenneth Bailey have argued that Jesus ‘de-Zionised’ Isaiah’s prophecies. And Jesus’ own quotation in the Beatitudes from the OT that ‘the meek shall inherit the earth‘ could legitimately be translated, ‘The meek shall inherit the land’, which would be potentially more consistent with the original quote in Psalm 37. What might that mean today?
Of course the apostles just before the Ascension ask Jesus if he is about to ‘restore the kingdom to Israel’ but he tells them it is not for them to know the times or dates the Father has set. Chapman points out that after that the subject doesn’t come up again.
Does that mean that God does not have a special concern for Israel? Far from it: Romans, with its repeated refrain of ‘to the Jew first and then the Gentile’ and especially the difficult chapters 9 to 11, puts paid to that idea. But we cannot take OT texts that prophesy the retun from Babylonian exile and take them without warrant to prophesy the establishment of the modern State of Israel.
So do I have sympathy for Hezbollah’s violence? Not a bit. It is evil, and to speak of exterminating Israel is contrary to God’s concern for peace, reconciliation and justice. Nor, though, can I bless the dreadful violence Israel has unleashed. The experiences of persecution and injustice have fanned the flames of hatred on both sides.
An Anglican lay reader friend of mine who has training both in theology and psychology once observed in a sermon the difference between post-apartheid South Africa and Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. The difference, he claimed, was that South Africa was willing to engage in its process of truth and reconciliation, whereas Mugabe and his régime allowed the hatred of what had been done to them to fester in their hearts and become political policy.
If that is true, then may God have mercy not only on the Middle East and the Western governments and worldwide organisations that may or may not help, but also upon us all and the darkness of our own hearts. Let us pray for the world and for ourselves.
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Big Circumstance 
Thanks for this post. The comparison between South Africa and Zimbabwe is totally to the point.
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David,
Thank you for this post. I was brought up in the Brethren, who were strong Dispensationalists and believed that the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948 was a fulfilment of OT prophecy (above and beyond the obvious fulfilment of such prophecies when the Jews returned after the Babylonian exile.)
I have several friends who are convinced Christian Zionists. What makes me wary of this particular theological view is the often bland dismissal of Palestinian rights and grievances. The appalling suffering unleashed on Lebanon may have rocked that complacency. I hope so. I notice that the CFI site does include a link to providing aid for the war-torn areas.
I just don’t know what I think about this. I am sympathetic to Israel, in that she is the only democracy in the region, she has a right to defend herself from Hezbollah’s attacks, and a lot of parties in that region are committed to her destruction. I’m also very aware of the Jewish roots of our faith and often emphasise this in my own preaching (I’m a Reader in the Anglican church).
However, my theological and political sympathies do not add up to believing that modern secular Israel can do no wrong.
The whole situation is ghastly. Even as I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, it’s difficult for me to believe there will ever be a lasting peace in that region, because a) there are too many factions who are determined never to make that work, and b) I’m of the view that it really will be war without end until Christ returns, period (this applies to the whole human race, not just Israel/Palestine.)
But of course Christians should work for peace as much as we can, wherever we can.
I think your South Africa/Zimbabwe parallel is very apt.
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