This webinar addresses how the US administration is embracing Christian Zionism and “end time” theology to justify unconditional support for Israel and unprovoked war against Iran.
View my presentation on YouTube.
You can download an outline of my presentation here
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The continuation of war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank, now spreading to Lebanon, Pete Hegseth’s transformation of Pentagon into a Holy War Department, and the White House becoming a war cheering prayer house – all of those are necessitating a thorough conversation on the issues of Christian Zionism, dispensationalism, Christian nationalism, antisemitism and bad theologies that inspire the escalation of growing chaos and confusion in the US and the Middle East.
For that purpose we have updated several recent interviews with Rev Dr Stephen Sizer and created four 30-minute features. In the part one we are setting a stage for better understanding of Christian Zionism today by asking questions such as: How did we get here? Is the modern-day State of Israel a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy?
Rev Stephen Sizer said: “Ironically, it was Christians who sponsored and facilitated Zionism. Christian Zionism is simply Christian support for Zionism, but it preceded Jewish Zionism by at least 50 years. And today, nine out of 10 Zionists in the world are Christians. So Zionism is predominantly a Christian heresy. It’s a bit like saying, I’m a Christian racist. You can be a Christian or a racist, but you can’t be both. You can be a Christian or a Zionist, but you can’t be a Christian Zionist because Zionism is synonymous with supremacism, racism, apartheid. And that’s only been achieved through the use of military force, by ethnic cleansing, by expelling people off their land, demolishing their homes, forcing them to live as a subjugated people in an apartheid state. That’s what Israel is today. So, it’s anathema from my perspective that Christians would even dream of supporting such a monstrous creation.”
Further information on the historical roots and theological basis and political agenda of Christian Zionism
This webinar will address how the US administration is embracing Christian Zionism and “end time” theology to justify unconditional support for Israel and unprovoked war against Iran.
Some Americans have referred to what it is doing in Iran as the US’s “Holy War”. Mike Huckebee, the US’s Ambassador to Israel, remarked in February that it would be fine if Israel took control of land that would include a huge swathe of the Middle East.
Such positions come from an interpretation of Bible verses identified as Christian Zionism. This theological and political belief system says that the modern State of Israel’s existence is a fulfilment of biblical prophecy and a necessary sign to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It combines strong support for Israel, particularly regarding control over Jerusalem and the West Bank, with an end-times world view.
During this hour-long webinar, Stephen Sizer will provide a summary about Christian Zionist beliefs. He will be followed by Michael Spath who will unpack how Christian Zionist theology as influenced US foreign policy and how US churches are responding to it.
The Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism publishes the Journal for the Study of Christian Zionism.
The first edition includes an article of mine on the history of Christian Zionism and the Church of England.
You may download the journal here.
It was my great privilege to be the founding director of the Institute.
“In a world ravaged with identity politics it becomes quite the challenge to stand against the grain and uphold biblical truths. Joining me today is Rev. Stephen Sizer, a humanitarian, scholar, and peace advocate for the kingdom of heaven. He unveils suppressed history and sheds clarity and context of scripture to help the ecclesia better grasp our identity in Christ and our purpose as ambassadors for the kingdom of heaven.”
For a theological critique of Dispensationalism see the resources available le based on my book Zion’s Christian Soldiers: The Bible, Israel and the Church.
Few people in the world are unaffected by the brutal war in the Middle East. The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza and Lebanon now threatens to expand into a world war against Iran and her allies. Israel is regarded by many Christians as the innocent victim, and many of those same Christians support the massive supply of US and Western bombs and munitions that kill and mutilate. How can Christians support war and killing in this way? Why do many Christians believe that Israel cannot be criticised or stopped?
UK Column first interviewed Reverend Dr Stephen Sizer in May 2023. That interview, The Price of Honest Discussion about Israel and Palestine, can be found here.
From his background and experiences as an author challenging Christian Zionism, Stephen Sizer describes the Church of England and the wider campaign against him as one based on three successive tactics: intimidation, isolation, and incrimination. This strategy is employed to shut down debate regarding what is happening within the State of Israel and the territories it controls. His criticism of Israel has been relentless, but principled. It is based not on antisemitism, but rather on a human-rights-based analysis.
In our second and latest interview with Stephen Sizer, Brian Gerrish looked deeper into Stephen’s research and analysis of Christian Zionism, focusing on his excellent books: the detailed Christian Zionism Road Map to Armageddon? as well as the shorter Zion’s Christian Soldiers? The Bible, Israel and the Church.
Brian Gerrish states to Stephen upfront that he had been prompted to learn more about Zionism after watching the brutal slaughter in Gaza and experiencing an often cold, callous, and aggressive support for the war by those calling themselves Christians.
Read more on UK Column here
CARDBOARD BOX CHURCH https://www.cardboardboxchurch.com
In anticipation of the forthcoming launch of the newly established Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism (ISCZ), you are invited to an important conversation, ‘Red Heifers’ from Texas’ & Misguided Attempts to Build the Temple: Countering the Destructive Consequences of Christian Zionism and Third-Temple Extremism, a conversation taking on a new urgency in light of recent events.
View the whole webinar here
Read the chapter The Coming Last Day’s Temple: Ready to Rebuild? from my book, Zion’s Christian Soldiers on which this PowerPoint presentation given in the webinar is based.
Organized by the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), and the Israel-Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) of the Presbyterian Church USA, this online conversation was birthed in response to an OPEN CALL from Palestinian Christian leaders to the global church as well as all persons of good will. This event is cosponsored by our dear friends with the Disciples Palestine-Israel Network (Disciples PIN), United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network (UCC PIN), and Unitarian Universalists for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (UUJME).
As detailed in the letter, the extremist Temple Institute, aided by Christian Zionist extremists in the United States, aims to sacrifice a “red heifer,” claiming that such a sacrifice is necessary to purify a priest who would then be designated “clean” to enter the Holy of Holies of a rebuilt Jewish Temple.
The group’s plans would require the relocation or destruction of Masjid al-Aqsa, including the Dome of the Rock, within the Haram al-Sharif. Such a plan is not only a great affront to the hope of multi-religious coexistence in Jerusalem but an invitation to regional, if not global, warfare. In the face of this madness, Palestinian clergy have called upon all persons of goodwill to condemn this plan because actions like this accomplish nothing except for escalating hatred, instability, and violence.
As such, it is imperative that we inaugurate a global intra-Christian dialogue focused on the repudiation of Christian Zionism among other forms of political extremism. No religion has a monopoly on extremism, and it is the responsibility of the faithful first to challenge extremists within their own traditions. Today, the Christian Zionist promotion of violence alongside the genocidal assault on the people of Gaza presents an urgent challenge to Christians around the world.
We have been called to reject in the strongest terms any effort to make Jerusalem into an apocalyptic playground. Furthermore, the anti-Jewish and anti-Islamic apocalyptic fantasies promoted by many Christian Zionists view the Holy City as a place of war when God has called it to be a house of peace. What does this look like, and what can be done to confront the catastrophic consequences of Christian Zionism and Third-Temple extremism?
View the whole webinar here