“It’s remarkable that much of Christianity does not highlight that there is a physical/literal Second Coming.”
This week I want to have more of a theological discussion, rather than what is going on geopolitically with Israel. Because it is always important, I think, to assess where the Church is regarding Israel. As regular readers of this column know, I am not so sure that pro Israel sentiment is all that high in the American Church. Two things are clear to me: many churches are still faithful to Scripture, and they have the blessing of a faithful pastor that teaches the scriptures. But also, large swaths of the Church are committed to pragmatism, Church Growth technique, and the inevitable minimizing of the Bible.
In too many cases, the Church has abdicated its role in teaching the whole counsel of God. We know that about 35 percent of the Bible is prophecy, yet prophecy is ignored by a ton of churches. The Second Coming is not a popular topic. My theories about that are that the Kingdom Now people like Rick Warren rightly see that God’s sovereignty in history is an obstacle to man’s best-laid plans. If Jesus return to rescue the planet is imperative, how does He also wait for the Church to be at its best, so that it can be “handed-off” to Jesus?
An added problem is a topic I return to again and again: too much of the Church simply does not like Jews. I base this on my research, and 25 years of conversations with leaders and laity that betray their dislike of Jews. They by extension resent a strong Israel. In the world of pretereists and amillennialists, modern Israel is an unfortunate coincidence.
It is the question of what one thinks of Jews and a restored Israel that is the key. It causes people to interpret Scripture in a skewed way. If you are taught that Jews are shifty and greedy and control the money in the world and foment wars, you are not going to like the good things promised to them in Scripture. What one thinks of Jews influences how we see the Bible.
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