Hello my friends,

I hope you've had a wonderful week!

With the continuing humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, I continue to hear many in the Christian world speak of it as a sign of the "end times." While this may not be your perspective, I think it is important to understand where this perspective is coming from as well as think together about how our perspective of the "end" might better reflect Jesus.

Before we get into that, here is a few resources for you to consider.

RESOURCES TO CONSIDER

-I am always trying to hear the voices of all those involved in the Gaza conflict. I found this short interview with Rami Nashashibi, who runs the Inner City Muslim Action Network in the South Side of Chicago, about his meeting with President Biden at the White House to be really provoking.

-600 Americans are estimated to be currently trapped in Gaza, including a Massachusetts family. I also found this short interview with that family to be extremely eye opening and heartbreaking.

-Eugene Peterson, who authored the Message translation of the Bible offers a unique meditation on the Book of Revelation called Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination. Rather than a strict commentray, Peterson's eloquent meditation on the Revelation of St. John engages the imagination and awakens the intellect to the vitality and relevance of the last words on scripture, Christ, church, worship, evil, prayer, witness, politics, judgement, salvation, and heaven.

Okay, now onto today's content.

No, the war in Gaza is not a sign of the “End Times.”

Whenever conflicts in and around Israel occur, you will see predictions that “the end is near” pop up on social media, Christian radio, and perhaps even your local church.

With the recent conflict happening involving Israel, this has been no exception.

Even the New York Times did an entire spread on the Evangelical Christianity’s unshakable support of Israel due to its views of the “End Times.”

So, why do so many Evangelical Christians hold an unshakable support of Israel?

As I have written on before in regards to other topics like the rapture, many within Christian movements like Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism hold an end times theology called dispensationalism.​

In short, the majority of dispensationalists hold to an extremely literal view of the Bible and believe that there are gradual “dispensations” of divine revelation throughout the Bible, history, and even the present moment. This naturally leads to a belief in a literal restoration of the nation-state of Israel, which according to premillennialism, will occur shortly before the rapture of Christians and the second coming of Jesus.

As you may have already guessed, this kind of theology plays a major role in Christian nationalism, with both the United States and Israel playing major roles in the “end times.” Many seeing the United States needing to be Israel’s staunch advocate and protector.

This is why you will see so much political effort by many Evangelicals and Fundamentalists to demand prioritization of support for Israel and why there was such a push for the American embassy to be “moved back to Jerusalem” during the last administration. You can read more about that here.​

When this happened, the prominent evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress said, ”God decided Jerusalem was the capital of Israel more than 3,000 years ago during the time of King David.”

This view places huge emphasis on the geographic and political reality of Jerusalem and Israel as a whole, which even devalues what other people, even those who live in that very region might believe about their own land and who might be negatively impacted by such a move.

Not only does this view declare what Israel must be to both Israeli and Jewish people, muting their voice in the matter, but it also reduces anyone else who might also claim that region home, like Palestinians, as an “enemy.” It really prioritizes dispensational Christian theology above all else.

Especially when one believes that area of the world will play host to the “battle of Armageddon,” it opens the door for downplaying horrific violence or even justifying such violence as “signs of the end.” This mentality should break all of our hearts. Especially when it is advocated by those claiming to follow Jesus.

Is there a better perspective?

We could spend this whole time talking about how destructive this dispensational view is, but how might we pursue a more healthy approach of the “end” as followers of Jesus?

Again, I’m not here to tell you what to think, but to think with you. So, for me, I have found it helpful to understand the Hebrew roots of our Christian faith.

Israel was a chosen people long before it was ever a “nation state,” like we might think about Israel today.

In fact, missing this aspect causes us to miss how this is a long running debate and tension all throughout the Hebrew Bible. Simply read 1 Samuel 8 for example when Israel choose to become “like every other nation” choosing a human king to lead them rather than God. This is a powerful prophetic critique of the way of earthly empires and how such an identity impacts God’s people.

This empire identity is one that is then wrestled with all throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible.

As a Jewish rabbi himself, this is also something Jesus was wresting with and teaching about as well. He spends so much time talking about “the kingdom of God” and how it isn’t “of this world” and describing its character over and over again in his parables.

Jesus presents the “kingdom of God” not in geographic and political terms, but through ways of being in this world.

The kingdom of heaven is like finding buried treasure...

The kingdom of heaven is like a farmer sewing seeds...

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed... and on and on.

Now, this is not to say that Israel’s redemption doesn’t matter to Jesus. He himself said that God’s redemption would begin in and through Israel. Echoing both God’s ancient covenant and prophetic call on Israel to be a “light to the world.” So it isn’t “if” Israel would be be redeemed that is the focus for Jesus, but “how.”

As far as Jesus was concerned, Israel's redemption wouldn’t be through the way of empires, but by the way of the kingdom of God, showed most clearly through Christ’s self sacrificial love.

It is this "kingdom" that Jesus called his followers to "seek first," even above the call of earthly empires.

When Things Shifted For Me

It was during my studies of the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation that broke my own dispensationalism and undid my belief in the rapture.

I realized that my view of Jesus when it came to the “end times” looked absolutely nothing like the Jesus of the gospels.

The Jesus of the gospels rode into town on a donkey and took a cross for the sake of the world.

The Jesus I believed in when it came to the end times road a warhorse and sacrificed the world on the altar of his wrath.

I was believing in two completely different pictures of Jesus. What is worse, I was reading those two pictures into the Bible rather than allowing the Bible to actually inform my picture of Jesus.

When I did finally allow it, my view of the “end” was never the same. It became rooted in hope of restoration rather than fear of decimation.

For God is seeking to restore all things, not destroy all things!

Our view of the “end” as Christians always becomes reignited when there are “wars and rumors of wars,” especially in and around Israel. So much of the conversation is steeped in a harmful theology that has more to do with geo political control than God’s desire to restore all things and bring peace. This tragically often leads us to minimize other groups and their suffering, like the Palestinians, in order to elevate our own view of “God’s will.”

The reality is, a theology that relies on wars and valuing certain groups of people over others is just not Christ-like.

The reality is, Christ’s call to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” applies to the theological beliefs we hold about the world as well.

The reality is, that every human being is created in the image of God must be the first thing we remember as we try to understand the complexities of the world around us.

If the Jesus we envision in the “second coming” looks nothing like the Jesus of the first coming, we don’t have a view of the end times that is rooted in Jesus.

As a follower of Jesus then, this shift leads me to have great humility and reverence for the Jewish faith and people.

As a follower of Jesus, this shift leads me to have great humility and empathy for how important that land is for all the people groups who call that place home. Rather than making it about “my” theology and “my” view of the end times, it leads me to try to better understand how this current is impacting all the people of that region.

As a follower of Jesus, this shift leads me to a deep desire to see conflicts that arise in that region be handled through peace rather than violence. Through upholding the vulnerable rather than cheering on the strong. Through dignifying the humanity of all involved rather than approaching it through dehumanizing language and “us vs them” mentality. Through putting our weapons away rather than taking them up against others.

The Consequences Are Deadly

100% of Israelis are created in God's image.

100% of Palestinians are created in God's image.

100% of Americans in that region are created in God's image.

100% of the children in that region are created in God's image.

100% of them do not deserve to be casualties of war.

In the past three weeks, more than 1,400 people in Israel and 7,000 Palestinians have been killed amid fighting between Israel and Hamas. More than 2,000 of those casualties have been children in Palestine alone. You can read more about this here. My heart just breaks even writing those words.

In the 20 years of war after 9/11, I found myself asking as an American, “how many deaths are enough to make up for all the precious lives lost on that tragic day?” Is repaying violence with violence and death for death (eye for an eye) really the way to bring “justice” for such an injustice? It can never bring them back.

As it stands right now, because of the aggressive actions of armed people on both sides, so many innocent lives have been lost. It was such an evil act Hamas committed on the nation of Israel. As it unfolds, we are seeing Israel, which has far superior weapons and warfare capability cause more than triple the death toll it originally endured. We are also seeing Hamas use places like hospitals as bases of operations, which has also caused so many to lose their lives and continue to threaten so many others. We are also seeing people prevented from leaving Gaza, while power, food, water, and shelter are constantly being threatened, causing even more death. How many lives must be taken for “justice” to be served? Can justice ever be served though an "eye for an eye" way of conflict?

On top of this humanitarian crisis, as an American, I question why no contingency plan has even been presented to bring Americans living in Gaza home. I question why our support of Israel has to be so “unwavering” that it doesn't even allow us to be compassionate towards the Palestinians who are suffering in the way Israel is pursuing Hamas, let along think critically. Wouldn’t we hold our friends accountable if they began taking their hurt out on other people who were not responsible for it? Shouldn’t this be the same in friendships between nations as well?

All this to say, I think it has devastating consequences when we Christians ask “is this a sign of the end?” Because it inherently makes it about ourselves rather than others. It causes us to be so focused on our beliefs and wondering how our world will end while there are people whose world is literally ending right in front of us.

It distracts us into thinking about how Christ will bring peace and redemption to all the world when he returns rather than thinking about how Christ is asking us to be sources of his peace and redemption in the world of others right now.

It causes us to be preoccupied with “signs of the end” rather than being signs of Christ’s love ourselves here and now.

If our view of a future “end times” doesn’t include trying to understand how and why times are ending for others right now and compel us to respond to that reality in the ways of Jesus, then we need to go back to our theological drawing board.

So, I guess I would change the title of this newsletter. Yes, the war in Gaza is a sign of the “end times.” It is a sign that tells us how the world of the poor and vulnerable is perpetually threatened and falling apart all around us every day and the rest of the world just seems to stand back and continue to ask, “is this the end for us?” Instead of prioritizing the “least among us” as Jesus calls us to.

As a follower of Jesus, the end of the world scares me, but it doesn’t scare me half as much as watching the world end for others, especially for the poor and vulnerable, while we seem to do very little about it.

Now I'd like to hear from you.

What role has end times theology played in your view of world affairs, either past or present? Do you resonate with anything I wrote above? I'd like to hear your thoughts if you care to share.

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I truly appreciate you all,

Ben

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