Dispensational Readings of the Bible and the Current Conflict

I hope to post tomorrow a review of Timothy Weber's On the Road to Armageddon (Baker Academic, 2004). The book sets in context the growing conservative Christian support of Israel -- right or wrong. It also helps us understand why they oppose any efforts to partition Palestine.

In the conclusion to the book Weber writes:

For the dispensational community, the future is determined. The Bible's prophecies are being fulfilled with amazing accuracy and rapidity. They do not believe the road map will -- or should -- succeed. According to the prophetic texts, partitioning is not in Israel's future, eve if the creation of a Palestinian state is the best chance for peace in the region. Peace is nowhere prophesied for the Middle East until Jesus comes and brings it himself. The worst thing the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United States can do is force Israel to give up land for a peace that will never materialize this side of the second coming. Anyone who pushes for peace in such a manner is ignoring or defying God's plan for the end of the age. (p. 267).


Interestingly enough, though George W. Bush has much in common with this group, he has chosen to follow a different path. Oh, he's sided often with Israel against the Palestinians, but he's always given at least lip service to a two-state solution, something that is anathema to dispensationalists. We should not be encouraging Israel to make peace. Indeed, they need to subjugate the land so that the course of history can continue on as the Bible suggests.

Now I completely disagree with this interpretation. I believe it is wrong in many ways. It imposes on Scripture a system that is foreign to the text, but it's also dangerous to our future. It has the possibility of influencing American foreign policy in ways that are inappropriate, but many dispensationalists have made common cause with some of the most radical elements in Israeli society. They would love nothing more than to see the Dome of the Rock destroyed. That would, of course make it possible to restore the Temple to the Temple Mount, but it also would likely trigger a devastating war. Of course, they hope to be raptured first!

This is why it's important that we learn to read the Bible responsibly!

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