"Friends Of Israel" Envision "Final Holocaust"; "Jew Toast"

Posted by Bruce Wilson at 8:54 AM on March 14, 2007.

[also see PEEK story AIPAC's Anti-Semite and AIPAC Speaker's Illuminati Conspiracy Video [VIDEO]]

In previous installments of an ongoing series, I've examined the beliefs of Pastor John Hagee, founder of "Christians United For Israel", an ostensibly pro-Israel lobby whose members seek to trigger a Mideast conflict they hope will spiral into a devastating world war that will cause Global mass death and the death of 2/3 of Jews in Israel. Hagee, who calls for a preemptive nuclear strike on Iran and also states that will trigger the apocalyptic war he craves, has also warned in his sermons about a conspiracy of "Illuminati" and international bankers seeking to create a "New World Order". John Hagee spoke, before many US Senators and Congress members, to a cheering crowd, at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual convention last Sunday evening :

That leading US politicians now happily appear at public events with, cheer on, and consent to share the stage with a man who advocates a fringe conspiracy theory some would call anti-Semitic and urges a "preemptive" use of nuclear weapons in order to cause widespread nuclear war indicates the extent to which US political and religious culture has lurched far right, towards what some call an "apocalyptic death cult", over the past four decades since the era in which Lyndon Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign devastated Barry Goldwater's presidential hopes by airing just one time a 30 second TV commercial,  the "Daisy" ad, that effectively tarred Goldwater as eager for nuclear war. Now, for Republican politicians wooing a key bloc of evangelical GOP voters, public expressions of nuclear blood lust are no longer stigmatized or politically toxic ; they are an asset.

Pastor John Hagee's warmly received AIPAC speech illustrates the extent to which political leaders who espouse ideology that in the 1960's was considered to be scandalously close the  extreme end of the political spectrum can now expect to broadcast their views from a national stage.

Once upon as time a single 30 second TV ad, run only once, effectively destroyed the presidential chances of Barry Goldwater by alleging that Goldwater itched for nuclear war. But since the 1960's Christian apocalyptic religious ideology has spread so extensively in American popular culture that now, in 2007, direct advocacy for widespread nuclear war is no longer considered beyond the pale and, indeed, American enthusiasm for nuclear destruction is sufficient to support a national lobbying group.  And, Republican politicians, but some Democratic ones as well, are willing to appear at  "apocalypse lobby" public events, to share the stage with religious activists who are no longer content to merely predict the end-times but now actively work to make an apocalyptic nuclear inferno really happen.

What's also striking is the willingness of AIPAC partisans to embrace the political support of the Christian "Apocalypse lobby" while dismissing statement from CUFI's board members and from other Christian Zionists, that the hoped for catastrophic conflict will kill most Jews in Israel and that Jews who survive will have convert to Christianity or die. American fundamentalist leaders such as John Hagee have been saying that quite loudly for decades and now, more than ever perhaps, the attainment of such bloody and ultimately anti-Semitic goals seems within the bounds of possibility but Jews who are grateful for the political support CUFI and its predecessor organizations have given Israel seem almost schizophrenic in their willingness to dismiss the underlying ideology of totalistic religious warfare that's lurking under the cuddly philosemitic face, to Christian Zionism, which John Hagee has so zealously constructed.

But, Jews might do well to consider the implications of the fact that apocalyptic thinking has penetrated the United States military, to unknown effect, or the possibility that Christian Zionist thought is popular in the White House. Claims, by Jack Van Impe and Paul Rosenberg, of having been consulted by the White House on end-times prophecy, might by self serving hype but it's worth noting that back in 1998, with the gearing up of George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign, that John Hagee made of gift to Bush of one of Hagee's books, "Final Dawn Over Jerusalem".

In the end, even neoconservative boosters such as Michael Ledeen who have promoted the idea of turning the entire Mideast into a "cauldron" should have pause at this ; the oldest apostasy in the Judeo-Christian and Abramic theological traditions is the human presumption to divinity and that's what in effect the CUFI lobby presumes : to influence divinely appointed fate.

Even the most hard bitten of neo-conservatives might do well to dwell on the possibility that recent theological mutations in some streams of American Christianity might have led to a situation where, quite literally, key national decision makers both in the White House, The Pentagon, and the US Armed Forces, with control over nearly godlike destructive powers, might also think of themselves as quasi-divine and hold end-times views in which Israel is reduced to smoking rubble in a future conflagration that some Christian Zionists have described as "worse than Auschwitz". In light of such statements, the bargain AIPAC has made with John Hagee and his fellow Christian Zionist raises the question ; how lucky does Israel feel ?

In a June 22, 2006 Los Angeles Times story entitled " 'End Times' Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon" journalist Louis Sahagun relates an interview with Bill McCartney, co-founder of the Promise Keepers, in which McCartney talked about the goals "The Road To Israel", an apocalyptic organization he has founded since the Promise Keepers movement waned :

' "Our whole purpose is to hasten the end times", he said, "The Bible says Jews will be brought to jealousy when they see Christians and Jewish believers together as one -- they'll want to be a part of that. That's going to signal Jesus' return." '

Jews and others who don't accept Jesus, he added matter-of-factly, "are toast."

A number of leaders in the Promise Keepers movement have been attributed as religious influences on President George W. Bush.  

Such views are anything but unusual within Christian Zionism : McCarney's sputtering apocalypse booster organization has since been far outsripped by the meteoric rise of Texas megachurch Pastor John Hagee's "Christians United For Israel", and CUFI's name should be taken at exact face value. CUFI supports Israel, as Christian Zionists define Israel per their religious eschatology, but they envision a different fate for Israel Jews.

CUFI board member Jerry Falwell has written of the battle of Armageddon Christian Zionists long for as a "final holocaust" while CUFI board member pastor George Morrison appears to expect merely "another holocaust":

Millions of Jews will be slaughtered at this time but a remnant will escape and God will supernaturally hide them for Himself for the last  three and a half years of the Tribulation, some feel in the rose-red city of Petra.  I don't know how, but God will keep them because the Jews and the Chosen People of God." ( CUFI Executive Board Member Jerry Falwell, in a December 2, 1984 sermon)

As recounted by Terje Langeland, reporting for the Colorado Springs Independent in 2003, one of Pastor John Hagee's CUFI board members, George Morrison, expresses his sense of how Israeli and Israeli Jews will fare in the apocalytpic scenario Hagee and others long for:

"Morrison, whose casual, folksy manner belies his apocalyptic beliefs, already sees signs that the End is approaching. The European Union, he says, might be the alliance of nations that according to prophecy will join the Arabs to wage war against Israel during the final days.

"Great wars will begin to take place" Morrison says in a matter-of-fact voice. "Those wars are going to involve nukes."

The extent of the destruction will prompt Jesus to return in order to stop it, Morrison believes. Unfortunately, he says, many Jews will be killed.

"It's another Holocaust, if you will" Morrison says. "

Christian Zionist analogies about the bloodbath they expect (and hope) will be visited on Israelis go beyond "holocaust" talk and extend to comparisons to Auschwitz.  As Gershom Gorenberg, expert on Christian Zionism and author of End Of days: Fundamentalism and The Struggle For The Temple Mount relates, "Chuck Missler, another popularizer of dispensationalism, says in a cassette lecture that Auschwitz and Dachau were "just a prelude" to the Tribulation. Missler sees no contradiction between looking forward to that horror and backing Israel; in an interview, he told me that "there is more support for the State of Israel from fundamentalist Christians in America than from ethnic Jews.""

As the Christian Zionist author and popularizer, evangelist Kay Arthur

also, according to Stan Goodenough, has used "holocaust" and "Auschwitz" comparisons:

Kay Arthur appears on the dais at all major pro-Israel events in the United States, and was recently nominated to co-chair a new women's association of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus. She has stated publicly that what lies ahead for Israel will make Hitler's Holocaust look like "a Sunday school picnic."

In her novel, "Israel My Beloved," Arthur has the heroine standing in a massively destroyed Jerusalem, dead and dying Jews littering the ground around her as she whispers in horror, "Auschwitz was never like this."

As stated in an October 6, 2002 CBS "60 Minutes" segment entitled "Zion's Christian Solidiers", Arthur blamed God for the destruction of Jews she envisioned:

Ms. KAY ARTHUR (Precept Ministries): The Jews need conversion. They need to know that Messiah is coming. And the Bible tells us what's going to happen.

(Footage of service)

Ms. ARTHUR: You're going to have to take the Word of God and get to know God so that a fellowship...

(Footage of "Precepts For Life With Kay Arthur")

SIMON: (Voiceover) Kay Arthur heads an organization called Precept Ministries in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She brings thousands of pilgrims to the Holy Land and has an answer for every question.

This is what confuses me. Here you are, a great friend of Israel...

Ms. ARTHUR: Yes.

SIMON: ...great friend of the Jews.

Ms. ARTHUR: Yes, and they would tell you.

SIMON: But what you're saying is that some of them are going to be destroyed and some of them are going to be converted.

Ms. ARTHUR: But see, I'm not saying it; God's saying it.

Such unbabashed predictions of another "holocaust" that will be "worse than Auschwitz", far from uncommon, are industry standard in Christian Zionist literaturem, with titles  such as "The Next Holocaust & the Refuge in Edom (Prophetic Updates)" by Chuck Missler, Israel's Final Holocaust" by Jack Van Impe, and The Road To Holocaust by Hal Lindsey.

Thomas Ice, who works closely with Rev. Tim LaHaye, lays out the stock theological view inherent to most of Christian Zionist apocalyptic thought:

What one believes about the future of Israel is of utmost importance to one's understanding of the Bible. I believe, without a shadow of doubt, that Old Testament promises made to national Israel will literally be fulfilled in the future. This means the Bible teaches that God will return the Jews to their land before the tribulation begins (Isa. 11:11-12:6; Ezek. 20:33-44; 22:17-22; Zeph. 2:1-3). This has been accomplished and the stage is set as a result of the current existence of the modern state of Israel. The Bible also indicates that before Israel enters into her time of national blessing she must first pass through the fire of the tribulation (Deut. 4:30; Jer. 30:5-9; Dan. 12:1; Zeph. 1:14-18). Even though the horrors of the Holocaust under Hitler were of an unimaginable magnitude, the Bible teaches that a time of even greater trial awaits Israel during the tribulation. Anti-Semitism will reach new heights, this time global in scope, in which two-thirds of world Jewry will be killed (Zech. 13:7-9; Rev. 12). Through this time God will protect His remnant so that before His second advent "all Israel will be saved" (Rom. 11:36). In fact, the second coming will include the purpose of God's physical rescue of Israel from world persecution during Armageddon (Dan. 12:1; Zech. 12-14; Matt. 24:29-31; Rev. 19:11-21).

"Blow The Trumpet In Zion" (Richard Booker (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers), actually makes explicit predictions about how many million Jews worldwide will die:

( pp. 112-118 )

"    The Jews' Final Holocaust

    What is this terrible tribulation that awaits the Jews? Moses said it would take place in the "latter days". It is the last seven years of this age just prior to the coming of Messiah Jesus to earth. The Bible says this will be a time of suffering such as the world has never known.

    The Antichrist

    The tribulation period begins when Israel signs a peace treaty with the one we know as the Antichrist. The word Antichrist not only means one who is against Christ but also one who takes the place of Christ. The Antichrist will deceive the world into believing that he is the Christ who can solve the world's problems and bring peace among the nations, particularly the Middle East.

    By this time hundreds of thousands of Jews will have come to accept Jesus as their Messiah. This will come about through the preaching ministry of 144,000 Jewish evangelists whom God will call especially for the purpose of preaching the gospel during the tribulation period. These followers of Jesus will know the Antichrist is not the Messiah.

    The Great Tribulation

    The Antichrist will march his troops into Israel and for a short period of time will occupy Jerusalem. Every nation will support his retaliation against Israel for their disturbing world peace. The Antichrist will kill two-thirds of all the Jews. THIS COULD MEAN THAT UP TO TEN MILLION JEWS WILL BE KILLED [Rawson: emphasis ours]. The Antichrist will plunder the beloved city of Jerusalem, and one-half of the citizens will be forced into exile."

This is a continuation of a running series on Pastor John Hagee and his new "apocalypse lobby," CUFI. For the last installment, see links below.

Holocaust For Zion: CUFI's Christian Zionism Made Simple

What Secret "Other Matters" Did McCain Discuss With "Apocalypse Now" Hagee ?

GOP House Minority Whip Roy Blunt To Help Nuclear War Advocate

Also see these Alternet stories by Sarah Posner:

Lobbying For Armageddon

"As Bush's War Strategy Shifts to Iran, Christian Zionists Gear Up for the Apocalypse"

"Apocalyptic preacher John Hagee says McCain is 'on target'"

"Can Giuliani Be the Armageddon Candidate?"

And here are some more recommended takes:

Max Blumenthal : Israel, the US, and the Christian Right: The Menage a Trois From Hell

Bill Berkowitz : Holy Warriors Set Sights

on Iran

Esther Kaplan : Christian Zionism all juiced up

Richard Bartholomew : Armey: Bush Believes in Tribulation, but not Trying to Make it Happen

Bruce Wilson : Dick Armey Denies Bush Administration Trying To Provoke "End Times"

More on Apocalyptic Christian Zionism :

Pastor John Hagee's beliefs are closely aligned with other Apocalyptic Christian Zionists such as Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, authors of the "Left Behind" book series. Writes author and senior analyst at Political Research Associates, Chip Berlet:

When White supremacists post websites demonizing Jews and gay people, they are condemned for the hatemongers they are.

When leaders of the armed citizens militias and their allies in the Patriot Movement in the 1990s urged their followers to form anti-government underground cells and battle global cooperation and the United Nations, they were condemned as dangerous guerrillas spreading divisive conspiracy theories.

When Timothy LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins write the Left Behind series of novels containing the same type of bigotry, they sell 70 million books and are interviewed by clueless journalists who use a double standard by not confronting LaHaye and Jenkins for spreading hate and conspiracism as well as promoting religious violence as a heroic duty....

This is the demonizing theology, ideology, and action plan being taught to millions of Americans by the LaHaye and Jenkins Left Behind series. We ignore this phenomenon at our own risk.

Chip Berlet, on the underlying ideology of the "Left Behind" Books:

"Left Behind Video Reflects Bigoted Apocalyptic Violence of Original Fiction Series," (6/12/2006)

"LaHaye and Jenkins: Why is the Criticism Left Behind? "

The World According to Tim LaHaye: A Series

Part One: Hunting Down the Enemies

Part Two: Pre-Trib Perspectives

Part Three: Satanic Secular Humanism

Part Four: Secular Humanism as False Religion

Part Five: The Secular Humanist Web

Part Six: The Council for National Policy

Part Seven: Humanists Attack the Family

Part Eight: The Age Old Conspiracy

Bruce Wilson writes for Talk To Action, a blog specializing in faith and politics.