At the end of the 19th century, secular Jewish Zionists pressed for the creation of a Jewish state. They saw anti-Semitism as inevitable. Figures such as the German socialist Moses Hess believed that the only solution was to create a new state that would enable world Jewry to undergo a renaissance, and serve as a spiritual center for all humanity. Similarly, the Russian writer Leon Pinsker contended that Judeophobia is inextricably part of Western society: the only remedy for anti-Semitism is for Jewry to reconstitute themselves as a separate people in their own land.

Echoing such sentiments, Theodor Herzl undertook political steps to bring about the vision of a Jewish homeland. In The Jewish State, he argued that assimilation would not cure Jews’ problems. “We have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with the national communities in which we live, seeking only to preserve the faith of our fathers…. It is not permitted us. In vain are we loyal patriots ... in vain do we strive to enhance the fame of our native lands in the arts and sciences, or her wealth by trade and commerce.”

Christians, too, sought to bring about the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland. One of the most important proponents of Christian Zionism in the late 19th century was the Rev. William Hechler, a British clergyman of German origin. After the pogroms in Russia in 1881, he participated in a meeting of Christian leaders in London which discussed the possibility of settling Jewish refuges in Palestine. He met Herzl, who described him in his diaries as “a sympathetic gentle fellow.... He also considers my movement a ‘prophetic turning point.’ ”

In recent years, Christian Zionism has become a significant movement, particularly in the United States. It seeks to bring about the restoration of the Jewish people on their ancestral homeland, in expectation of the Second Coming.

Drawing on the dispensational theories of such figures as John Nelson Darby, Christian Zionists predict that an evil global empire will emerge under the leadership of a mysterious leader, the Antichrist. It will attack Israel, and eventually there will be a Battle of Armageddon. After seven years of Tribulation, Jesus will return as the Jewish Messiah and king, to reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years, and the Jewish people will enjoy a privileged place in history. (See Bill Moyers’ interview with Michael Lerner on PBS for a discussion of dispensationalism).

This vision of Rapture and Tribulation places the State of Israel center stage. The Christian Zionists believe that when the Jewish people will return to their homeland to establish their state, biblical prophecy will be fulfilled, and everything will be in order for the countdown to the end of history.

The popularity of Armageddon theology extends from ordinary believers to the highest levels of government. The former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger, for example, remarked, “I have read the book of Revelation and, yes, I believe the world is going to end by an act of God.” President Ronald Reagan advanced similar views, and such theological opinions are thought to have influenced the policies of the Bush administration.

Although Jewish leaders categorically reject the religious presuppositions of Christian Zionism, they have been anxious to draw support from sympathetic Christians. The former Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, for example, enjoyed a close relationship with leading figures of the Christian Zionist movement, including the Rev. Jerry Falwell.

Benjamin Netanyahu spoke frequently at Christian Zionist functions, including the Feast of Tabernacles hosted by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. Within a few months of his election as Prime Minister in May, 1996, Netanyahu convened the Israel Christian Advocacy Council, bringing seventeen American Christian Zionist leaders to Israel. On their return to the United States, these leaders launched a national campaign, using full-page advertisements in newspapers under the banner, “Christians call for a united Jerusalem.”

Likud also sought Christian Zionist help in offsetting the decline in contributions to Israel from American Jews. As a result, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews raised more than five million dollars, largely from extremist Christians. Later, Christian Zionists worked with pro-Israel groups to mobilize constituencies to make telephone calls and send emails and letters to President Bush, encouraging him to stop putting pressure on Ariel Sharon to withdraw his forces from Palestinian areas.

The paradox of this Jewish-Christian alliance is that Christian Zionist theology envisages the ultimate disappearance of Judaism as a living religion. In the final days, millions of Jews will lose their lives, along with the rest of humanity. Only a relatively small number will remain, who will proclaim the truth of the gospel.

In The Late Great Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey explains that God will supernaturally deliver 144,000 Jews to serve as his evangelists: “I say loud and clear the 144,000 described here are not Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormon elders, or some symbol of the Church, they are Jews, Jews, Jews.”

Yet these Jews will in fact be converted Christians, who have at the end of time embraced Jesus as Lord. They will be all that remain of the Jewish nation. Hence, by advancing the claims of the Jewish people for their ancestral homeland, Christian Zionists are looking to the day in which Israel will disappear in a nuclear Holocaust, and the Jewish faith will vanish from the earth.