Israel has welcomed many American statesmen throughout the years, but U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is not here on a mere state visit. He is making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem as a devout Christian. He is here representing a vast community of Zionist Evangelical Christians who believe in the Biblical prophecies heralding the return of the Jewish people to Zion.
The Evangelical movement has launched nothing less than a revolution: For the first time in hundreds of years, Evangelicals are rejecting the central tenet of Catholic Christianity. This tenet, known as Replacement Theory, argues that when the Jews refused to accept Jesus as their savior, God abandoned us, his chosen people, and chose the church in our stead. Evangelicals, however, reject this notion and read the Bible more literally – the Israelites in the Bible remain the Israelites today, and if the prophecies predict the Israelites' return to Zion, then the Evangelists will help them come to pass.
They often repeat the words of the Prophet Isaiah who, 2500 years ago, declared: "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her triumph go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth" (Isaiah 62:1). They treat this verse as a divine command to enshrine Jerusalem. It was this belief that fueled the Evangelical push for American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state and the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. They believe that the moment Donald Trump made his campaign promise to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, divine intervention guided the election in his favor.
Israel's Arab MKs and Muslim countries are riling against Pence and for good reason. They understand the political implications of the Evangelical theology on the future of Israel and particularly on Jerusalem.
The Zionist Christians read God's promises to Abraham in Genesis as a commandment and a promise: "And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). In other words, anyone who helps the Jews and the Jewish state will enjoy God's blessings and anyone who fights against the Jews and prevents their return to Zion will be punished by God.
This is precisely what happened to the nations of the world throughout history, they believe. Those who helped the Jews thrived and flourished and those who turned their backs on us and abused us were reduced to nothing. According to the Evangelical faith, the U.S. enjoys its superpower status thanks to its staunch support for the Jewish people and the Jewish state. I have heard many Christian leaders say: We are Zionists because we love America.
