The Second Coming 

(a positive view of fundamentalism) 

By Israel Shamir 

They walk in big and jolly crowds on Jerusalem streets, waving
blue-and-white flags and smiling at passers-by; the Christian friends of
Israel often arrive in the autumn, during the Tabernacles Feast. This
year, too, they came by thousands; cheered up the despondent shopkeepers
of Ben Yehuda Street, promised to stand by us, in weather fair or foul;
met with the representatives of the settlers and with Sharon’s
ministers. Their leader, Pat Robinson, proclaimed: “I see the rise of
Islam to destroy Israel and take the land from the Jews and give East
Jerusalem to Yasser Arafat. I see that as Satan's plan to prevent the
return of Jesus Christ the Lord,”- and the crowds applauded him, even
ram horns blew. 

The Israeli Jews are less than happy with them. Religious Jews hate
their crosses and visibly restrain themselves from spitting in their
direction as is their wont. Ministers of the Jewish Nationalist Right
hoodwink their supporters, promising them to use and manipulate the silly
visitors. In the educated and liberal circles of Jerusalem (as well as
in Boston, Washington and Paris) it is usual to pour scorn on the
fundamentalist Evangelical Christians, to despise these ‘country hicks’,
‘homophobes’ and ‘warmongers’. But I like these simple and sincere men
and women; though their love of Christ is misused by their cynical
leaders as the first love of a young country girl is misused by a
cynical urbanite. 

What is, indeed, the proper Christian attitude to the Jewish state?
Nowadays it varies from “warm support” to “indifferent”, i.e. from
support of Israel on the grounds of an apocalyptic belief to the view
that the Jews and the state of Israel have no more meaning for
Christians than Inuit. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams offered a
compromise affirming the need for a Jewish state and the state’s duty to
be good to its neighbours. A Palestinian Christian, Jonathan Kuttab of
Sabeel wrote him an open letter bitterly complaining that he “ignored
the Palestinian people on whose land the Jewish state was created” but
“was satisfied that the Archbishop did not support eschatological or
prophecy-driven interpretations”. However this discourse is missing the
fourth leg: the rejection of the Jewish state on the ground of an
apocalyptic tradition; and so we shall supply this leg. 

Indeed, the “eschatological or prophecy-driven interpretations” are
unavoidable; millions of Americans express them openly and millions of
Europeans feel them acutely. No amount of empathy with the Palestinians
has been able to change the widespread feeling that was well expressed
by Lord Balfour: “The fate of the world, the millennia-old plan of
Redemption and the Second Coming, is more important than the immediate
concerns of local inhabitants”. Balfour, probably the Archbishop of
Canterbury, other shepherds of the Catholic and Protestant Churches, and
many, many ordinary folks feel about the fate of Palestine as [Egyptian
President Gamal Abdel] Nasser felt about the fate of Nubian villages
when he built the Aswan Dam: 'tis pity but they’ll have to suffer for
the greater good of the land and its people. 

Let us follow this simile a bit farther. If the Aswan Dam were to flood
the Nubian villages, Pharaonic temples and Coptic monasteries, but will
provide Egypt with water and food -- fine and good; we shall just
compensate the poor Nubians and relocate the monks. If the Dam were to
create zillions of mosquitoes and bilharzia man-eating worm, arrest the
inflow of fertilising Nile ooze and disrupt harvests, we shall regret
the folly of building the Dam but stick with it, hoping for the better.
But were we to recognise the Dam as a new Damocles sword hanging over
Egypt, allowing its neighbours to blackmail the country by the threat of
nuclear targeting the Dam and turning the Lake of Nasser into the Sea of
Doom for this ancient country – we would change our view about the setup
rather radically and begin gradually dismantling the project. 

In other words, we (as opposed to many friends and enemies of Palestine)
may agree that prophecies are coming true, but which prophecies? There
are two competing, mutually exclusive versions of Apocalypse - a Judaic
and a Christian. According to the Jews, after Jewish sufferings, God’s
rage will be awaken and he will avenge the shed Jewish blood and restore
their good fortunes: the outcasts will become the leaders. Theirs will
be the only spiritual centre of the world in Jerusalem, they will outlaw
or kill believers in Christ and other idolaters, demolish churches,
de-spiritualise and disarm the nations, will get seven gentile slaves to
a person, collect all material and spiritual riches, and will live
happily ever after shepherding the happy gentile flock. 

In the Christian narrative of forthcoming events, before the new
spiritual awakening of Christendom (described as the Second Coming), the
Christian world is to sink slowly into the abyss of de-spiritualisation
and Mammon worship; its nadir is described as “the Antichrist rule”, the
end of Kali Yuga, as they say in India. The prophets connected this
dramatic development with the return of the Jews and with
re-establishment of Judaic cult in Jerusalem. This was supposed to be
the lowest point of spiritual descent, the darkest hour before the
sunrise, for Judaism is based on rejection of Christ. This mass apostasy
will cause a horrible war; in its aftermath, the survivors will return
to Christ. 

The prophets and fathers of the Church did not determine whether the
Antichrist was to be a Jew (or even a person), but the intricate
connection between the Jews, restoration of their cult and the Doom of
Christendom was a universally accepted dogma, East or West. In the West,
as long ago as the seventh century, Isidor, the bishop of Seville, knew
of the “Antichrist who will take Jerusalem and re-establish the Jewish
temple and the Jewish kingdom” before taking over the Church and the
world. In the East, St John the Damascene prophesied that the Antichrist
will come to Jews and for Jews, against Christ and Christians. The
Church Fathers considered the Rise of the Antichrist as the rise and
temporary triumph of Judaism. In the Tenth Century, St Andrew prophesied
that the kingdom of Israel will be restored, and that it will be the
launching-pad of the Antichrist. 

The secret of this confluence of two narratives is hidden in the idea of
de-spiritualisation: the Church fathers were aware that the Jews seek to
remain the only sacral unity within profane mankind, while {the Church fathers} wished
the world to overflow with sacrality like a jar with good wine. 

When a Christian observes the US Army and its auxiliaries being sent to
subdue the Middle East and establish a Judaic ruler on the throne of
Solomon; when the Jewish state declares its supreme sovereignty upon
earth by assuming right to judge and doom anyone, anywhere; when prime
ministers and presidents gather to deliberate whether they are doing
everything they can for the Jews; when the superpower rates its allies
by their attitude to the Jews; when princes of the church are begging
forgiveness of the Jews, and when practical steps are being taken to
renew the sacrifices in Jerusalem – one can’t but recognise that
prophecies are being fulfilled. One also can’t but recognise that
whoever supports this prophesied “rise of Jews” sides with the
Antichrist. One may also find comfort in knowing that the dark night of
the Antichrist will eventually bring the great spiritual awakening, or
‘the Second Coming’, but may one then hasten the darkness of the night
while wishing for sunrise? 

In the Bolshevik tradition, this is called “the worse, the better”; i.e.
the worse is the situation, the better are chances to bring forward the
desired revolution. It is a legitimate view; many good people feel that
Bush the Worse is also Bush the Better, as he is so obviously evil that
he antagonises even groups liable to support an equally bad but cunning
politician. In Israel, a Jewish Ultra-Orthodox authoress wittily
explained her antizionist community’s support for Benjamin Netanyahu the
Zionist: The Ultra-Orthodox realize that Netanyahu will surely destroy
the Zionist state. 

This attitude ceases to be legitimate when it is transformed into a
positive action of supporting evil. One may passively find comfort in
knowing that a nasty situation will be soon over, but one may not
actively provoke the nasty situation “to have it done with”, by, say,
campaigning for Bush or Netanyahu. Such a Machiavellian action is
perilous for the soul. 

The rise of the Antichrist as the last stage before the Second Coming
may be compared with the betrayal and the Crucifixion before the
Resurrection. Thus actively aiding and abetting the Antichrist, in order
to speed up the Second Coming, is tantamount to playing the role of
Judas betraying Christ - if he betrayed Christ in order to quicken the
Redemption. A mad theologian Nils Runeberg, a character in a Jorge Luis
Borges story, admired Judas for his deed, as without him, the divine
plan would not be fulfilled. Such an approach is called “antinomian”,
and Christ foresaw it when he said: “the Son of Man will go as it has
been decreed, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed”
(Mat 26:24). Indeed, for Christians, Judas is the symbol of the worst in
human nature; Dante planted him in the Ninth Circle of his Inferno,
while a Jewish author made him a national hero in the Toledoth Yeshu. 

Lurian Cabbala is decidedly antinomian; Sabbatai Tsevi, a post-Lurian
Cabbalist messiah of 17th century, believed that sins lead to
redemption. His adversaries claimed he would sodomise a boy while
wearing phylacteries and singing hymns. The spiritual leader of the
Israeli Cabbalist school, Rabbi Kook, also believed that mass murder,
rivers of blood and a sinful life are the harbingers of salvation,
though he never called for direct antinomian action – this was a later
addition by his disciples. 

So-called Christian Zionists are antinomians as they side with the
Antichrist in order to quicken the Second Coming, but woe to that man
who helps Antichrist to destroy the world. Whether they believe in the
Second Coming of Christ or not, people who knowingly implement
antichristian plans are better called “the Antichrist Zionists”. Rise of
the Antichrist Zionists is a part of the prophesied Apostasy of the
Church. But our feeling towards them are like that towards misled
brothers. They were ensnared by their spiritual longing for Christ. We
do not mind that they are fundamentalists – we regret that they are not
sufficiently fundamentalist. 

II 

Fundamentally, the church always believed that the Jews will be
eventually saved by coming to Christ. This important event will
accompany the defeat of the Antichrist, as part of the Great Reawakening
(metaphorically called the Second Coming). Then the sheep will be
separated from goats, and those who accept Christ will continue into
future life. As the Rise of Antichrist occurs in our days, we witness
the first fruits of this sifting. 

Our brother Mordechai Vanunu is one of the first swallows. This holy
man, a scion of a learned Sephardi Jewish family, was horrified by the
Jewish persecution of the native Palestinians and came to Christ. As a
Christian, he denounced the Armageddon weapons of Antichrist,
manufactured in Dimona, in the South of the Holy Land, within sight of
Sodom. He was severely punished by the Antichrist and suffered 18 years
in jail; but by God’s will he survived it like Daniel survived the
Lions’ Pit. 

There are many others: Neil and Gilad, Daniel and Menachem, Jews by
birth who denounced the Judaic cult of Death and accepted the Living
Christ. In every case, relationship to the Palestinian suffering was the
sieve: whoever disregarded it followed Antichrist; whoever denounced it,
began his way to Christ. 

Though modesty precludes me from referring to myself, I have a duty to
witness. A vain and suffering man, I was granted the grace of Christ and
was reborn in his glory. Though the ways of God are mysterious, I
believe that it was my compassion and love for the native people of the
Holy Land that made me worthy of His Theophany. A poem by the Greek
Alexandrian poet Cavafy helped me to recognise my way: 

	For some people the day comes 

	When they must say the great Yes 

	Or the great No. He who has the Yes 

	Ready within him, says it 

	And goes by the path of honour, strong in his conviction. 

	He who refuses does not repent. Asked again, 

	He’d still say no. Yet that No – the right No – 

	Drags him down all his life. 

I do not regret my Yes, and the attacks of enemies do not break my
spirit. I am daily grateful to Christ who saved me from the Judaic
paranoia of hating and being hated, and brought me into the world of
loving and being loved. And every Jew who has come to Christ by the way
of rejecting the Judaic ideas, by upholding love for the nations, is a
portent of Salvation. 

Now I have received good news, great news from a great man, Alfred
Lilienthal, an American Jewish author of many books including famous
What Price Israel? published in 1953 and republished last year. Alfred
Lilienthal was one of the first Jews who renounced Zionist separation
and mistreatment of Palestinians. 

Suzanne Nicole, his webmaster, secretary and assistant wrote to me: 

  At age 90, Alfred is quite frail and too blind to read, his short-term
  memory is severely impaired, so he has to be asked short questions (in a
  loud voice since he is also growing deaf), or he forgets what he is
  being asked. His long-term memory is still quite good, so he is also
  able to discuss concepts such as the difference between Judaism and
  Zionism. He understands current events when he first hears about them
  but quickly forgets the details. I did paraphrase one of your statements
  from The Pardes to him: 

	Thus, this discourse should help an individual to decide whether he
	wants to be a Jew, or not, in the same way one may choose whether one
	wants to be a communist or a Quaker, for it is my deep conviction that
	to be or not to be a Jew is an act of free will. 

  He replied, "And that is what I have finally done." He was baptised
  sometime shortly before last Thanksgiving. Even in What Price Israel? in
  1953, he had referred to Jesus as a prophet of Israel. One day a couple
  of ministers had come by to see him at the urging of a Christian friend,
  and he made the decision in what seemed to some perhaps as a senile
  moment. But Friday afternoon, he said, "What is today? Is Ned coming to
  take me to church today?" So, it has stuck. He may not remember what day
  it is, but he does remember each day that he has chosen to become a
  follower of Christ like you.

This conversion of Alfred Lilienthal is an important event, for it tells
us that Christ’s grace is available to Jews and not only in the physical
Holy Land: It is enough to renounce the separation of a Jew and a
Gentile, to give up hate and to accept the love that is Christ. 

Christian faith is not compatible with Jewish exclusivity. The mission
among Jews can be successful only if the whole complex of Jewish
separatism is removed, when their hearts are circumcised and they are
brought into full communion with the people they live amongst. I have
met in Israel with some ‘messianic Jews’, who were full of hate to the
native people of the Holy Land. Not surprisingly, they thought Jesus
Christ came just for Jews, and the Holy Land was theirs, too; they
worshipped the Israeli Army and the flag of Israel. For them, the
pivotal moment of history was not the Resurrection, but the Destruction
of the Jewish Temple. In other words, they only pretended to be
Christians, or not even that, as they preferred to be called ‘messianic
Jews’. 

Indeed, the plans of Almighty include the Jews; like the plans of the
Ring included the hobbits; but some will play the role of Frodo, while
others will take the part of Gollum, some will support Antichrist, and
some will stay with Christ. 

The ‘Antichrist Christians’ may revert to true fundamentalism, reject
Antichrist and his drive to destroy the last enclaves of spirit still
hidden in the high mountains of Asia. Then they will be called ‘Christ’s
Christians’. They may campaign for strengthening and uniting the
American churches and eventually bringing them into full communion with
the Apostolic Churches of the East and the West. They may campaign and
undo the extreme separation of church and state in their country; for
sacred and profane must be reunited. They may reintroduce worship of Our
Lady, as the way to connect to nature. She performed a miracle in the
neighbouring Mexico, and healed the wounds of the native people; she can
repeat it in the US. Then you will be blessed by all those who damn you
today; and the Americans will be met as friends by friends wherever they
go. The plans of the Antichrist will be ruined, as happened before; and
mankind will resume its noble path of striving to discover its divine
qualities. For the main message of the Orthodox Christianity is that God
became Man so Man can become God; this is the true meaning of the Second
Coming.