How much land was promised? Come again?

The Christian Zionist map of Israel - it all belongs to them!

The map above comes from the blog, "Challenging Christian Zionism" and displays the Christian Zionists' Biblical concept of Eretz Israel. To quote the American secretary of state, this seems "unhelpful" in the extreme.

Alan Epp Weaver, a Mennonite writer, sounds a warning about the enraptured Christians who aim to hasten the apocalypse. (Last weekend Izzy noticed that there now is a drive-through McDonalds on the road to Armageddon. I'm lovin' it!!):

Christian Zionism of the premillennial dispensationalist variety tells a dramatic tale: the rapture of believers, the rise of the Antichrist, and Jesus’ violent, triumphant Second Coming. Within this dramatic narrative the return of the Jews to the Holy Land plays a pivotal role, and the modern State of Israel thus becomes a fact of great theological significance to Christian Zionists.

While Christian Zionism has become a global phenomenon, thanks to the influence of fundamentalist missions, it is in the United States that the political impact of Christian Zionism is felt most acutely. Congregations “adopt” illegal Israeli settlements, sending funds to bolster the defense of these armed colonies. Christian Zionists organize prayer vigils and letter writing campaigns in support of Israeli military offensives (such as the so-called Operation Cast Lead in January) and against any Israeli territorial concessions... Benny Elon, an out-spoken Israeli proponent of “transfer” (a euphemism for the expulsion of Palestinians) is a popular speaker at Christian Zionist gatherings.

[No flawless red heifer has been born inside Israel since 70AD, authorities say, but that does not preclude one who does Aliya from, say, Jerusalem Texas in Brazoria County...or the cloning of such a calf. Yee-ha.]

A rancher in Texas keeps trying to produce the red heifer whose ashes would be required for the purification rituals necessary for the Third Temple that both Jewish and Christian extremists hope to have re-established in place of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Without these ashes, it cannot become functional.

As the government of Israeli solidifies its occupation over Jerusalem and the West Bank, with the blessing of the United States, Christian Zionists actively support even more extreme positions on the Israeli political spectrum.