Christian Zionism came to the United States in the 1880s with the Bible Prophecy Conference Movement, and in this same time frame, William Blackstone developed the first American Zionist lobby. In other words, noted Wagner, the Christians Zionist lobby existed before the Jewish Zionist lobby. Blackstone's movement was financed by the likes of John D. Rockefeller and had Supreme Court justices as signatories. Its aim was to create a state for Israel in Palestine in order to help Jewish settlers escape the pogroms in Russia. Thus, long before Theodore Herschel, Christian Zionists were advocating the Zionist cause. Indeed a British politician used the phrase "A land of no people for a people with no land" in 1839!
When Israel was created in 1948, the Christian Zionist movement in the U.S. was revived. It is, according to Wagner, a very pessimistic theology - not a theology of hope.
The 1967 war increased the momentum of the Christian Zionists who believed that the following things were necessary to urge along the “Rapture”: (1) Jews needed to recapture Jerusalem. (2) The temple needed to be rebuilt. Indeed, many Christian Zionist groups are funding the yeshivas in order to move toward this rebuilding of the temple. (3) The rise of the “antichrist”, described as a ten nation coalition must occur.
When Israel was created in 1948, the Christian Zionist movement in the U.S. was revived. It is, according to Wagner, a very pessimistic theology - not a theology of hope.
The 1967 war increased the momentum of the Christian Zionists who believed that the following things were necessary to urge along the “Rapture”: (1) Jews needed to recapture Jerusalem. (2) The temple needed to be rebuilt. Indeed, many Christian Zionist groups are funding the yeshivas in order to move toward this rebuilding of the temple. (3) The rise of the “antichrist”, described as a ten nation coalition must occur.