Although there are many differences between Christianity and Judaism and despite the fact that Jews does not approve of Christianity, Zionist Christianity supports Judaism and supports the Jewish interests to rebuild the Temple of Solomon and to have their own independent state. They think of this as a religious ordinance, depending on their own interpretation of the book of Revelation that speaks about a New Jerusalem and a new temple.
In year 70 AD the Romans destroyed the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem and drove the Jews away from there. As a result, the Jews of Jerusalem dispersed over many places in Europe and the Middle East. Since then, they have been dreaming of going back to Jerusalem to establish their own state. However, they believed that they would not establish this state nor build the Temple of Solomon, for the third time, except with the coming of the Messiah.
Since the first Zionist conference in Basel in Switzerland in 1897, Zionism - in relation to the Mount of Zion in Jerusalem - became the political ideology of most Jews in the world. At a certain point of time, the Ottoman Empire encouraged Zionism and encouraged Jews to dwell on its territories, thinking that it would benefit from their financial power in facing the countries it fought against, such as, Russia, France and England. The Ottoman Empire encouraged the Jews to live on its territories as its subjects. But when it discovered that they wanted to establish their own independent state in Palestine, the Sublime Porte adamantly refused. Establishing an independent Jewish state in Palestine meant that the Ottoman Empire would loose its direct control over its territories in the Arabian Peninsula, especially Mecca and Medina with their religious status that strengthened the position of the Empire among Muslims.
The most important aim of Zionism then was to establish a state for the Jews in Palestine, where the city of Jerusalem, the city of peace, is located, and to build the Temple of Solomon.
The Jews conditioned the establishment of their state with the coming of the Messiah. However, in order to refrain from this belief, Zionism promoted an idea to the effect that the fulfillment of the promises of God [concerning the establishment of the Jewish state] is conditioned with what the Jews themselves did. In other words, Jews should work first to establish their state [and then God will fulfill His promise to them].
The Jews were dispersed [nearly] over all the countries of the world. They were able to become an effective economic power in the most important European countries. After the First World War, they realized that the power would be in the hands of the USA. That was why great numbers of them settled there. In addition, instead of isolating themselves in certain areas, as is their nature, they tried to spread themselves among the American society. At last, they were able to control the media and play an important political role there. This helped the spread of Zionist Christianity, or to be more accurate, Christian Zionism, in America.
The first Jewish groups that left Britain and Ireland to the USA, put before their eyes the [verses] of the book of Exodus. They always recalled its verses that tell about how God was always with the Jews in their exodus from Egypt and their entrance to the Promised Land. The Thanksgiving Day that the Americans celebrate in the fourth Thursday of each November is in effect the day in which the early Jewish emigrants thanked God for their arrival in the Promised Land.
With the spread of Zionist Christianity, the book of Exodus came to be related to the book of Revelation, which is the last book of the New Testament. It is a highly mysterious symbolic book -which makes it interpreted in many different ways.
The book of Revelation speaks about a New Jerusalem and a new temple. Here are some of its verses:
" "Him who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name" [3:12],
" "And they sang a new song: you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men from God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth" [5:9-10],
" "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and the lamb" [7:9-10],
" "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come the salvation and the power of our God, and the authority of his Christ" [12-10],
" "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war…and his name is the Word of God" [19:11-13],
" "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he will be their God…and he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem…it had a great high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel" [21:1-12].
The New Jerusalem in which peace will prevail and from which Jesus Christ will reign a thousand years with His followers, will be established after the battle of Her Megiddo, which is also mentioned in the book of Revelation. Her Megiddo, or the hill of Megiddo, is the last battle between good and evil. This battle will end with the victory of good and the establishment of the temple of God.
As a result of the defeat of the Arabs in the war of June 5, 1967, Israel took over the city of old Jerusalem, where the Wailing Wall is located. The stones of the Wailing Wall are believed to have formed part of the Temple of Solomon, which the Romans destroyed. The Israeli victory in that war led them to believe that God was satisfied with them and that was why He delivered Jerusalem into their hands. They also believed that they will build their temple for the third time, [as they took over the Wailing Wall, which is part of the destroyed temple]. The victory of the Israelis also made the followers of Zionist Christianity have their own interpretation of the verses on Jerusalem and to think of the Jews as a power of good and of Arabs as a power of evil.
The aforementioned Revelation verses seem not to consider the existence of Christianity and the fact that Jesus Christ had come to earth and introduced salvation [to all people]. They [the verses] only consider Judaism and speak about its law as the law of salvation. They mention that the names of the 12 tribes of Israel would be written on the gates of the New Jerusalem and that the Temple of Solomon is the dwelling of God.
History tells us that the tribes of Israel were divided into two kingdoms: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The two kingdoms engaged in many wars against each other till the Assyrian King Sergon II conquered them both between 723 till 720 B.C. As a result, ten of the tribes of Israel dispersed and got lost. History also tells that many tribes that were strangers to the Israelites, came to follow Judaism. For example, a Tatar tribe called Al-Khazr and the tribe of Falasha in Ethiopia. This means that Judaism became a culture for a group of people belonging to different countries and backgrounds. If this is the case, then how could it be that Jews will take part in the final battle [of Her Megiddo]?
The book of Revelation is a book that is based on symbols and implicit meanings rather than on clear, explicit style. That is why it can bear more than one explanation and no one can enforce his own interpretation. The interpretation of Zionist Christianity supports the interests of Zionist Judaism, despite the fact that Judaism does not approve of Christianity nor does it believe in Jesus Christ.
The interpretation of Zionist Christianity supports Zionist Judaism, despite the fact that Jesus Christ Himself criticized the Jews and their racism. He once said to them, "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places in the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subject of the kingdom (the children of Israel) will be thrown outside, into the darkness" [Matthew 8:11].
There is a vast difference between Christianity and Judaism. While Judaism believes that salvation could be attained through fulfilling [the Ten Commandments] of the Law [of Moses], Christianity believes that one can be saved by believing in Jesus Christ and living according to His teachings.
Many verses in the book of Revelation should be interpreted in a symbolic way, because if taken literally, they would indicate not so praiseworthy meanings about the Divine Being. For example, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and the lamb (Christ)" and "The salvation and the power of our God, and the authority of his Christ" Such verses, if interpreted literally, would mean that God, the Almighty, would gain salvation after the battle of Her Megiddo and Christ also [would gain salvation] - which contradicts the fact that God is salvation and the belief that Jesus Christ came with salvation. [Translator: The Arabic translation of "Salvation belongs to our God" and "the salvation of God," which the author commented on, has two meanings. The first meaning is that God is the one who gives salvation - which is the real meaning of the verse as is clear from the English translation "Salvation belongs to God." The second meaning is that God would gain salvation and so it would be His - which is not at all intended. However, this is how the author understood the verses and accordingly arrived at his above-mentioned conclusion.]
Another observation on the book of revelation is on the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem that should be established after the last battle of Her Megiddo is a celestial city and not like the terrestrial Jerusalem. It is simply a symbol of peace, as everything there will be new and there will be no tears or sadness. Such a city needs no temple, as God Himself is the temple - which is the core of any religion. In other words, it is a belief that concentrates not on the external appearance but on the internal reality of the heart, which is supposed to be the place where God dwells.
I am here calling all people to interpret religious texts in their historical contexts and not to use them for political or any other interests, as such a thing could cause conflicts and even wars.