Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 10:2 (Fall 2006)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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JMAT 10:2 (Fall 2006) p. 124

Book Reviews

Standing with Israel. David Brog. Lake Mary, FL: FrontLine, 2006.

The hot spot of all hot spots in the world is the tiny nation of Israel as it stands surrounded by millions of Moslems in the Arab nations surrounding her. The recent controversy over the Israeli military response in Lebanon to counter the Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah shows that this small nation, inheriting a land promised by God to Abraham and his descendents through Isaac, remains a provocative issue. The controversy shows no sign of abating in our present age. While politicians on the world stage seem paralyzed and unable to come to a solution, the world claims peace through worthless ceasefires in a way that reminds one of Paul’s prediction that the unbelieving world will be claiming peace and safety when God’s end-time judgments begin to be poured out upon the earth for the seven years prior to the return of Christ (1 Thess 5:1–9). Since dispensational Christians believe that Christ will come to rapture the church before this awful day of the Lord’s wrath (1 Thess 4:13–18), many such Christians are cautiously excited about possible prophetic fulfillment in the present generation. On the other hand, such Christians, who are normally committed strongly to a pro-Israel position, are horrified by the rising tide of anti-Semitism in our day, most of it aimed at national Israel, the military superpower of the Middle East.

With the above sentiments in mind, I was intrigued by a recent book written by a committed Jew. David Brog’s Standing with Israel has as a subtitle the words “Why Christians Support the Jewish State.” The book is the perspective of a Jew who is pro-Israel. The purpose of this volume, however, is to show how a change has occurred theologically within Christendom over the last two centuries which has allowed a large and politically powerful contingent of pro-Israel and pro-Jewish Christians to emerge within evangelical, Bible-believing Christianity. The foreward to the book is written by the staunch pro-Israel John Hagee, a Christian pastor from San Antonio, who is currently embroiled in the controversy over whether he holds to dual covenant theology, a position rejected by the overwhelming majority of dispensational, pro-Israel evangelicals.

Perhaps writing to Jews more than Christians, Brog downplays the traditional fears that Jews have toward Christians. Historically, Christians often receive deserved and undeserved blame for persecution of the Jewish people. Brog argues that, due to the rise of

JMAT 10:2 (Fall 2006) p. 125

dispensationalism among evangelicals and its associated Christia...

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