The CNN analytics, warning that “prophecy, not politics, could shape America’s clash with Iran,” was published this week and appears to be aiming to be evangelicals who believe in theological components of various end-aged theological constructs.
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From the Rapture – the Christians of the Concept are taken to heaven before or during periods of hardship – to the Israeli position, the work in question was strange, incomplete, and even leading critics.
Most notably, this article provides a critical voice for these theological ideals, and does not provide a voice to support or believe in them.
Such a voice, author and prophecy expert Todd Hampson, told CBN News that the article was “not journalism” and instead an attempt to reduce the Christian ideals surrounding eschatology.
“It’s really a very similar view of biblical Christianity on many levels,” Hampson said. “It’s not fair, it’s not balanced, it’s not accurate, it’s not journalism.”
The CNN article in question, “Prophecy, not politics, can shape the conflict between America and Iran,” made many declarations, including many quotes and debates, but one such reference to the rapture claims that it is not in the Bible, and many see that it does not portray the revelation at the end of the days.
“Most mainstream biblical scholars say the word ‘rejoic’ doesn’t appear in the Bible or in the book of revelation,” writes John Blake of CNN. “Many mainstream biblical scholars say that the book of revelation does not portray the literal end of the world. It is anti-Roman, using a language coded to tell Christians that God will destroy the evil empire of Rome.”
But Hampson said these arguments were misplaced.
“These discussions have been blown out of the water many times,” he said. “They are not true. They did not do any research. Yes, technically, the word “joy” is not the original Greek, but the word “harpazo” means “violent or quick snatch, removal from something.”
He continued, “And that Latin word was translated into “Rapturro.” And that’s how we get the transliterated term “Rapture.”
Beyond that reality, Hampson also does not mention other central words of Christian faith, such as the “Trinity” and the “Bible” by name in the old and new Bibles. He insists that joy follows the same pattern.
Of course, there is certainly a debate about the rapture in the Christian world, and there is disagreement about when it will happen, and others have denied that it is a separate event from the Second Coming of Christ. But that’s because it’s next to the point and Divergent’s perspective was not included in the CNN piece.
This is just one of the “many Strowman arguments” he saw in the article, Hampson said.
One more specific argument in this work is that views on prophecy could have an impact on US policies in the Middle East.
“Many Iranian critics say it is a theocratic politics led by those who reduce the world to a conflict of good and evil, and its foreign policy is driven by apocalyptic religious myths,” the article concludes. “What if the US clash with Iran is partly attributable to part of the same religious force?”
Hampson once again felt this was a “stretch” and explained that while both Shiite Islam and Christianity retained theology of the End-Age, he believes that Iran’s daily views, rather than American perspectives, will cause confusion.
“Israel is considered a little Satan,” he said. “America is considered the great Satan… to say it is apocalyptic driven, but not from our perspective.”
Hampson also said that anyone who actually thinks – Christianity aside, he considers Israel a US ally and “a true democracy in the Middle East.” Since its founding in 1948, continuing partnerships has both logical and political implications, given the relationship between America and Israel.
“They have been attacked many times since their founding in 1948,” he said. “It makes sense to protect them when they’re being attacked and when there are countries developing nuclear weapons that say, ‘We’re going to destroy Israel as soon as we have it’.”
Despite this support, Hampson said the United States is not obligated to agree to all Israel’s moves. That said, he believes that general defense against Iran’s attacks is common sense.
Much of this, of course, goes back more generally to the debate over Israel, with some viewing the modern state as a realization of prophecy, while others reject such claims.
Historian Gemar Tisby told CNN that Bible Israel was not the same as the country created in 1948.
“When you combine the two, you support all sorts of actions that hurt people in the name of politics,” he said. “It leads to reluctance to recognize Palestinian rights. It blinds the issues of human rights and justice that are at stake in the Middle East.”
However, Hampson highly believes that the Bible is clear about God’s relationship with Israel and the Jews.
“From a Christian perspective, we are called to pray for the peace in Jerusalem, for the covenant of Abraham, for the covenant of David,” he said. “These are unconditional covenants that will find their fulfillment in the end times when God will regain his attention and win his Jews.”
He continues, “Paul spoke about this. It is not just the Old Testament. In Paul, the 11 Romans, in Paul… (You must not be proud, as you are allowed to be grafted into God’s original plan.” But the time has come for all Israel to be saved.
Ultimately, Hampson said that believers should “support Israel,” but that “is not a blind eschatological approach.”
Another arena CNN is distributivism, addressing the topic under the header that reads, “The controversial form of Christianity drives evangelical views in the Middle East.”
According to Blake, Tisby has joined in with other religious scholars, claiming that Iran’s recent US bombing could have been influenced by 19th-century pastor John Nelson Derby.
“Derby looked at certain sentences in the (biblical) book of revelation and came up with the concept of “dispensingism,” writes Blake. “It divides history into clear “distributions,” or times when God interacts with humanity in a different way. Many supporters of this tradition believe in fiery apocalypse and “rejoic.”
According to a CNN article, the idea is that Israel considers Israel important on its last day, particularly in its geographical presence and its role in the return of Jesus. Therefore, Israel’s success is important for this to unfold.
But Hampson gave him his own definition of theocracy, saying, “The whole story of God teaches us that it is one epic story that allows us to trace the biblical story from Genesis to revelations like chronological stories.”
However, he also became more specific in explaining how concepts work through the lens of the Bible.
“For example, before autumn, Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden, or before or after the flood, in these different periods and distributions, for example, in each era… God worked with those people, gave them some commands, and they gave them responsibility for what they knew,” Hampson said. “For example, Adam and Eve, they had no idea about death, burial, or resurrection. They knew the prophecy that future descendants of women who would crush the snake’s head would come, but that’s all they knew. God’s grace is given to them.
The host of the “Prophecy Propodcast” is fully aware of the fact that many believe distributivism is not in the Bible, but he said it can be clearly observed in the “Progressive Revelation of God” throughout the Bible.
“In different periods, there are slightly different ways in which God works, but it is based on God’s progressive revelation,” Hampson said. “We believe in the Bible. God speaks what he means, and he means what he says. Therefore… God’s unconditional, indifferent promises still stand.”
CBN News contacted Blake to ask clearly about the article in question, primarily explaining why it wasn’t included, especially those like Hampson who believe and understand these concepts. We haven’t responded yet, but if we do, we’ll update the story.
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