2023-10-09 16:04:00
The recent escalation of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has fueled the popularity of Zionism among the evangelical segment, flooding evangelical social networks with the white and blue flag and a Star of David in the center. This renewed support from the evangelical community has even manifested itself in Parliament.
For those unfamiliar with evangelical belief, this excessive support for a religion that does not recognize the maximum pillar of Christianity, which is accepting Jesus Christ as its sovereign messiah, may initially seem contradictory.
The truth is that, for many centuries, Protestants, precursors of the Pentecostalism that today dominates this part of Christianity in Brazil, did not give much importance to Jerusalem. The city disputed between Palestinians and Israelis had more symbolic meaning for Jews, Catholics and Muslims, as noted by Pastor Valdinei Ferreira, leader of the First Independent Presbyterian Church of São Paulo.
So what changed? Starting in the 20th century, theologies became popular that began to literally interpret the biblical prophecies involving the Apocalypse and the return of Jesus.
Modern events, such as the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, after the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jewish community, are interpreted through this prophetic lens. Evangelical groups believe in the return of Jesus to Earth to preside over the Last Judgment. And the prophecies suggest that the rebirth of Israel, that is, the state that emerges after the Holocaust, would be contemporary with the return of the son of God.
Translated by AZAHARA MARTÍN ORTEGA
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