Simon Cox Blog: Apocalypse Now? Evangelicals and a Raw Deal at Raw Story

Monday 11 December 2017

Apocalypse Now? Evangelicals and a Raw Deal at Raw Story

Raw Story claims that a state senator “predicts Trump’s Jerusalem embassy decision may usher in Armageddon.” But, he didn't.

Over the weekend, we witnessed yet another example of a visible (Christian) public leader saying something foolish. It was one more example in a long line of Christians saying stupid things that make the rest of us look bad.

Or was it?

Florida State Senator Doug Broxson gave the introduction speech for President Trump at a rally this past week. In response to the speech, Raw Story got the initial scoop, blaring out the headline: “Florida rally cheers when Republican predicts Trump’s Jerusalem embassy decision may usher in Armageddon.”

Well, that seems stupid. And you know how I hate it when Christians say stupid things.

So, when I read the article, I eventually came to the quote in question:

“Now, I don’t know about you, but when I heard about Jerusalem — where the King of Kings [applause] where our soon coming King is coming back to Jerusalem, it is because President Trump declared Jerusalem to be capital of Israel,” Sen. Broxson predicted.

To be honest, I was preparing myself for the worst. The past few months have conditioned me to expect the unexpected when it comes to any politician speaking on religion. Given the declaration of the headline, I was half expecting predictions of the four horsemen storming the cabinet room.

I read and re-read the quote several times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Once you get past the urgency-inducing headline, I realized that I saw no prediction other than that Jesus was coming back.

I listened to the speech and, admittedly, it was unclear.

But, news flash: most evangelicals (and many other Christian traditions) believe Israel has a prophetic significance and that Jesus is coming back.

This led me to the conclusion that this story (and its ...