A fascinating collaboration between filmmakers Kate Davis, Franco Sacchi and David Heilbroner, Waiting for Armageddon focuses on the intense passion that American Evangelical Christians have for the State of Israel.
Evangelicals believe that the End of Days is coming, essentially when World War III begins in Israel, along with massive natural disasters in which millions will die around the globe. According to their beliefs, millions will kill each other in the war, the Dome of the Rock will be destroyed, the Temple will be rebuilt, and only the followers of Christ will survive.
Their passion is impressive, albeit disturbing. "I kept hoping that one of Saddam's missiles would strike the Dome of the Rock," says one Evangelical. Another refers to the Holocaust as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
Jerusalem's Rabbi Felix Rogin warns against taking the $75 million that Evangelicals donate to Israel every year. "It's dangerous money," the Rabbi says, pointing out that whoever controls the gold controls the land.
Author Gershom Goremberg (The End of Days) questions Evangelicals' love for the Jewish people. "We love you and want you to give up what is most basic to your identity" - that's how he describes Evangelical attitudes towards Jews. Indeed, the Evangelicals believe that exactly 144,000 Jews will accept Christ at the End of Days. The rest, they say, will perish. They don't say where these figures come from.
For a while, the filmmakers follow an Evangelical tour group in Israel, from baptism in the River Jordan, through a visit to the Temple Mount, where their disdain for all Muslims takes center stage. Rev. Barbara Rossing, author of The Rapture Exposed, calls the escalating Middle East violence a "self fulfilling prophecy" as extremists from various faiths show their contempt for each other.
For those of us who love Israel and want the nation to thrive, it's a profoundly sad spectacle to behold.
Bold, courageous and brutally honest, Waiting For Armageddon is food for thought for us all.
