Are Arabs & Jews Destined for Eternal Enmity?

While perusing a friend’s blog, I found the following comment posted by an anonymous author. It regards the continued conflict between Arabs and Jews and conforms to what I have found to be a rather stereotypical response among Christians. He writes:

"I've heard it "said" that Muslims descended from Ishmael (son of Abraham and Hagar). Is this true? If it is true, in Genesis 16:12, it is said of Ishmael":

"He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

"Does Genesis 16:12 only refer to Ishmael, or does it in some way, foreshadow the continual conflict between Muslims and Jesus' followers?"

Is this assumption valid? Are those that trace their lineage back to Ishael still bound by this decree? Has anything changed in history that could potentially alter God's pronouncement? Are Jews and Arabs (many of whom are Muslim) or Arabs and Christians destined for eternal strife and foreordained to an acrimonious relationship simply due to heredity? Is this truly an irreversible Hatfield/McCoy byproduct of genetic predisposition?

One might think so were it not for the New Testament’s divinely inspired commentary on the Old Testament. Too often we read the Old Testament without the benefit of New Testament revelation. At this point it may be of some value to consider the thoughts of the Apostle Paul since he was painfully aware of the division of Jew and Gentile. He was both persecutor and persecuted. Did Paul believe that differences were irreconcilable?

Consider the following New Testament passages that provide the backdrop for understanding the nature of the New Covenant. Let’s look at our world through the lens of this inspired NT author.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 (ESV)

We are all of one spirit. In Christ we are clearly homogenized.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. Romans 10:12 (ESV)

There is no racial distinction.

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:11 (ESV)

In this New Covenant world, genetics do not divide.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:28-29 (ESV)

God has leveled the playing field. Who is Abraham’s offspring? Those born according to the flesh? Physical Israel? Absolutely not. Those who are “in Christ” by faith are Abraham’s offspring. Jews and Gentiles alike become "heirs according to promise" by a faith decision.

Paul even takes this a step further. In this New Covenant economy God has wiped the slate clean. Clearly, God has erased artificial barriers between both races and sexes. Any existing racism or sexism is not God-ordained but man maintained. Faith is the only dividing characteristic between people. There are believers and non-believers. However, is this division supposed to be an obstacle that separates?

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)

Clearly the Apostle Paul is exhorting believers to be united, but this is not merely to those inside the Church but more so an extension of God's mind for all. Through our faith in Christ we are to love all equally, not treating any people groups with preference. Our call is to preach the Gospel to all. We love Jews and Arabs alike. We aren't to favor one over the other any more than we are to divide based upon skin color. At any moment, through faith in Jesus Christ’s shed blood, one can move freely from non-believer to believer. From a position of enmity with God to everlasting peace with God. How cool is that!

So may it never be said that this long-standing feud between Jews and Arabs, Christians and Arabs or Christians and Jews has anything to do with the ordinance of God. Its roots are in the depravity of man. (Rom 3:9-18) Racism of any kind is not condoned nor is tolerated by God—and neither is it inevitably destined to continue into perpetuity. Peace will abound when both Jews and Arabs alike meet the Messiah!

And lest there be any doubt we need look no further Jesus' parable of the Samaritan. This came on the heals of Jesus issuing the summation of the law in the two greatest commandments: "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

So who is our neighbor? Jesus used the example of the Samaritan since they were utterly despised by His own race. They were considered less than human, much lower than a Gentile. Jesus was leaving no doubt as to His conviction regarding racial barriers. There were to be none! Further testimony came while Jesus engaged the Samaritan woman at well. Clearly, Jesus did not consider ethnicity a valid dividing factor. Jesus, of the lineage of David, was pronoucing to the world that this New Covenant economy was a new order where all could be brothers based upon their relationship with Him.

Let's plunge deeper into the New Covenant. If we want to see how this relationship between Sarah and Hagar played out in history we need turn no further than the book of Galatians. In his allegorical analysis, Paul does a masterful job of untangling this perceived web of intrigue between Arab and Jew. What was going to be the disposition between these supposedly "irreconcilable"people groups?

What I found extremely interesting was the angle of the Apostle Paul's argument. He didn't trifle over who the father was e.g., Abraham, but instead totally focused his attention on the mothers. Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, Paul asks the simple question, “Who’s your momma?” The religious leaders of Paul’s day proudly proclaimed their heritage to father Abraham. Yet, as we shall see in a moment, Paul rather abuptly made the rather shocking judgment that physical bloodline was no longer of consequence.

As John the Baptizer began his public ministry he greeted his fellow countrymen rather offensively. (I don’t believe he’d ever read Dale Carnegie’s, “How to Win Friends and Influence people”!)

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath [about] to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Matthew 3:7-9 (ESV)

The Jews were beginning to find out early on, that genetics were of no value in this New Covenant Kingdom. Without faith it was impossible to please God. (Heb 11:16) (I might add that it has always been about faith, but God was no longer working through nations to mete out that faith—Gal 3:6) So in Paul’s day which people group was the representative of Hagar and her son Ishmael? Paul turns Genesis 16:12 upside down!

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. Galatians 3:22-24

These women and their offspring represent two covenants—the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In this New Covenant world the relationship between Sarah and Hagar is treated allegorically. Notice which of the two represent the physical Jews of Paul’s day. It may shock you if you haven’t yet considered the ramifications of this passage. Those born physical Jews are from Sarah, right?

One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. Galatians 3:24-26

Are you kidding me! Hagar, the slave woman is the representative from ARABIA and she corresponds to then “present Jerusalem” which was “in slavery” according to God’s economy. This threw me for a loop! The Jerusalem above is free (New Jerusalem) and Sarah is our mother. Not to be overly repetitively redundant :-) but in this New Covenant order, Hagar is the representative of the Jews not the Arabs. This was a monumental revelation to me.

For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband." 28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. Galatians 3:27-29

Who is the “desolate one”? Sarah and her offspring. And who does Sarah represent in this new equation? The Church—those “born according to the Spirit” who were being severely persecuted by the Jewish non-believers. But who was actually being persecuted? Until Paul took the message of Christ to the Gentiles (many years after his coversion) it was predominantly Jews persecuting Jews. Those adhering to Judaism and those that had committed their lives to Christ. The Jews who denied the Savior, thinking that their religiosity would give them Kingdom rights, were “in slavery” while the Jewish believers (and eventually Gentiles by faith alike) would be part of this New eternal Kingdom.

But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman." 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. Galatians 4:30-31 (ESV)

So what’s the disposition of the physical Jews? What was to come of them? They were to be cast out just as it was predicted by Jesus prior to His Olivet Discourse.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. Matthew 23:37-38 (ESV)

So in this new Kingdom there is neither Jew nor Gentile, Arab nor Jew. The only distinction in this New Covenant regards our faith choice—those who are with Christ and those who have not yet chosen Christ.

We need to become peacemakers knowing that God does not ordain genetic barriers. It is only through the redemptive blood of Christ that frees us from these racial chains. Is there hope for peace in the Middle East? Absolutely. But if Christians continue to divide people groups based upon non-Biblical parameters, there will always be strife. It’s up to us. So let’s stop practicing racism and begin to love all people equally, knowing that both Jews and Arabs need Jesus.

God is interested in the condition of one’s heart not the pigment of one’s sin. The cross of Jesus Christ is the historical dividing line. On Nisan 14, 0030, the landscape forever changed. Three days and three nights later God's New Covenant economy was inaugerated. Through faith in Yeshua HaMashia, those born according to the lineage of Ishmael can forever be redeemed and those who consider themselves Israelites can enter the eternal Kingdom as brothers in Christ. And the current Kingdom dwellers offer all who live outside the Kingdom the opportunity to come dine with the King of Kings! (Rev 22:14-15, 17)

Is there potential for peace? You bet there is!

Audience Relevance in the Olivet

Two years ago I ran across the simplest of statements that would forever change my life, my paradigm (worldview) and my faith in the Bible. “Although the Scripture was written FOR us it was not written directly TO us”. At first glance this phrase seemed rather juvenile, that is until I began to consider its earthshaking implications.

I was very much aware that the New Testament writers like Paul and Peter wrote their letters to real flesh and blood 1st century believers or churches but even in that light I unwittingly seemed to bypass context looking for specific personal application that I believed was encased in every passage.

Clearly "all Scripture is inspired by God" and fully profitable that "we may be equipped for every good work" (2Tim 3:16-17) but is it beneficial to be so preoccupied with finding personal relevance to the point where we ignore Scriptural context? I truly believe this has created a whole host of interpretational errors and has led to a great deal of confusion.

Therefore, our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to first determine what the New Testament author intended to communicate to his immediate audience and only then attempt to make proper personal application.

All too often when reading a passage of Scripture I was inclined to automatically transpose the “you” to “me” or “us”. That seemed fine and dandy until I realized that by doing so I was ripping “audience relevance” from the equation and therefore trivialized the lives of the original recipients—to the point where they were deemed irrelevant. By doing this we inadvertently transport segments of Scripture germane to a first century culture and spiritual climate, 2,000 years to a westernized people who have virtually no connection to the original context.

By ignoring context we create significant confusion such that we unwittingly subject ourselves to Doubting Thomasitis. I surely got a bad case of this nasty superbug! Things just did not add up and the subliminal affects of doubt crept in to the point where it took a serious toll on my relationship with the Lord. It's insidious yet I believe very prevelent in the Church. Expectations become skewed when we attempt to move passages from their first century moorings to current day settings. When we timewarp, for example the letter to the Hebrews to the year 2008 instead of reading it in it's original 0065 context, we introduce insurmountable hermeneutical issues.

Doing this causes two identifiable problems.

1. We don't witness God's faithfulness to those that the Word was so graciously given.
2. We wait for things to happen today that were never prophesied to transpire within our generation.

Over the next 30 years I fear many will leave the faith or at least shrink back from it, because they will eventually succumb to the beliefs of the theological liberals who tell us that the Bible is not inspired. Why will believers retreat and fall prey to those who don't respect Holy Scripture? Because the predictions of our modern day soothsayers continue to go by the wayside and people seem to place more value in the interpretations of man than in the Words of Scipture. Many have not moved from being nomial believers to disciples. They subsist on the elementary principles and do not forge ahead to be faithful Bereans (Acts 17:11) testing everything against the light of God's Word.

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:12-14 (ESV)

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, Hebrews 6:1 (ESV)

The problem, as I know now realize after 33 years of struggle, is not with the the God-breathed Words of our Creator but with the faulty interpretational grid of man—who continues to ignore Scripural relevance to the original audience.

This has lent credence to books like the Da Vinci Code since interpretation has become a matter of personal preference, removed from the realm of studious scientific study based upon a set of sound hermeneutical guidelines. In the latter 60's AD Peter warned his faithful followers of engaging in "private interpretations" and we still languish in the same errors today. Works like the Da Vinci Code would have little enticement if we recognized principles like audience relevance, the analogy of faith (interpreting Scritpure in light of Scripture) and paid close attention to detail.

Let me briefly show you what I mean using a passage from 2 Thessalonians and then move on to intent of this post—reading the Olivet through the eyes and in the sandals of the first century believers. Consider the following passage from 2 Thessalonians 1. I’m going to enbolden specific words to shed light on the audience at hand.

6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 ESV)

The immediate reflex for me was to personalize this passage—to bring it into my world. The assumption is that God is going to repay with affliction those who inflict ME and therefore inflict vengeance on MY oppressors. This may apply as a generalized principle but out of context we lose sight of what the Apostle Paul is conveying. The problem is that I'm certainly not part of the Thessalonian Church and God never made that promise specifically to me.

By moving these verses into a modern day context we fail to realize that Paul’s offering specific comfort to the persecuted Thessalonian Church, letting them know that God will avenge those who afflict them. We know historically that God made good this commitment adhering to Jesus' "this generaton" proclamation. During the ensuing 3 ½ year tribulation that began in the spring of AD 66 and terminated in the fall of AD 70, Jerusalem was obliterated and the oppressors witnessed first hand God's judgment. No doubt the Thessalonians were comforted by God's faithfulness!

1,100,000 Jews died during the siege and another 80,000 were taken captive by Titus and the multinational force.

What’s the lesson for us? How do we make application? By realizing that God is faithful to do exactly as promised within the time frame promised. Therefore we know that if God was faithful to the first century believers who were in serious need of vindication, God will be faithful to us in our time of need. The problems come when we assume that the “flaming fire, inflicting vengeance” is to occur sometime in our future against those that may afflict us. This cannot be the case since the context of this passage forces us to confine Paul's promised vindication, to the oppressors of the Thessalonian believers in the latter part of the transition period between the writing of 2 Thessalonians and the terrible day of the Lord in AD 70.

"not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:25 (ESV) (don't forget that the YOU is not 21st century believers!) "The Day" was approaching rapidly. How soon would "all these things" be fulfilled? (Luke 21:22)

You (those living in the 60's AD) need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. 37For in just a very little while, "He who is coming (Jesus) will come and will not delay. (Hebrews 10:36-37 NIV) We can either choose to believe that God was faithful or we can continue to believe the rhetoric of the modern day prophecy experts...

Let’s take a look at another passage. As you read, consider who is speaking; who the passage is addressed to; what promises were made; to whom the promises were made; and the relevance to the surrounding time and conditions.

I’ll add some bracketed comments just to help us remember that this passage was not written directly to us. Put yourself into the mind of one of the audience members and transport yourself to the Mount of Olives in 30 AD. Picture the magnificant Temple edifice on the massive plaform that currently supports the the Dome of the Rock. (click on the photo for perspective)

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them [not you & I], "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you [Jesus' disciples], not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." [verse 34 tells the time frame when this was to take place]

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age [not the end of the world as in the KJV]?" 4 And Jesus answered and said to them [not me & you] : "Take heed that no one deceives you [the disciples]. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. [in their day not 2,00 years future-and we have record of many who did come in this manner]

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled [who is the "you" who should not be troubled?—The disciples] ; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet [end of what? End of the World? No, the end of the age] . 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. [all happened like clockwork - Acts speaks of much of this] 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. [When was this all to happen? Verse 34 tells us]

9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you [kill whom?—the disciples], and you [disciples] will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. [and they did]

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. [from the ensuing temporal destruction that would befall Jerusalem in the tribulation of AD 66-70] 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world [Has this happened yet? See Col 1:6;23] as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come [the end of the age not the end of the world].

15 "Therefore when you see [not us you but the disciples] the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" [Luke tells us (Luke 21:20) that this desolaton will be the result of the armies that surround the city] (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea [not Brandon or Opelika - no reason to spirutualize this text] flee to the mountains [in Florida!].

17 Let him who is on the housetop [not too many hanging out on housetops today in Starke, FL] not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field [Do you work in the field? Not a lot of folks do today. This is where people who pride themselves with the "literal" approach to interpretation, immediately take flight from the natural when it is not called for by the text] not go back to get his clothes.

19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! [wouldn't make a whole lot of difference today—for goodness sakes, pregnancy virtually poses no problems today compared to 2,000 years ago!] 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath [travel is not impeded in the winter or on Saturday in this day and age but it surely was then].

21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. [I'm thankful they were shortened but the watchful Christians fled to Pella 3 1/2 years earlier]

23 Then if anyone says to you [the disciples], 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. [the Kingdom was not to come with "signs to be observed" (Lk 17:20-21)]24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you [not us] beforehand. [they were supposed to know the season of His return]

26 Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' [I guess Matthew's referring to the the desert of Valrico-just kidding!] do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. [Lk 17:20-21] 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west [figurative judgment language scattered throughout the OT], so also will the coming [parousia-an arrival with a consequential presence] of the Son of Man be.

28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. 29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light [much like Isaiah 34:4:]; the stars will fall from heaven [much like Isaiah 13:10], and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes [don't have many tribes in Tampa!] of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds [just like in the OT, they never physically saw the Lord when He came on the clouds. But they certainly were aware of His presence!] of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you now that summer is near. [a clear indication that they were to know the timing, just not the actual day or the hour of His return]

33 So you also, when you [not Bob Dorey] see all these things, now that it is near--at the doors! [James 5:8-9 is quoting this] 34 Assuredly, I say to you, [not those of us living in 2008] this generation [not 50 generations from then!] will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Matthew 24:1-34 (NKJV)

Can you "see" how audience relevance shapes the way you read the Word? This makes all the difference in the world when interpreting Scripture. A passage like the Olivet, that may appear future to us when not considering the relevance to the audience at hand, is clearly meant for the generation that received it.

And those who consider a potential double fulfillment (occuring then and again in our future), need to read the passage carefully. It's rather difficult to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom "in all the world" twice (unless of course we consider futre planetary exploration! :) And how can there be double portions of "those days had not been cut short, no one would survive"? And how can it be that an event "never to be equaled again" will reoccur?

To be quite frank, it seems to me that the only reason anyone would attempt to make this double fulfillment argument, is due to an expectation created by an immovable furturistic paradigm. At that point we enter dangerous waters because we willingly read into the Word instead of determining what it actually says. I would rather deal with the consequences of a changing paradigm than craftily manipulate the Scriputres to fit my potentially flawed presuppositions.

Lastly, we must never lose sight of the reason for the "all these things" that were to come upon the generation that killed the Messiah. Matthew 24 cannot be correctly understand without the benefit of Matthew 23 where Jesus' tirade against the "brood of vipers" ended with "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate."

So as you read the Word always consider context and remember that little phrase: “The Scripture was written FOR us but it was not written TO us.”

Robertson the Prophet that Couldn't

Following is an AP article from the 2nd day of January 2007. Today, one year later, the prophetic words of Pat Robertson have been found wanting. I say it's time to hold our leaders accountable when they purport to have “heard from God”. Robertson slightly hedged his bets by saying, “Sometimes I miss”.

Yeah like the Tsumani that was supposed to slam the U.S. coastline in '06, or Bush's success in revamping of the Social Security system in '05. Not a sterling track record. God doesn't make mistakes! Listen, I don’t have a problem with Robertson’s attempt to be attentive to the voice of God but this kind of public display seems to have exposed potentially ulterior motives.

Robertson clearly stood a 50/50 chance of getting this right given the current Middle East climate—but why does he continue to subject the Church to embarrassment? Do we not pay a serious credibility price for this kind of thing? And what's the deal with intermediaries? I thought we shed that top-down stuff back in the 1500’s.

And if this is not enough, many of these leaders continue to add insult to injury as they whiff over and again with their eschatological prognostications? Yet we continue to purchase their books while lining their pockets. My hope is that many in the Church will begin to stop the insanity by cutting the free flow of funds to organizations & individuals who persist in this kind of irresponsible behavior.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson predicted Tuesday that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in “mass killing” late in 2007.

“I’m not necessarily saying it’s going to be nuclear,” he said during his news-and-talk television show “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network. “The Lord didn’t say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that.”

Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.

Robertson said God also told him that the U.S. only feigns friendship with Israel and that U.S. policies are pushing Israel toward “national suicide.”

Robertson suggested in January 2006 that God punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli-controlled land to the Palestinians.

The broadcaster predicted in January 2004 that President Bush would easily win re-election. Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. He also predicted Bush’s victory for a second term in 2005.

“I have a relatively good track record,” he said. “Sometimes I miss.”

In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America’s coastline in 2006. Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring’s heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.