THE END OF DAYS

Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount

by Gershom Gorenberg

Free Press, 273 pages, $25.00

If there is ever a current book that everyone should read, it is this one. At times it reads like a mystery thriller. Gershom Gorenberg, who lives in Jerusalem and is a columnist for The New Republic and The Jerusalem Report, does a masterful job of giving us insight into the Jewish, Moslem and Christian views of the end times and the struggle to rebuild the Third Temple. It is not written from a Christian perspective, but it is a cutting–edge and informative book. We often talk of a "must–read" but this one is a fast–paced, must, must read.

Understanding where Gorenberg is coming from as a Jew and understanding his cynicism because of radical futuristic date–setters and cults, we can learn much from his book about the current Israeli scene and not be affected by his less–than–evangelical view of Scripture.

In this compelling analysis, we meet a cast of players familiar to us and some not so familiar: Tim LaHaye, Jerry Falwell, Hal Lindsey, Zola Levitt, Randy Price, Chuck Missler, Chuck Smith and even the red heifer are there along with all the rightist and extremist Jews plotting and planning and praying for a rebuilt temple. Gorenberg separates the fiction and mythology from the truth and helps us to fully understand why the temple complex in Jerusalem is such a tinderbox.

Gorenberg explains why the Temple Mount is so volatile an issue and gives us deep insights into current events in Israel. He helps us understand why Christians, Jews, and Moslems are so intertwined when it comes to the rebuilding of the Third Temple: "For a small but growing group of Jews on the Israeli religious right, every day since 1967 has been a missed opportunity to begin building the Third Temple. For a larger number of conservative Christians elsewhere in the world – and particularly in the United States – building that Temple is an essential condition for the Second Coming. And for many Muslims, any attempt to destroy the shrines of Al–Aqsa is a sign that the Hour is at hand" (pg. 14).

The dust jacket informs us: "Adroitly portraying former–hippies–turned–true–believers, American radio–evangelists of the End, radical Palestinian sheikhs, and Israeli ex–terrorists, Gorenberg weaves a story that stretches from California churches to West Bank settlements."

Gorenberg's aim in writing the book is squarely laid out: "Belief in the approaching End has influenced crucial events in the Arab–Israeli conflict. Time and again, it has been the rationale behind apparently irrational bloodshed, and undermined efforts at peacemaking. In the worst case, desire for history's finale has the potential to spark all–out war in the Middle East. And here's the paradox: The world's resolute refusal to end doesn't mute expectations; it turns them up. In the years to come, therefore, hope for the End will continue to exert political influence – and its potential to set off violence will only increase. That hope is more than a fantasy; it has the power to affect our world. The purpose of this book is to show why" (pp. 3–4).

While we all may want to support Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East, Gorenberg shows us things that may make us think twice before investing directly in any way in plans and efforts for rebuilding a Third Temple. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for an in–depth treatment of Middle East tensions and for an understanding of how Christian fundamentalism may be exacerbating that tension.

–GRF

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