By Marcos Amado
A few years ago, a Palestinian Arab pastor shared with me one of his most memorable experiences. When the Brazilian missionary movement was still in its infancy, he was invited to speak at a missionary conference in Brazil. Feeling honored by the opportunity, he readily accepted the invitation. At the conference’s opening ceremony, he was perplexed by what he saw. Through the conference hall door, to the sound of traditional Israeli songs, men dressed similarly to Levites entered the hall in procession carrying a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. Other people, also dressed in Israeli attire and carrying the Israeli flag, followed them. His first reaction was to think about boarding the first flight back to Jerusalem, his hometown, where his ancestors had lived for over a millennium. Eventually, he reached an agreement with the event organizers, changes were made, and he decided to stay until the end.
This almost traumatic experience is just one example of how Brazilian Christians exalt Israel, without any consideration of how the events that led to the organization of that country, as well as subsequent developments, have deeply marked the hearts and minds of Palestinian Arabs, both Muslims and Christians. Perhaps the conference organizers were not necessarily dispensationalists. However, their love for Zion and their zeal for the promises of the Old Testament could not be denied. But how did this trend develop?
Historical Protestantism arrived in Brazil in the mid-19th century.¹ According to Robson Cavalcanti, the eschatological positions of the Protestants who landed there were either postmillennial or amillennial. It was only in the first decade of the 1900s, with the arrival of Pentecostalism, that Brazilian Christians began to be exposed to premillennialism and pre-tribulation dispensationalism. In 1964, with the military coup and influenced by American fundamentalism, at least some of the historical Protestants also began to adhere to the dispensationalist school of thought.²
Based on this context, the way in which this theological system became popular among evangelicals was not very different from what happened in the United States. Theological seminars were organized with a marked emphasis on dispensationalism, and missionary agencies, although cross-culturally focused, clearly emphasized their strong support for Israel. Maps and diagrams were produced on a large scale to help experts in eschatological themes to teach what, according to dispensationalist opinion, was about to happen in the not-too-distant future.
In 1970, Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth, was published in Portuguese under the title A Agonia do Grande Planeta Terra (The Agony of the Great Planet Earth). The cover announced that the book was “a penetrating analysis of the incredible prophecies surrounding the present generation.” Two years later, another book by Lindsey with an even more suggestive title was published in Brazil: Satanás está Vivo e Ativo no Planeta Terra (Satan is Alive and Active on Planet Earth). According to the publisher, the book offered “a profound analysis of the actions of the Prince of Darkness.” These books were a resounding publishing success. Many copies were sold to pastors, lay leaders, and myriads of Christians.
In 1983 the Scofield Study Bible, with its dispensationalist teaching, was also published in Portuguese and soon acquired the status of an indispensable Bible for many theologians and Bible teachers; this contributed to further increasing love for the modern state of Israel in the hearts of Brazilian Christians. In 1999, the Left Behind phenomenon, consisting of books and a range of related products, became available in Brazil. As in the United States, millions of copies were sold. In 2013, the same publisher of Hal Lindsey’s books launched the Ryrie Study Bible. Once again, it did not take long for this publication to become an important text in the hands of thousands of Brazilian believers.
These are just a few examples among a considerable number of Christian books and magazines published in Brazil over the last four decades with a strong emphasis on dispensationalist views. Today, it can be said with certainty that numerous Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal churches in the country, as well as many non-Pentecostal denominations, have adopted the assumptions of dispensationalist theology, even if they do not know the name of this influential school of thought.³
This has made the support of neo-Pentecostal churches for the state of Israel unequivocal. Liturgies are often inspired by Old Testament ceremonies that took place in the temple in Jerusalem. One example is the inauguration of the $300 million replica of Solomon’s Temple in São Paulo in 2014.⁴ Under the gaze of 10,000 people, including many Brazilian government officials, a replica of the Ark of the Covenant was carried to the Holy of Holies, while people wept copiously under the conviction that God was present there in a powerful, tangible, and special way. The Temple of Solomon Facebook page quickly reached one million views. On it, one can read comments such as:
Solomon’s Temple is a wonderful place. There are no words to explain it. There, you can truly encounter God; your doubts about whether this is really the God who transforms your spiritual life disappear. It is an extraordinary place; there is no explanation […].
The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, one of many neo-Pentecostal denominations, built the Temple of Solomon in São Paulo. This denomination has a secular television channel watched by millions of people every day. The channel even aired a special report titled O Brasil dos Judeus (The Brazil of the Jews) in which, among other statements, it was said that “the Jews are the only people born with the divine task of inhabiting a region of the earth: Canaan.” Its leader, Bishop Edir Macedo, has already managed to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without even the presence of the press.⁵
The Bishop or his assistants have been taking thousands of faithful to Israel every year, with encouragement from that country’s Ministry of Tourism.⁶ Others are following suit. A little over two months ago, a group of Brazilian Christian leaders and influencers met in person with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. In addition to apologizing through the delegation’s spokesperson for the current Brazilian government’s position in favor of the rights of the Palestinian people, the meeting served to declare full support for Israel and included moments of prayer for peace, in line with the official Israeli narrative.
Therefore, many denominations, based on theological convictions, are working intensively to promote the interests of the Israeli nation in Brazil. When in 2014 the president of Brazil condemned the disproportionate force of the Israeli military in Gaza, with more than 1,600 Palestinian deaths and 80 Jewish Israeli deaths, a group of evangelical leaders from different denominations went to Brasilia to protest against the presidential position. According to them, this perspective did not reflect that of the Brazilian Christian and evangelical population regarding the conflict. One of the leaders at the demonstration stated that “when the government speaks out against Israel, it is speaking ill of Jesus […]”.⁷
In the same year, another pro-Israel demonstration took place in Amazonas, promoted by Apostle René Terra-Nova, another well-known neo-Pentecostal leader. More than 30,000 evangelicals attended the demonstration. Silas Malafaia, one of Brazil’s most controversial Pentecostal leaders, referring to the same statement by the Brazilian president against Israel, declared that “the nation that curses Israel is also cursed.” The BBC’s Brazilian website reported that these reactions clearly show the growing ties between Protestant churches in Brazil and Israel.⁸
More recently, especially with the 2018 election of Jair Messias Bolsonaro as president of Brazil, a new wave of fervor for Israel has taken shape. When Bolsonaro raised the possibility of transferring the Brazilian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a significant part of Brazil’s evangelical population mobilized.
None of this helps evangelicals develop a minimally balanced perspective. Even more worrying is the fact that the symbiosis between the modern state of Israel and part of the evangelical movement stems from a biblical interpretation that contradicts the historical understanding of important Christian theologians over the centuries and only emerged in the 19th century.
Given the Israeli government’s significant ability to influence the public narrative, many evangelicals, by uncritically accepting the information presented to them, end up guided more by ideological constructs than by a faithful interpretation of Jesus’ teachings.
As a result, they become unable to grasp the reality of occupation, forced displacement, widespread suffering, and the specific difficulties faced by Palestinian Christians and Muslims, who are often demonized or excluded from the prevailing narrative.
Marcos Amado is a Brazilian Evangelical pastor, a professor of missiology, and a researcher in the fields of global Christianity, interreligious dialogue, and Islamic studies. He is the founder of the Brazilian Center for Missiological Reflection (Martureo).
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- The French Commander Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, after invading Rio de Janeiro in 1555, asked John Calvin to send Protestant pastors and colonizers to support his attempt to colonize Brazil, which, at the time, was controlled by the Portuguese. In 1557 these Calvinist Protestants arrived. However, the attempt was short-lived. There were strong differences between Villegaignon and the Protestants. Only a few years after their arrival, some of them were sent back and others were executed because of their faith. Alderi Souza Matos, “Breve História Do Protestantismo No Brasil,” Andrew Jumper Presbyterian Postgraduate Center, 2011.
- Robson Cavalcanti, “Thinking Reflects Action,” Ultimato Magazine, October 9, 2009, www.ultimato.com.br.
- Neo-Pentecostal churches are a relatively recent phenomenon in Brazil. They present a more extreme version of Pentecostalism, placing great emphasis on physical and financial prosperity.
- The estimated cost in Brazilian currency was 680 million reais. Taking into account the exchange rate at that time, the total in dollars would be around $300 million.
- R7 News, “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Receives Universal Church Leader Edir Macedo,” December 17, 2015, http://noticias.r7.com/internacional/primeiro-ministro-israelense-benjamin-netanyahu-recebe-o-lider-da-igreja-universal-edir-macedo-18122015.
- “Israel Quer Atrair 120 Mil Turistas Brasileiros em 2014,” Gazeto do Povo, May 28, 2012, http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/viver-bem/turismo/israel-quer-atrair-120-mil-turistas-brasileiros-em-2014/
- BBC Brazil, “Evangelical Leaders Defend Israel and Criticise Dilma,” August 6, 2014, http://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2014/08/140806_evangelicos_israel_dilma_jf_kb.
- BBC Brazil, “Evangelical Leaders Defend Israel.”
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