File Photo: The head of Egypt’s Evangelical community, Rev. André Zaki. Photo courtesy of The Middle East Council of Churches.
Zaki further explained that there were two theological trends within Evangelical churches: Covenant theology and Dispensational theology.
Speaking in an interview on the TV show “Nazra” on Sada El-Balad TV on Thursday, Zaki emphasized that the majority of Evangelical churches worldwide, as well as Catholic and Orthodox churches, embrace Covenant Theology.
This school, he explained, holds that Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled once and for all in the person of Jesus Christ and therefore views the modern State of Israel as a political entity with no theological link to Old Testament prophecy.
By contrast, Dispensational Theology, Zaki noted, believes in divinely ordained timelines and in two parallel paths — the Church and Israel — arguing that the Church has not replaced Israel.
According to this view, the Church will be taken up at Christ’s return, followed by a millennial reign involving repentant Jews. Adherents believe that prophecies will be fulfilled solely by God, not through human action.
Zaki noted that a faction within the dispensational current later merged religion with politics, giving rise to what is known as Christian Zionism.
He emphasized that this faction is political rather than theological and represents only a segment of Evangelicals worldwide.
Moreover, Zaki pointed out that all 19 Evangelical denominations operating in Egypt — whether aligned with Covenant Theology, which forms the majority, or with Dispensational Theology — categorically reject Christian Zionism and have no affiliation with it.
“We are not connected in any way to this political current,” he said.
Earlier, the Evangelical Church in Egypt issued an official statement firmly rejecting any attempt to link it to Christian Zionism.
The statement said the Evangelical community has served Egypt for nearly two centuries through its churches and national institutions, working in the service of humanity and society as a purely national mission.
It also reaffirmed the church’s commitment to defending the legitimate rights of all peoples and expressed prayers for peace in Palestine, the region, and the world.
The church's statement comes two days after anchor Hind El-Dawy ran a lengthy news feature on her programme on Al Kahera Wal Nas TV channel detailing the mass and media mobilization campaigns that Christian Zionists and born-again Evangelicals who support Israel in the US launched to whitewash Israel's image amidst growing global condemnation of its genocidal war on Gaza.
The Evangelical Church of Egypt, which represents 1-2 percent of the country's Christian community, has repeatedly condemned the Israeli war and blockade on Gaza and the targeting of churches. The Church has even contributed to national efforts to send humanitarian aid to the strip.
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