The third leg of my lecture tour of Australia, after Brisbane and Sydney took us to Melbourne. It was a delight to be invited to lecture at Ridley College, an evangelical college that promotes a Christ-centered, bible-based Christianity. Ridley’s denominational heritage in Anglicanism shapes their culture and worship, while they welcome people from a diverse range of denominational backgrounds and embrace the richness of various evangelical traditions.

My lecture introduced seven of the most common Christian Zionist assertions about Israel and the Church and put each to the Biblical test. The presentation, Seven Biblical Answers likens Christian Zionist theology to a balloon of hot air. How many pins do you need to burst a balloon? My presentation gives seven. Any one will burst the balloon.

The presentation was well received by students and faculty. I was pleased to meet Dr Tony McCutheon, former treasurer to the Revd John Stott at All Souls, seen here with Ian Curtis, former Vice President for Governance and Accountability with World Vision International.

John Stott will long be remembered as a pastor and teacher and inspirational leader within the Anglican evangelical community for over 65 years. Less well known is the courageous stand John took on the need for justice and peace in the Middle East.

John Stott graciously wrote the foreword to my book, In the Footsteps of Jesus and the Apostles. He also allowed me to include an unpublished sermon of his entitled, The Place of Israel, in my book, Zion’s Christian Soldiers. And he kindly commended my book Christian Zionism: Roadmap to Armageddon?

“I am glad to commend Stephen Sizer’s ground-breaking critique of Christian Zionism. His comprehensive overview of its roots, its theological basis and its political consequences is very timely. I myself believe that Zionism, both political and Christian, is incompatible with biblical faith. Stephen’s book has helped to reinforce this conviction.” Revd John Stott