Biblical teaching
One of our aims is to promote an understanding in the Church of the significance of the Jewish people in God’s eternal purposes.
1. That Aliyah is holy and a fulfillment of biblical prophecy
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Aliyah, or the return of the Jewish people to The Land from which they were banished is probably the most amazing miracle of the 20th Century.
The fact that the Hebrew prophets foretold it thousands of years ago is even more amazing - Ezekiel tells us - “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24).
There was an initial fulfilment of this after the Babylonian exile and a much more comprehensive one in the 20th century on 14th May 1948 when Israel became a political state once more.
Isaiah asks: ‘Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once?’ (Isaiah 66:8).
And yet it happened in modern times.
2. That the Church is called to bless and help the Jewish people.
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Isaiah tells us that the Gentiles would be called to assist in the great return, by saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and set up My standard to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.' (Isaiah 49:22)
The Apostle Paul also indicates that Gentiles are indebted to the Jewish people. He writes ‘...if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them in material things.’ (Romans 15:27)
If the Church is mandated to minister to all peoples, surely they should provide for the Jewish people.
3. Why the restoration of Israel is important to God.
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God’s heart is to restore the Jewish people and living in the land which was promised to them is an essential and integral part of that. The prophet Jeremiah expresses God’s love for His people like this:
‘...I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! Again you shall take up your tambourines, And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers. Again you shall plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; The planters shall plant them and enjoy them. For there shall be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim shall call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the Lord our God.’”
Ezekiel tells us that, although God’s heart was to restore the Jewish people to their land, it was not for their sake but to vindicate the Holiness of His Name.
‘Therefore, say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name…” (Ezekiel 36:22)
God had promised to bring Israel back and He would not be called a promise breaker.
4 That replacement theology is error and that anti-Semitism, ignorance and arrogance should be countered.
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Unfortunately, not all in the Church believe that Israel is significant. Some support a theory called Replacement Theology, meaning that God has replaced the Jewish people with the Church to complete His purposes on earth.
However, the Apostle Paul declares this to be an error when he says, ‘God has not rejected His people’, (Romans 11:1) meaning the Jewish people.