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p.1 What were Pastors view on Israel in the last few centuries? There is a new movement gaining traction that is employing one of the more insidious abuses of Scripture, being led by unlearned men who claim to be both conservative and Christian. I’m referring to today’s anti-Israel movement, of both the land and the people, which is in reality an assault on God's Word. Long before Israel became a reborn nation (1948) there were pastors who saw the importance of Israel from the Scriptures in later-day prophecies. Understanding Scripture’s prophecies spoke of a literal Israel (the same from the beginning) and the people in a literal land. This was contrary to the replacement teaching that was developed and established in the Roman Catholic church that severed the people of the covenant from fulfilling the Scripture of their return to the land for their salvation at a future time. These are just a few quotes of those who had a place or recognition in the church in history, who looked forward to and spoke on Israel as a saved nation; contrary to the naysayers who say ‘Israel no more!’ Henry Finch (1528-1625) a prominent lawyer and member of British Parliament wrote a treatise calling upon the British people and its government to support Jewish settlement in Palestine in order to have them fulfill biblical prophecy. “The World's Great Restoration, or Calling of the Jews, and with them of all Nations and Kingdoms of the Earth to the Faith of Christ” Puritan writings from the 1600’s, reveal a growing POST Reformation Zionism.Many of the Puritans of the 16th and 17th centuries understood God’s faithfulness by his covenant would bring a restoration of Israel. Theodore Beza (1519-1605) Calvin’s successor in Geneva, was perhaps the first significant Reformer to take a stand saying: “Israel” in the Apostolic Writings … refers to: Israel, the Jews .”
Geneva Study Bible
(1599 Edition, notes on Romans 11:24-25):
Samuel Rutherford, (1600-1661) active in forming Westminster Confession of Faith “ O to see the sight, next to Christ’s coming in the clouds, the most joyful! Our elder brethren the Jews and Christ, fall upon one another’s necks and kiss each other! O sweet Jesus, let me see that sight which will be as life from the dead, thee and thy ancient people in mutual embrace.”
Matthew Poole
(a famous Puritan commentator):
John Newton, Puritan pastor, and author of the song Amazing Grace: “The state of the Jews, who, though dispersed far and wide among many nations, are every where preserved a distinct and separate people. The history of the world affords no other instance of the like kind. The great monarchies, by which they were successively conquered and scattered, have successively perished. Only the names of them remain. But the people whom they despised, and endeavored to exterminate, subsist to this day; and, though sifted like corn over the earth, and apparently forsaken of God, are still preserved by his wonderful providence, unaffected by the changes and customs around them; still tenacious of the law of Moses, though the observance of it is rendered impracticable. Many days, many ages they have lived as the prophets foretold they should, without a temple, without sacrifice or priest. (Hos. 3:4-5) … "the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, and all Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:25-26) The revolutions and commotions in kingdoms and nations, which astonish and perplex politicians, are all bringing forward this great event. ’ (Works of John Newton,Volume IV, Sermon XXXII). Elnathan Parr educated at Eton, graduated at Cambridge in 1597: 'When he comes to verse eleven Paul shows that the rejection of the Jews is not final but that the multitude (I say not every individual) shall be generally called before the end of the world, that Jews and Gentiles shall make one sheepfold and one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ.' … On the crucial verse 26: And so all Israel shall be saved Parr refutes the idea that in this phrase Israel stands for all the elect. Parr writes: 'That all the elect shall be saved? Who ever doubted that? But of the calling of the Jews there is doubt. He calls their salvation a secret or mystery but there is nothing mysterious about all the elect being saved. He shows that there is an unbroken reference to Israel/Jacob, that is, ethnic Israel.' …'Before the end of the world the Jews in regard to their multitude will be called.' John Owen: spoke to House of Commons in 1649, "the bringing home of his ancient people to be one fold with the fullness of the Gentiles....in answer to millions of prayers put up at the throne of grace for this very glory, in all generations . Vol. 8 p. 266. Days of prayer and humiliation were kept in Scotland, one particular object being "that the promised conversion of His ancient people of the Jews may be hastened."
Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) wrote:
'when we are dead and gone let the world know that Spurgeon held
Rutherford’s Letters to be the nearest thing to inspiration which can be
found Spurgeon’s view was: “ The day shall yet come when the Jews, who were the first apostles to the gentiles, the first missionaries to us who were afar off, shall be gathered in again. Until that shall be, the fulness of the church’s glory can never come. Matchless benefits to the world are bound up with the restoration of Israel; Their gathering in shall be as life from the dead.” Increase Mather, 1669, Boston “ That there shall be a general conversion of the Tribes of Israel is a truth, which in some measure hath been known and believed in all ages, of the Church of God, since the Apostle’s days … Only in these late days, these things have obtained credit much more universally than heretofore .” (The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation Explained and Applied) Pastor William Torrey,“When will this [Armageddon] be? It will be in the latter Days, ver. 11, and yet long before the last Day. It will be at or about the Calling of the Jews, …immediately before this great Destruction. ... a Time when God would gather them out of all Countries, and bring them to their own land ... which is yet future” (A Brief Discourse concerning Futurities or Things to Come, written in 1687, in Weymouth, Massachusetts).
Pierre Jurieu,
A French Huguenot preacher, 1687
Pastor Samuel Willard, Boston; acting president of Harvard
University, 1700. Consider that they used the word Jew, which is one of the main attacks today to deny they are the people of Israel, who are now in the land.
Thomas Boston: Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) said: "Jewish infidelity shall be overthrown...the Jews in all their dispersions shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall have their hearts wonderfully changed, and abhor themselves for their past unbelief and obstinacy. They shall flow together to the blessed Jesus, penitently, humbly, and joyfully owning him as their glorious King and only Savior, and shall with all their hearts, as one heart and voice, declare his praises unto other nations...“Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of the Jews in Romans 11” “Though we do not know the time in which this conversion of Israel will come to pass, yet this much we may determine by Scripture , that it will be before the glory of the Gentile part of the church shall be fully accomplished, because it is said that their coming in shall be life from the dead to the gentiles” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 1, Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, p. 607.) Robert Murray M'cheyne: In 1840 M'Cheyne went to Ulster to plead for the interest of the Jews. This stirred up great interest. The following year the Irish General Assembly resolved to establish work among the Jews. They established missions in Syria and Germany, believing "missionary enterprise is one of the means to bring about the restoration of Israel in accordance with the Scriptures." * Minutes of the General Assembly. 1840-1850) "To the Jew first. Converted Israel, he declared, will give life to the dead world....just as we have found, among the parched hills of Judah, that the evening dew, coming silently down, gave life to every plant, making the grass to spring and the flowers to put forth their sweetest fragrance, so shall converted Israel be when they come as dew upon a dead, dry world. The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men." Micah 5: 7. (Memoir and Remains of R. M. M'Cheyne - 1966 reprint p. 489.) Robert Haldane,(1764 –1842) A Scottish theologian. On Paul, ‘He now declares that at that period all Israel shall be saved. The rejection of Israel has been general, but at no period universal. This rejection is to continue till the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in. Then the people of Israel, as a body, shall be brought to the faith of the Gospel.’ (An Exposition of Romans,p. 549) There were many who criticized the “allegorical interpretations” of God’s promises that the Roman Church had erroneously adopted and popularized. Along with the claims that the promises to Israel had been transferred to ‘the church.’ These were not all Reformers. They stood on the literal interpretation of the word that the Jews would physically return to Israel which is spoken of throughout the prophets dozens and dozens of times.
David Baron, an orthodox Jew became a believer in Christ,
he later co-founded the Hebrew Christian Testimony to Israel (HCTI)
missionary organization. In 1894 he points out “
…so-called spiritualizing the prophecies making Israel and Zion to mean
the Church, and The Land to signify heaven; but I confess this system
of interpretation has no consistency about it, and makes the Word of
God the most meaningless and unintelligible book in the world. For
instance, we read here: A Christian pastor named William Henry Hechler was Theodor Herzl’s friend that had an influential role in supporting his vision of a Jewish nation-state called Israel, called Zionism today. Hechler wrote a pamphlet advocating for the establishment of the State of Israel as the place promised by God to belong to the Jewish people forever as their rightful homeland. He used his social connections to introduce Herzl to members of German royal society and the sultan of Turkey during the late 1800s which helped Herzl’s idea of a Jewish national homeland become part of the political discourse among world leaders. The Conclusion While Israel has stumbled (temporarily) there was and is always a remnant. God never promised to save every Jewish person (Israelite, Hebrew). What He did promise is to save Israel as a nation, a people all at once (Rom.11:1–32), and He told us when this would occur, in the time of the Tribulation when it runs its course to completion. While all who are saved by the gospel are now children of God they are not all Israel. Paul says, “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26), “…And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins,” speaking of Jer. 31:33–34; Paul is referring to Isa. 59:20–21; 27:9. Paul’s point excludes the Gentiles in this one-time event. These Old Testament’s promises are to the people of Israel, “Israelites” and “descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” The Jews, who are the remnant will be from all the tribes of Israel, not just one tribe. This day of their salvation (Zech. 12:10) has nothing to do with the Church, but everything to do with the Messiah at his return. The Word of God is 'The Truth' over all errors, and lies of men ... God’s Promises will be kept!
Making sense out of non-sensical arguments |
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