Monday, 23 March 2020

Messianic Jewish Outreach (3)

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So far, we have considered Stuart Dauermann's assertion that there is a fundamental difference between mission and outreach performed by the Messianic Jewish movement and that performed by the Hebrew Christian movement or church missions. This is founded a significantly different eschatological perspective. Today, we are going to look at Dauermann's scriptural basis.

In Paul's view (in Romans 9-11), God has a discrete purposes for Israek coordinate with but identical to His purposes for the nations. He indicates that the fullness of Israel is greater than the fullness of the nations, even stating why: whereas the fullness of the nations results in "the reconcillitation of the world", the fullness of Israel leads to "life from the dead" (Romans 11:12, 15, 25-27). This seems to suggest that Israel entering her fullness will trigger the general resurrection and the consummation of all things. Echoing Paul's perspective, the alternative paradign places great weight on linking Messianic Jewish outreach to preparing for Israel's prophesied fullness.

This is a radically different point of view from that taken by many churches tdoay, who see no ongoing purpose for Israel as a people, or who take the view that somehow Israel has been taken over by the church and is now a name that can be used to describe the Gentile church of the nations. This will need substantial evidence to support ...

What will fullness look like? Ezekiel 37:21-28 provides a helpful sketch. Synthesising a large body of biblical data, the text describes seven aspects of God's consummating purposes for Israel - her fullness:

1. God will gather Israel to the land.
2. God will unify the Jewish people
3. God will bring this people to repentance and spiritual renewal.
4. God will cause them to serve the Son of David, their Messianic King.
5. God will cause them to walk in His statues and ordinances - Torah living.
6. God will cause this people to communally experience the Divine Presence.
7. God will thus vindicate Himself as their God and them as His people.

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at why this makes such a difference to Messianic Jewish outreach.

Taken from Stuart Dauermann, "Messianic Jewish Outreach", chapter 7 in Introduction to Messianic Judiasm, edited by David J Rudolph and Joel Willits, Zondervan 2013, pages 92-93.