Tuesday 5 May, 2009

Special Report

CMJ became largely responsible for the re-establishment of a homeland for the Jews.

As Arab-Jew peace process unfolds among believers, key mission celebrates bi-centenary

By Charles Gardner

As politicians agonise over the seemingly intractable problems of the Middle East, believers are watching a remarkable peace process taking place before their eyes.

And at the heart of the solution, which has so far apparently escaped the notice of world leaders, is a growing movement of so-called Messianic Jews who believe Yeshua (Jesus) is their long-promised Messiah.

But key to the emergence of this group, along with the restoration of Jews to the Holy Land as a whole, is a missionary organisation now celebrating its bi-centenary – the Church’s Mission to the Jews.

CMJ, established in 1809 partly through the influence of men like William Wilberforce, became largely responsible for the re-establishment of a homeland for the Jews, influencing the Government of the time to work towards this goal.

And, as history records, it finally came about through the Balfour Declaration of 1917 followed by the granting of the British mandate over Palestine by the League of Nations in 1922 and then, on May 14 1948, the recognition by the United Nations of the new state of Israel.

Robin Aldridge, chief executive officer of CMJ UK, explained that it all began in the late 18th century with an influx of Jewish immigrants into the East End of London. They were mainly from France where they had come under persecution along with the protestant Huguenots. The new arrivals were living in poverty and destitution, and evangelical Christians duly offered them practical support while at the same time taking heed of the biblical injunction that the gospel should be preached “first to the Jew, then to the Gentile”.

Ironically, in view of the holocaust they were later to suffer under the Germans, it was a German called Joseph Frey who proposed the formalisation of this organisation as the London Society for the Promotion of Christianity Among the Jews, which won the support of a number of parliamentarians – in fact its supporters read like a Who’s Who of England’s most important people at the time.

It was meant to be cross-denominational but, when a funding crisis struck in 1817 and an appeal was made to the churches, it was the Anglicans who provided the cash, and it thus became an Anglican mission.

CMJ’s mission came out of a biblical understanding of the church’s responsibility to the Jewish people along with the prophecies about their restoration to the Promised Land because, in the wake of the French Revolution, there was a sense of the world falling apart rather in the manner used to describe events leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. And evangelical Christians knew from their Bibles that the Jews would have to be back in their land before that could take place.

A man called Lewis Way, who was left a large sum of money to be used “for the glory of God”, became a significant benefactor and advocate for the establishment of a Jewish homeland, a proposal which gained considerable political backing.

CMJ duly established centres in Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Tehran and Morocco and by the mid-19th century was the biggest missionary organisation in the world with over 200 missionaries in the field.

“The heartbeat of CMJ has always been the sharing of the gospel with Jewish people,” Robin explained from his office set in beautiful Nottinghamshire countryside. “And we are still very active in Israel.”

It was in 1840 that they made the decisive move to establish themselves in ‘Palestine’ where, on behalf of the British Government, they set up a consulate in Jerusalem – the first European country to do so. They also wanted to build a church, but were initially refused because the territory was then part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, where no Christian churches were allowed. But when they re-submitted their planning application as a “chapel for the consul and his wife to worship”, they were granted permission for what became, in Robin’s words, “the biggest chapel you’ve ever seen”. Christ Church was duly consecrated in 1849 and is the oldest protestant church in the Middle East.

CMJ continued to work both politically and theologically to persuade the British government to grant a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and the promise was eventually made in 1917 with Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour’s declaration to that effect following the defeat of the Turks by General Allenby’s forces in World War I.

Meanwhile CMJ established several centres in the territory while also building hospitals and schools and were thus highly influential in creating an infrastructure for the Jewish state. It also had the effect of provoking the Jews to do even better. For example, after rabbis threatened to ex-communicate patients treated at CMJ’s hospital, the Jews built their own in response, Haddasha, now one of the most famous hospitals in the world.

Eventually, in 1948, Israel was ‘born again’ as a nation in fulfilment of prophecy and – also in fulfilment of prophecy that they would come from the north, south, east and west – Jewish people began returning to their ancient homeland.

“Now for the first time, there are more Jewish people in Israel than in any other country, just beating America at seven million,” said Robin.

But the restoration of Israel is seen in the Bible in two stages: first the physical, then the spiritual. The first has taken place – though the process is by no means complete – and the second has begun, initially with a trickle, now something of a vibrant stream and soon, in God’s perfect timing, becoming a river.

Such a spiritual re-birth will effectively become a reality when the nation as a whole recognises Jesus as their long-promised Messiah, when their hearts will be softened (Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and, with the returning Christ, they will “look upon him whom they have pierced” (Zechariah).

Many today scoff at the prospect, but actually we are witnessing the greatest event since the coming of Christ as a babe in Bethlehem. For the return of the Jews to the Promised Land and their subsequent spiritual renewal will usher in the Second Coming of Jesus, so the Bible tells us!

“There are now more Jewish people coming to faith in Yeshua than at any time in history,” said Robin, adding: “There is openness to Jesus which was most certainly not there even ten years ago.”

The first Messianic congregations met in CMJ centres – at Christ Church, Mt Carmel and Jaffa – and the movement took off after 1967, significantly following the re-unification of Jerusalem as a result of the Six-Day War – the first time the entire city had been under Jewish control for more than two thousand years!

This also coincided with the outbreak of the worldwide charismatic movement among the traditional churches which involved a renewed understanding and experience of the work of the Holy Spirit.

“We’re still fundamentally doing the same thing, which is sharing the gospel with Jewish people and using whatever resources at our disposal to do so,” Robin added.

But CMJ – along with other Christian organisations working on behalf of the Jews – come under much opposition, both from Orthodox Jews and the Church.

“You could feel almost friendless. The Orthodox Jews are sometimes violently antagonistic towards missionaries and the church as a whole doesn’t understand ministry to the Jews anymore in terms of it being a priority or especially close to God’s heart.”

The latter problem is primarily due to so-called Replacement Theology, the belief that because the Jews as a whole rejected Jesus at his coming, the Old Testament promises applying to them have now been transferred to the Church as the ‘new Israel’.

“It has had a very powerful influence and originally came about back in 300AD with the decision to separate Christianity from Judaism.”

_{Robin Aldridge}

Robin believes it’s a schizophrenic way of thinking because its proponents argue that while the ancient blessings now apply to the Church, the curses (for disobedience) still apply to Israel because of her rejection of Jesus. It’s complete nonsense, of course, because the church is rooted in Judaism, the early church was entirely Jewish and, in any case, God promised that he would never forsake the descendants of Abraham.

Shockingly, replacement theology led to the diabolical view that the Jews, rather than the sins of the world, were specifically responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. It thus served to foment anti-Semitism and in time led to the Holocaust.

Thankfully CMJ was birthed during the great evangelical awakening which opened eyes to a right understanding of God’s purposes for the Jews. Robin believes that when the Church experiences a deeper dimension of the Holy Spirit, it is generally accompanied by a greater understanding of Israel. After all, Jesus said the Spirit would lead us into all truth!

An added complication now is the current political situation in the Middle East which sees Christians, perhaps not surprisingly, wishing to support those perceived as the downtrodden and dispossessed. And they readily imbibe the notion of a largely anti-Israel media that it is the Palestinians who fall into this category.

CMJ’s mission statement is summed up by three Es – evangelism, encouragement of Messianic believers and educating the Church about its Jewish roots.

“There is an increasing openness among church members to understand more but not yet a huge movement among the leadership. There’s still an enormous mountain to climb. But God can change people’s hearts and minds in an instant.”

God’s ultimate purpose for the Jewish people is that they will be a blessing to the nations.

“The fact that there are tens of thousands of Messianic Jewish people in Israel today has caused God to bless the people around her so there is a real work of the Holy Spirit taking place in countries like Egypt and Iran.

And nearly all the Messianic congregations have a burden to share their faith with their Arab brothers. So there is this real peace process taking place with Jesus at the centre. Many of the Messianic congregations are in fact a mixture of Arabs and Jews worshipping together.

“At the same time there are also tens of thousands of Muslims coming to faith in the surrounding countries. After all, they are all Semitic people and the promises of God’s favour apply to the descendants of Ishmael as well as Isaac.”

The prophet Isaiah foretold of a future time when there would be a highway through Israel from Egypt to Assyria (Iraq) in which Arabs and Jews would become a blessing to one another. And Robin believes we are starting to see a fulfilment of this prophecy.

“These are both difficult and challenging, but also exciting times,” he said.

‘Scales fell from our eyes’

Robin Aldridge is a former headteacher of a Nottingham primary school where he kept being invited to a Baptist church by a member of staff. He and his wife Sue eventually ran out of excuses and visited the church where he recalls an “uncanny feeling that the pastor knew everything about me and was preaching to me personally”.

“That set us off on a journey in which I personally tried to think my way through to God but then, during a weekend event at Cliff College in the Peak District, I had an overwhelming experience of Jesus and it completely broke me.”

Sue came to her own decision for Christ and they got baptised together in 1982.

Then, during the 1991 Gulf War, Sue was very worried about the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait and asked the pastor if they could host a prayer meeting for the purpose. Many came and when they heard on the 9pm news that Iraq had fired scud missiles into Israel, Robin and Sue had a revelation. “At that moment the scales fell off from our eyes – that what that war was all about was Israel and the Jewish people – and God gave us a burden for Israel.”

Sue meanwhile, a drama graduate, now uses her acting skills very effectively for the cause to help convey the truths they try to bring on their travels.
In due course they got more involved with CMJ, who are also represented in America, Ireland, South Africa and Australia, with branches in Canada and Singapore soon to open.

Photo: stock.xchng