J.H. BAVINCK: DIE TOEKOMS VAN ISRAEL EN SENDING ONDER DIE JODE

J.H. BAVINCK: DIE TOEKOMS VAN ISRAEL EN SENDING ONDER DIE JODE

²⁴ In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, ²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” (Is. 19:24,25)

²⁵ For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; ²⁷ For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.’” (Rom. 11:25-27)

” In Romans 11 Paul is certainly not dealing with Israel as a political entity; he is speaking of Israel as a covenant people. Israel’s becoming a political entity may possibly prepare the way for the fulfillment of God’s promise with respect to “all Israel.” It is equally possible, however, that it will be a hindrance, but in any case this question is beyond the range of Paul’s interest in these chapters (Rom. 9-11 – slc). …. Israel is now as anyone else; since it rejected the kingdom of God, the kingdom must be given to “a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43), Among this new people there will also naturally be many Israelites, but they are not an elite with special privileges but are simply ordinary members of the church of Christ. …The return of countless Jews to the present day land of Israel contains many elements which remind us of ancient prophecies. Nevertheless it may be the case that in principle, from a spiritual point of view, this return is something completely different, something that is entirely outside of the horizon of the prophets. And yet it appears to me that it is possible that God may use this reunion of the people of Israel as a means| to a new spiritual growth. For this reason missions to Israel and particularly in the land of Israel have a great importance, and we must reverently await what God may do.” – JH Bavinck

Introduction

The writings of Johan H Bavinck (1895-1964) below, are taken from his classical work, An Introduction to the Science and Missions.* It is a Reformed standard work on missions. I am posting two parts from it, where he writes about how the gospel, how salvation through Christ alone, changes and determines our entire lives; as well as a part where he writes about the place of Israel among the nations in the NT dispensation and our missionary task to them and all nations, as well as the future of Israel, which of course is always current news, see recent events taking place in the Middle East, with the war between Israel and the Hamas-Gaza area in Palestine.

JH Bavinck writes:

1. ALL INCLUSIVE SALVATION

The salvation presented in the epistles includes the whole of life. The emphasis is naturally placed upon the message of reconciliation. The essential concern of the epistles is with the restored relationship of man to God, the reconciliation in Christ Jesus. But out of this reconciliation, the whole of life is renewed and lifted to a higher plane. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).

And again in Galatians 6:15: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” That new element that has come in makes itself felt over the whole range of life. Wherever Christ puts his hand upon a man everything is changed. And this is why the epistles touch upon almost every human relationship, including marriage, the education of children, the relationship to governments, and the attitude of lords and slaves; they speak of concern for the future, and freedom from anxiety; of joy and grief; of gold and honor. There is nothing that lies outside of the gracious salvation that Christ gives those who love him.

The whole of human life is touched by the epistles. Naturally their perspective is closely connected with the circumstances of the time, but their message is so radical, and so profound that what they say can be heard throughout all ages. Thus Paul can say, “godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:8).

Not only is the inner life renewed, but every relationship in which we stand is also fundamentally altered and as a consequence the whole of society is reborn. Nothing in human life is indifferent, nothing lies outside the power of sin, but also there is nothing which is excluded from the salvation of God.  

God will rebuild our whole existence from the ground up. Then it is indeed true that he who is in Christ is a new creature, in every respect.

2. MISSION AMONG THE JEWS

The Position of Israel in God’s Plan of Salvation

The message of the Prophets concerning the future salvation of the peoples of the world inadvertently continues to arise in a discussion of missions, The prophets emphasized the spontaneous coming of the nations, but they always saw this great redemptive event as an event which would take place round about Israel. Isaiah says: “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land.” The salvation of the nations is Israel-centered.

In the gospels the thought appears that Israel has made itself unworthy of this high position. The kingdom of heaven shall be taken away from “you” (i.e., the official Israel), and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (Matt. 21:43).

Has God forget all His promises about Israel? No, they all fulfilled in Christ!

Obviously a difficult problem is encountered here: Do all the grand prophecies of the Old Testament now become nothing more than sweet sounding phrases? Has anything been fulfilled?

What can remain of the Israel-centric salvation of the world, if Israel itself falls by the way, and the kingdom is taken from it?

These questions must have been pressing in the early Christian church. For nothing less is at stake here than the trustworthiness of God’s promises to Israel.

Paul deals with these problems in various passages of his epistles. His sole point of emphasis is that all the promises of God to Israel are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In the epistle to the Galatians where he deals with the promise of God to Abraham, that in him all the nations of the earth should be blessed, Paul writes: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

Thus, that which God had promised Abraham was realized in Christ, the true Israel. Christ is the heir of the promises of the old covenant. No word of God remains unfulfilled. When it states that the other nations shall run to Israel, “for he hath glorified you,” such may be understood to mean that the nations shall come to the glorified Christ and shall be joined to him. He shall be “a blessing in the midst of the earth.” All that was said of Israel has been fully realized in the true Son of Israel, who has mounted the throne of David.

Paul about the future of Israel in Romans 9-11 “And so all Israel shall be saved…“

In Romans 9, 10, and 11, Paul deals with the whole problem The Idea of Missions in the Epistles of the Apostles of Israel with profundity and breadth. It is very clear that Paul struggled with this problem. The section begins with the words: “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Romans 9:1-5)

Anyone who speaks in this manner is not simply engaged in an academic exercise. Paul is involved in the problem with all his being, and of one thing he is certain, namely, that it is not possible “that the word of God had taken none effect” (Romans 9:6). The promises which God gave to his covenant people in the Old Testament either had already been fulfilled in one way or the other, or they still would be fulfilled.

Paul continues by declaring: “for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the

name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:12, 13). What is said here is entirely in keeping with the words of Jesus that the kingdom of God would be taken away from the official Israel and given to a people that will bring forth its fruits.

Undoubtedly there will be many children of Israel among that new people, but they will no longer have a preferred position. In the eleventh chapter Paul goes still deeper into the problem.

He begins by remarking that “even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (vs. 5). All of Israel has not become apostate, a nucleus remains that has put its trust in Jesus, the Christ of God. And the apostle Paul, as well as the other apostles, and many other believers in the early church, belong to this nucleus. In them the promises of God are substantiated in a marvelous manner. A great number of believers from the pagan world have gathered around them and have as it were grasped the skirt of the Jew and said: “we will go with you.” And it is possible that Israel will thus be awakened to jealousy and will desire to take part in what the heathen have found, so that the end will be even more glorious (Cf. Romans 11:11). “. .. that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:25, 26).

Will there be a mass Jewish conversion to Christ in the future?

The last verse, Romans 11:26, is particularly difficult, and it has been the occasion of much discussion. The difficulty is concentrated chiefly in two words. In the first place, the word “until” in verse 25, is not followed by “and then,” in verse 26, but rather by “and so.” The text would be very simple if it simply declared that the hardening had befallen Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and then all Israel would be saved. It would then be clear that at the end, when the fulness of the Gentiles had been brought in, a mass conversion of Israel might be expected. But the expression “and so” is accompanied by a multitude of questions. A further problem is also the meaning of the expression “all Israel.” Does this expression refer to the people of Israel, or to the church of the new covenant in its entirety?

The first interpretation would appear to refer to an as yet unfulfilled promise with respect to Israel as a people. The second interpretation simply refers to the fulness of the heathen that shall be brought in, and that also in this way “all Israel,” that is to say, the whole spiritual Israel, shall be saved. The latter meaning corresponds to the interpretation of Calvin who understood “all Israel” to refer to the church of all ages.*

It is not easy to resolve these difficulties. With respect to the second, however, it does not seem very likely that the apostle would use the term Israel in two senses in one sentence, referring in the first part to Israel, as a people, and in the latter part of the sentence, to the church of all ages. For this reason we are inclined to think that the expression “all Israel” does not refer to the church of the new covenant but to the people of Israel.

Of course the term “all” must not be understood in the sense of all the children of Israel, but in the sense of those of Israel who are elected to eternal life. The problem of the expression “and so” still remains, however. This question is best resolved in my judgment when “and so” is understood to refer to the fact that the ingathering of the fullness of the Gentiles will react on Israel, and thereby provoke Israel to jealousy (see verse 11). “And so,” that is to say, in this way. out of jealousy, all Israel will be saved. It seems that the expression “and so” then is sufficiently explained from the entire context in which the expression is found.

The mass conversion of the Jewish and the current Jewish state are two separate things

It might be well to note here that what we have said lies on a different plane than the question as to whether the establishment of the state of Israel, which we have recently experienced, hus anything to do with what the Scriptures say of Israel. In Romans 11 Paul is certainly not dealing with Israel as a political entity; he is speaking of Israel as a covenant people. Israel’s becoming a political entity may possibly prepare the way for the fulfillment of God’s promise with respect to “all Israel.” It is equally possible, however, that it will be a hindrance, but in any case this questign is beyond the range of Paul’s interest in these chapters (Rom. 9-11 – slc).

In Revelation 7:1-8 mention is made of the hundred and forty-four thousand out of the tribes of the children of Israel. Most exegetes are of the opinion that this does not refer to Israel according to the flesh but to the spiritual Israel, that is to say, to the church of the new covenant. …

Any discussion of missionary activity requires a threefold distinction between the work among the heathen and Mohammedans, among the Jews, and evangelization. The question of the mutual relation between these aspects can then be raised.

Missions must go out to Israel like to all other nations

The Scriptures do not make a distinction in principle between missionary activity among the heathen and among the Jews. In Luke 24:47 Jesus instructed the apostles by saying “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem.” These words indicate that Jerusalem has a preferred position at least with respect to temporal sequence. However, in Acts 1:8 the privileged position of Jerusalem is no longer emphasized, for we now read that the apostles must be witness of Christ “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Missions to Israel and missions to the heathen are here simply mentioned in conjunction to each other.

Other passages of Scripture also give the impression that since the rejection of Christ by official Israel, through the Sanhedrin and the leaders of the people, Israel has lost any special claim.

Israel is now as anyone else; since it rejected the kingdom of God, the kingdom must be given to “a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43), Among this new people there will also naturally be many Israelites, but they are not an elite with special privileges but are simply ordinary members of the church of Christ.

It is noteworthy that in the missionary command of the Lord, recorded in Matthew and Mark, mention is made of going “into the whole world” and of “making disciples of all people,” but in neither of these instances is Israel expressly named. Israel now simply belongs to the “world,” to “the nations.”

Israel had a temporary priority in the book of Acts

Nevertheless, the book of Acts gives sufficient recognition to the fact that Israel enjoyed a temporal priority, since Jerusalem was the point at which missionary activity was to begin. And as a matter of fact the history of missions did begin in Jerusalem. In fact if God had not adopted special measures to open the doors to the outside world, missionary activity would have been in danger of also ending at Jerusalem. Paul was conscious of the priority of Israel in all his work. It was to the Jews of Antioch that Paul stated, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing that ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46).

 In the next verse Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah, “for so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). In connection with the first proclamation of the gospel the issue was as to how far the Jews, both in and outside the land of Israel, approved the official condemnation of Jesus by the Sanhedrin. If they disapproved and recognized Christ as the Redeemer then they belonged to him, to the true Israel around whom God would build his church. Such was the manner in which God fulfilled his former promises to Israel.

A certain priority, insofar as temporal order was concerned, was assigned to missions to Israel in the first church. Israelites who believed in Christ, however, did not hold any special or privileged position within the church. It is of course true that at the very beginning the church of Jerusalem exercised a certain super visory capacity, and the conclusions that it reached through its elders and the apostles had a certain authority in the other churches. However, this authority subsequently disappeared of itself and the other churches assumed a position of equality.

No priority in missions towards Israel, the gospel must go to all nations (i.e. including Israel)

The question as to whether or not a priority ought still to be assigned to Israel must in my judgment be answered negatively.

The first missionary work began in Jerusalem, and outside of Jerusalem it first took place in the synagogue, for it was then necessary that all of Israel be confronted with the choice as to

whether they would concur in the decision of the Sanhedrin. Such priority (which never involved a priority in position but only in time) received its full recognition, however, in the first missionary activity. Missionary activity did begin in Jerusalem and in the synagogue, but once the majority of the Jews assented to the decision of their authorities in Jerusalem and judged Jesus to be a false Messiah they lost all preferential treatment.

From then on Israel simply belonged to the nations, to the world to whom the gospel must be preached. It no longer had a special position, since the kingdom of God had been taken away from it.

Are there still promises that need to be fulfilled to future Israel?

The question remains as to whether or not there are still promises which are unfulfilled concerning the future of Israel. This problem has become urgent since the establishment of the state of Israel. The Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel are of fourfold character:

a. The children of Israel who lived in the dispersion are repeatedly promised that they will return to Jerusalem. Isaiah writes, “lift up thine eyes roundabout and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side” (Isaiah 60:4ff.). Hostile heathenism will release the children of Israel and they will again gather together in Jerusalem.

b. The second type of promise refers to the genuine conversion of Israel. We have already referred to the well-known thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah and to the thirty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel. Numerous references are found in all the prophetic writings to the coming conversion and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

c. The third type deals with the spontaneous coming up of the heathen to Mount Zion, attracted by the new glory of the reborn Israel.

d. And finally, the fourth promise refers to the mighty salvation that shall be displayed before their lowered eyes.

Now it is evident that the first of these promises was fulfilled in principle when Israel returned from Babylon. It was spiritually fulfilled when many Jews who had been dispersed in Greece and Rome, and throughout the world, were converted to Jesus Christ and thus reunited to the people of God. This promise was not concerned with the city of Jerusalem, the local Jerusalem, but with the Jerusalem that refers to the great king, the great son of David. It is exceedingly difficult to answer the question as to whether or not there is an unfulfilled element in this promise which has now begun to be fulfilled in the formation of the state of Israel.

What about the 20/21 century many Jews returning to the state Israel?

But in any case a single element of this prophecy ought not to be isolated from the other three. For within the context of the prophecy, return from captivity and dispersion is intrinsically connected with genuine conversion and a new entrance into the salvation of the Lord. The return of countless Jews to the present day land of Israel contains many elements which remind us of ancient prophecies. Nevertheless it may be the case that in principle, from a spiritual point of view, this return is something completely different, something that is entirely outside of the horizon of the prophets. And yet it appears to me that it is possible that God may use this reunion of the people of Israel as a means| to a new spiritual growth. For this reason missions to Israel and particularly in the land of Israel have a great importance, and we must reverently await what God may do.

The second Old Testament promise of the conversion of Israel is regarded by the New Testament as having been fulfilled by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the conversion of thousands of the children of Israel which followed. Peter refers with great boldness to the well-known words of Joel. The conversion of Israel foretold by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the prophets has been fulfilled. It has become a fact in Jesus Christ. It was not the entire people of Israel that were converted but those who came to conversion were indeed the Israel of God, the Israel that had received the promises which were “for them and for their children” (Acts 2:39).

The fulfilment of the fourth promise lies to a large measure outside the dimensions of world history. The glory and perfect peace that God shall give when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb can be tasted and foreshadowed here on earth to a degree, but its deepest reality cannot be realized until God “shall wipe all tears from our eyes” (Revelation 21:4; cf. Isaiah 25:8).

Christ is THE PROMISE (i.e. blessing and peace) of both the OT and NT: prophesied and fulfilled

It is thus extremely difficult to determine whether all the promises of God concerning Israel have already been fulfilled.

One thing is certain, the New Testament proclaims that all these promises, including the fourth promise, have been fulfilled in the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. They are therefore realized in principle; no single word of God is in vain. God had done what he said he would do, But the Bible itself teaches that some of the words of God receive more than one fulfillment, and from time to time God weaves the threads of history in an unsuspected way. Thus the above-named promises shall first receive their complete realization in the day when the majesty and glory of the people of God shali be brought within the new Jerusalem.

The prophecy of Romans 11:25,26 and the future of Israel?

Is there then no single promise concerning Israel of which can say with certainty that it remains to be fulfilled within the course of this world’s history? This question again brings us back to Romans 9 to 11 and particularly to Romans 11:25, of which we have already spoken. If we understand the “all Israel” in the second part of the text as referring to the natural descendants of Abraham, there is then reason to hold that the gathering of the gentiles will again quicken many Israelites to jealousy (as it did in the past), and bring them to repentance, “so that” the chosen of Israel will be converted. More than this we dare not say.

It is therefore evident that in addition to missions to other nations, missions to Israel demand our full attention. Israel has no priority, no preference, but it must not be forgotten. It is indeed possible that God still has amazing plans for his people. It is possible that this is what Paul meant when he said: “have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness” (Romans 11:11-12).

The only proper attitude for us is to wait, with reverence and humility, to see what God is going to do in this perplexing moment of world history.

Evangelization and missions

By evangelization we usually understand our efforts to bring back into the church covenant members who have wandered or strayed away. However, it is difficult to draw the line, since we do not know who belonged to the covenant. And yet there is always a certain difference between work conducted in a land where the gospel has never been preached and work carried on in a land that has been under the influence of the gospel for many centuries.

The verb euaggelizesthai (to evangelize) is not used in Scripture in the specific sense in which we employ it in Dutch. And this word is employed in other languages such as English in the much broader sense of the preaching of the gospel, without making a sharp distinction between what we call missions and evangelization. We may compare our own evangelistic work to the preaching of the Old Testament prophets to the apostate children of Israel of their day. The prophet called the wayward back to the God of the covenant and to his service, to be his people. Of course we must keep the important distinction in mind, namely, that the preaching of the prophets constitutes an element in the history of God’s revelation, a link in the chain of God’s self-revelation.

Certain parallels to our concept of evangelistic work are also to be found in the preaching of Jesus to the Jews of his day. Jesus’ preaching also contained an element of calling back to the covenant and to a new and obedient hearing of the word of the Lord. Of course the difference is here even plainer and more profound, since the preaching of Jesus was the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophets, and since in him and in his work God’s revelation reached its climax. A further similarity and point of difference \ith what we call evangelization can also be found in the preaching of the gospel to the Jews of their day by the apostles.

The responsibility of the latter group is greater and the word can There is a great deal of difference between making known the gospel to people who have never heard of Christ and preaching that same gospel to those whose parents or grandparents were true members of the church. therefore be brought with greater claim and power. They may be addressed on the basis of the covenant and admonished to return to God, on whom they have turned their backs. One may note that Paul, in his preaching to the heathen, for example, in Athens, is milder, more entreating, and more sympathetic than when he confronts the children of the covenant.

We would do well, however, not to overstress this distinction between missions and evangelization. In our day there are many around us who certainly had believing forebears but who are so woefully ignorant of the gospel that it is impossible to address them on the basis of the covenant, Such stand in the midst of the stream of our modern Godless culture; they are without religious conviction and regard as fools any who would speak to them of Jesus Christ. The ignorance of the Bible that is abroad today is so great that to preach the gospel one must begin at the very beginning.

Consequently, although there is still a certain difference between missions and evangelization the two are continually drawing closer together. Insofar as method is concerned there is often only the slightest difference between evangelization and missions. At this time in missions we encounter adverse judgments against Christianity more frequently. There is a general mistrust of Western imperialism. Many have come to regard the West as materialistic, irreligious, and self-seeking.

And in the work of evangelization we similarly encounter countless criticisms of the church and the gospel, so that strong opposition is met in both evangelization and missions. The door must be open in both activities, and as Paul has so clearly seen, our own best efforts are insufficient; God alone can open it, and in response to the prayers of his people he will open it. To the degree that the process of seculariza tion gains momentum in our modern world, we can expect that evangelization shall become more and more like missions.

And no matter how they may differ from one another, since missions has to do with the “not yet,” and evangelization with the “no more,” they are still the same, insofar as both are based upon the same calling of Christ and both are expressions of his compassionate love, which overshadows all sheep that have gone astray without a shepherd.

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* Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1960, bl. 49-53, 55-56, 69-76. Subtitles and emphases added.

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