How should we respond to the crisis in the Middle East?

Peter Sammons reviews ‘Israel – The Inconvenient Truth Dividing The World And The Church’ by James P. Smith (2024)

Peter Sammons reviews 'The Forgotten Bride – How the Church Betrayed its Jewish Heritage', by David Lambourn (2019)

Exploring the main theological viewpoints regarding Israel

Seeking a biblical understanding of Israel

If the Church can recant 'Replacement Theology,' then those who seek a world with no Israel can repent this long-held spiritual envy of God's Chosen People

Modern Philistines oppose Israel’s presence in the Holy Land

Simon Pease reviews ‘The Case for Enlargement Theology’ by Alex Jacob (2011, Glory to Glory Publications, 2^nd Ed.)

500 years ago this coming week, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.

500 years ago this coming week (31 October 1517), Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. In those days, this was the traditional way to initiate a public debate on a given theme.

This time the theme was a 95-fold challenge to the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church of the day, that was bent on fundraising at the expense of the poor by selling so-called ‘indulgences’, whereby the unsuspecting were persuaded that they could purchase forgiveness of sins.

The 95 items¹ were headed with the words:

Out of love for the truth and from desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and to dispute on them in that place. Therefore he asks that those who cannot be present and dispute with him orally shall do so in their absence by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Luther summarised his overall purpose under three headings:

1. Selling indulgences to finance the building of St Peter's is wrong.
   
2. The pope has no power over Purgatory.
   
3. Buying indulgences gives people a false sense of security and endangers their salvation.
   

Thus broke out what became the Protestant Reformation, with the rallying cry of Habbakuk 2:4:

Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.

Luther did not succeed in reforming the Catholic Church of his day but became cut off from this community, instead propelling into existence the Lutheran wing of the Protestant Church, which has spread its influence widely over these 500 years.

Luther did not succeed in reforming the Catholic Church of his day, but propelled into existence the Lutheran wing of the Protestant Church.

Luther’s Blind Spot

This week, we should celebrate this astounding move which brought freedom to millions who were no longer to be chained by the religious orders of the historic Roman Catholic Church, but free to explore the life of faith which pleases God. The later reforms of the Roman Catholic Church surely also owe something to this early proclamation of Luther.

The church door in Wittenberg, Germany, where Luther pinned his 95 theses for all to see. See Photo Credits.

Yet, great though the Protestant Reformation has been, we would also be wise to perceive an unfinished work. Luther had one tremendous blind spot. When he failed to impact the Jewish community with his proclamation of the Gospel, he turned against them. In his publication of 1543 ‘On the Jews and their Lies’, he described Jews as a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be accounted as filth." He wrote that they are "full of the devil's faeces...which they wallow in like swine," describing the synagogue is an "incorrigible whore and an evil slut".²

He proposed the following seven actions:

1. To burn down Jewish synagogues and schools and warn people against them;
   
2. To refuse to let Jews own houses among Christians;
   
3. For Jewish religious writings to be taken away;
   
4. For rabbis to be forbidden to preach;
   
5. To offer no protection to Jews on highways;
   
6. For usury to be prohibited and for all silver and gold to be removed, put aside for safekeeping, and given back to Jews who truly convert;
   
7. To give young, strong Jews flail, axe, spade, and spindle, and let them earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.
   

Luther could not have foreseen that this unfortunate after-thought in his later life, following many years of powerful and fruitful ministry, would be taken up literally by Hitler’s Nazis as an impetus to the terrible ‘final solution’, culminating in the horror of the Holocaust.

Let us thank God for the good fruits of Luther’s ministry, but now take responsibility for the completion of the Reformation.

The True Life of Faith

Luther was fluent in Hebrew yet he failed to fully understand Hebraic thought. He saw the Epistle of James as a “perfect straw-epistle” because he did not understand James’ teaching that faith without works is dead (James 2:26).³

No doubt his mind was already so much against those from a Jewish background (like James, whose name was actually Jacob) to consider them as having a doctrine of salvation by works, like the Roman Catholics of his day.

He did not consider the Hebrew emunah sufficiently to observe that it means both ‘faith’ and ‘faithfulness’, so that Hebrews 11:1 can be translated equally “faith is the substance of things hoped for” and “faithfulness is the substance of things hoped for”, which completely validates James’ teaching that the faith which pleases God involves the fruitful outworking of our lives.

Luther was fluent in Hebrew yet he failed to fully understand Hebraic thought.

A Careful Eye on Prophecy

Of course Luther did not live in our day when we see the miracle of Israel’s re-birth as a nation. Nor did he witness the increasing numbers of Messianic Jews declaring faith in Yeshua HaMashiach. Would he have been ashamed if he knew of his own contribution to fanning the flames of Replacement Theology still rampant in the Christian Church?

Had he lived today perhaps he would not have been so foolish as to speak against the Jews as he did and may well have written a 96^th thesis. He may have had a more careful eye on the outworking of prophecy. In his day, just as he discarded the Epistle of James and also that of Jude, he discarded the Book of Revelation. Perhaps he had not the prompting to consider end time prophecy as we have, with signs all around us.

What would this 96^th thesis be? Let me suggest it:

96 For discussion: We live in the sure expectancy that God is drawing together both Jews and Gentiles into the one community of faith which Paul calls the ‘one new man’ (Ephesians 2:14-15). It is now time to rediscover the original roots of our faith together. God, in His wisdom, is enabling a fresh interaction between Messianic Jews and believing Gentiles as never before to firmly establish the common faith. Surely this will be the means of strengthening for the days ahead, for washing away all doctrinal and denominational division when we are united in Spirit and Truth through Faith in the One True God and His Son Yeshua the Messiah. This is to be the goal of all who believe in Him, whether from Catholic or Protestant backgrounds. Surely this will complete the Reformation begun so sacrificially 500 years ago, but now to be completed as we wait for the return of our Saviour.

References

1 Click here for a translation of the entire 95 theses.

2 Anti-Semitism: Martin Luther - "The Jews & Their Lies" (1543). Jewish Virtual Library.

3 Martin Luther and the Book of James. Biblestudy.org.

Paul Luckraft interviews author Mark Dunman, whose two books 'Has God Really Finished With Israel' and 'The Return of Jesus Christ' were reviewed in Prophecy Today last year.

One of the delights of reviewing books for Prophecy Today is encountering new authors that immediately impress through the quality of their writing and display a depth of thinking that makes even familiar topics come alive. For me, one of the highlights of 2015 was discovering the two books by Mark Dunman.

Consequently, I decided to meet the author and find out more about his background and what had influenced him. In particular I wanted to learn from him about the way God leads us into new ventures.

Discovering God

All I knew about Mark before I met him was that he was now retired after a career as a science teacher in Further Education. As such, he was not a minister, or a professional theologian, or a writer. So how was it that, in later life, he had turned his hand to writing and to tackling such challenging topics as Israel and the end times? What I discovered was both fascinating and encouraging.

Mark came from a home that did not believe in God, but by his twenties he was agnostic: "By my mid-twenties I wasn't anti-God, but as a scientist I felt I needed evidence that God was real and what the Bible said about Jesus was true." God subsequently provided this evidence in the form of Biblical prophecy and the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the remarkable gift of praying in a language that had not been learnt.

By early 1974 he was ready to put faith into action and pray the sinner's prayer of repentance and accept Jesus into his life. The baptism in the Holy Spirit followed two weeks later. He says: "I was bowled over by the fact that I could pray fluently in a language I had not learnt, especially when I thought of the years I had taken to reach a reasonable fluency in French!"

Reading the scriptures convinced Mark there was a divine mind behind everything he already knew and experienced. Here was a God who made and kept covenants, who made plans and knew the future. Prophecy was a normal way for God to speak, and once he had spoken it would be fulfilled.

Reading the scriptures convinced Mark there was a divine mind behind everything he knew. Here was a God who made and kept covenants, who made plans and who knew the future.

All this would eventually shape Mark's views and inform his understanding, especially on the vital topics he would one day write about. The role of the Jewish people and the land of Israel in God's purposes today could not be ignored. Nor could the key doctrine of Christ's return and the trickier aspects of end time theology be relegated to secondary importance. God had made certain things clear and we needed to accept his whole word into our Christian faith.

Growing in Truth

Mark learnt quickly, thanks mainly to Bible teachers such as Derek Prince and good teaching in his church. He was realising the importance of truth and how it shapes our Christian lives. As he grew in the knowledge of God he developed a level of discernment that would prove useful later. Not everything he would read would strike him as true. Not all authors would impress him! But at this point it never occurred to him to join their ranks.

Although he was used to writing reports and papers within his teaching community, God had not yet called him to be a writer. For Mark, life at this time was what most people would regard as standard, revolving mainly around a family and a career. But God was waiting, biding his time and preparing his man.

A New Direction

All changed in the 1990s when Government plans for modernisation within Further Education brought innovations and the inevitable redundancies. Mark accepted, reluctantly at first, that this meant him, but he soon came to terms with it. God was calling him to something new. Looking back, it was a God-given chance to serve, to embrace fresh opportunities and to activate his faith in new areas.

Mark came to terms with redundancy as God calling him into something new. Looking back, it was a God-given chance to serve, embrace fresh opportunities and activate his faith in new areas.

At this time Mark started to delve more into the Old Testament and to think increasingly about Israel. As a result, a new realisation dawned. Previously he admits to believing that although Israel was important to God's purposes it was too important to entrust to the Church. As such, he thought the Jews constituted a separate work of God. He had simply not seen the link between the Church and Israel.

He now sought out an Israel prayer group and in 2003 he joined Watchmen for Israel, led by members of his Church. From this point Mark discovered a new heart for Israel as he began interceding for them. He describes one emotional prayer time which profoundly affected him. He now knew this was where part of his calling would lie.

Journey into Writing

His first attempt at writing in a Christian context was a pamphlet written on behalf of this prayer group, entitled Why pray for Israel and the Jewish people?. This gave him confidence that he could write as he done some years before as a professional teacher.

In 2007, Mark began to draft a fuller book to counter replacement theology. He had become more aware of this teaching and how it was widespread in the Church at large. The impetus was the publication of the Reverend Stephen Sizer's book Zion's Christian Soldiers with its embrace of replacement theology and its negative attitude towards Israel.

Mark discovered a new heart for Israel and knew that this was where part of his calling would lie – his first full book was drafted to counter replacement theology in the church.

So he started to write, producing a first draft, but then stopped. As he says, "I felt confident about the theology – I knew that replacement theology was wrong – but I realised that I was up against experienced writers and theologians and that I needed to learn more about the recent history of Israel. I needed to do more research."

Gaining Balanced Insight

It was some time before Mark returned to the book, but in May 2011 he started writing again, now better informed and qualified. By the end of the year the book was basically finished, but something was missing. Mark reminisces, "I needed a brief recent history of Israel without the opposing side simply dismissing it as partisan. The solution came with an unexpected trip to Israel. I returned with my opening chapter where I contrasted the opposing attitudes to Israel, before going on to make my theological case."

Mark had visited Israel for the first time in 2009 with a CFI group, but a second visit in 2012 provided some extra important experience and information. He spent 12 days there and met Palestinian Christians who lived in the West Bank. From this he began to gain a Palestinian perspective of life in Israel and the hardships they face. This is especially true of the small group of evangelical Christians in Gaza and the West Bank.

New Book, New Topic

In June 2013, the book was published. Was this the start of a writing career? Mark wasn't looking for this but a second book did soon follow. The trigger for this was a conference where 'end time' teaching was on the agenda. Overhearing conversations, while Mark and his wife were promoting his Israel book at the stalls, he realised that there was much uncertainty about the end times, especially on subjects such as the Millennium, the Tribulation and the Rapture. He felt he needed to clarify his own ideas and perhaps help other people to do so as well. A second book would be the answer!

Now experienced, he knew what he needed to do first – thorough research! From November 2013 to June 2015 Mark did just that, the result being a book which provided a comprehensive overview where different views are not condemned but held in tension, while certain aspects are strongly advocated as being more biblically justified. Mark knew what he needed to say, and how to say it.

Letting God Lead

Will he write more? At this stage he doesn't know. He has learnt that as an author, two books are better than one. You find it easier to publicise and sell. You are more likely to be noticed. However, he will only write a third book if God clearly leads.

His advice for anyone wanting to write is: do your research, and make it as good as you can. If you have just one (or two) books in you then make them special. Make each page worthwhile and each word telling. Be prepared to take time, and to stop when necessary to wait for God's special revelation and timing.

Do you have a book or two in you? Mark's advice is to make them as good as you can – make each page worthwhile and every word telling. Be prepared to take time and let God lead.

What does Mark feel God is saying through the books he has written and the experiences this has involved? For him, writing is about bringing people back to the word of God: "while the days become spiritually darker it is essential for Christians to stay close to God's word and to trust him in their daily lives. It will be increasingly important for Christians to avoid deception. Belonging to a valid church with good teaching is one of the best insurances and one doesn't have to be in agreement with them on every doctrinal issue!"

He also believes that we can all expect God to use us. Even in later life, he will open new doors - though our previous experiences and skills are never wasted. On our part, we need to be wholehearted and willing to seek help from others. He would also recommend getting involved in praying for something, such as Israel, where God can touch your heart. This can easily provide the catalyst for new ventures.

We hope you've found Mark's story inspiring and encouraging. What new surprises has God in store for you?