The Jewish issue

Met up with several prophetic friends today, and it looks like God is bringing up something important: our relationship to the Jewish people.

With Bram Flippo I discussed the rediscovery of biblical (Hebrew) thinking, which - in contrast to the Greek thinking that shaped our Western and modern culture - is holistic, dynamic and very much a way-of-life, expressed in the sabbath, the feasts and the various rituals. Although Christians don't have to live like Jews (see Paul versus Peter), the prophesied and much-needed reformation of the Church has a lot to do with a paradigm shift from Greek to Hebrew thinking. And this is quickened even more by the cultural shift from modernity to postmodernity.

In the evening I had a meal in the house of prayer in Utrecht, as we prepared for the upcoming retreat with Chris Daza (13-14 Feb). Caroline and Margreet shared about their visit to the Jewish synagogue in Utrecht and how it had blessed them and given them more insight in the relationship between Jews and Christians. If Christians start blessing the Jewish people in their city and nation, and the Jews in turn bless the Christians, then both groups will be able to enter their destiny in God.

In Utrecht there are still some unresolved issues from the past. Throughout the centuries the Jews have been discriminated against, and during the nazi occupation 75% of the Jewish population of Utrecht was deported and died in the gas chambers. Utrecht is key for several reasons: it has been the spiritual centre of the Netherlands (root issues between Jews and the Church have to be dealt with here), it has been the headquarters of Dutch Railways (who facilitated the deportations and up to now hasn't been willing to face this black chapter in their history), as well as the headquarters of the NSB (the Dutch party that collaborated with the nazis and whose affiliates were known as fervent 'jew hunters'). I believe that when the time is right the Church in the city will have to deal with this issue.

Comments

[George Howard]

This subject of the Jewish mind versus the Greek mind
is fascinating. I have found some very profound articles on this, at www.beitshalom.org which has them in English, Spanish and German.
George H.

[jewish singles]

very good points!

[Leah]

I agree completely about the rediscovery of Hebraic thinking - besides having a profound wisdom for living, it also helps a person make a lot more sense out of the Bible, which is quite cryptic, in places, to Greek thinkers.

One website that has a lot on this is called the "En-Gedi Resource Center" - www.en-gedi.org. They have a lot of articles on the Jewish context of Jesus, and wrote a book on Hebrew ideas and words that's helpful for learning to "think Hebrew".