Still Waiting … Day 11

Still waiting for the Christian TV network to respond to my initial inquiry as well as my follow-up email regarding the lack of wisdom and discernment in allowing Journey to Zion to air on the network.  Remember that I noted in a previous post the following information:

• Yechiel Eckstein is not about Jewish evangelism and missions.  He is about bringing Jewish people to Israel from such places as Russia and Ethiopia.  He runs a number of infomercials on this subject that I am sure you have seen.
• Yechiel Eckstein does not allow for Christians to share their faith in Messiah Jesus with the people they assist as he is an advocate of dual covenantalism — belief that there is one way to God for the Jewish people (Moses) and another for the rest of the world (Jesus).

Well yesterday I received additional information from Rabbi Eckstein’s organization which included two quotes by well-known Christians endorsing the work of the IFCJ.  Can you identify who might have said the following quotes (answers at the bottom of this post)?

What Rabbi Eckstein is doing has been, and continues to be, very important because … he’s tried to be a mediator, to try to explain evangelicals to the Jewish community and explain the Jewish community to the evangelicals….  I think he has performed a tremendous role.

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein has been a major instrument of breaking down hostilities between Jews (and) Christians, and has done much to contribute to an entirely new, growing and expanding mutuality of understanding between these two sectors of faith.

Did you notice some of the buzz words used by these two Christian leaders:  mediator, explain, performed a tremendous role, major instrument, mutuality of understanding, etc.  These two quotes with the important buzz words do much to bolster the work of Rabbi Eckstein.  So why is this not a good thing?

We should be concerned about Jewish souls being physically and emotionally persecuted around the world … please understand this truth.  However, we cannot and must not place the physical needs above the spiritual needs of the Jewish people.  To be more concerned about aliyah (immigration) to Israel at the cost of someone’s eternal destiny is as effective as putting a bandaid on a gaping wound.

And this is exactly, whether intentional or not, is what these two endorsement quotes do.  They lead Christians to believe that assisting in bringing souls to Israel is the primary and perhaps sole responsibility of the Christian Church.  Nothing could be further from the truth!!!  Our primary mission is to live out Romans 1:16 and Romans 11:11 in front of God’s Chosen Ones.  This might include assisting in the work of aliyah but our primary responsibility is in sharing with them that Jesus (Yeshua) is the Messiah for whom they have been waiting so long to see.

Please pray with me that these two men — Richard Land, President of the Ethics and Religious Librerty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention, and Jack Hayford, Founding Pastor of The Church on the Way and President of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel — will begin to recognize and proclaim that while bringing Jewish souls to Israel is good it is not as important as bringing Jewish souls to Jesus.

This truth is our sole priority.  The rest is ultimately secondary.