8/12/2019 1990 Issue 9 - Book Review: Hal Lindsey and the Restoration of the Jews - Counsel of Chalcedon

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ook Review

Ha l

Lindsey

The Restoration o the ews

Hal Lindsey

&

The Restoration

o

the Jews

by

Steve Schlissel

and

David Brown. Still Waters

Revival Books 1 2 8 J 1 2 6 St. Edmonton, AB

Canada TSL-071, 1990 200 pp.

9

.95 (USA)

11.95 (Canada). Reviewed by Byron Snapp .

When

was

the last

time

you

prayed

for

the

conversion

of

the Jews? When do you

last

consider

thei:fmestoration to their land as

being

a Scriptural

princiiple? Mter all isn't such a belief only for .those

who are premillenial?

f your answer to the above question would

embarass

you

then this

is one reason

why

you

should

read

this book

Though they

have been

scattered to the four corners

of

the earth the Jews

remain

a distinctive people,

unlike any other people.

Mter

all, who today hears

of the Amorites or the Hittites as a particular people

who

continue

to

exist?

In God's judgment these nations have lost their

identity and

their

people

have been

swallowed up by

other nations.

Yet who

has

not

heard

of

the Jews?

Romans

11

explains why.

Heavily based on Romans

11 ,

this

book

provides

the reader with

Steve

Schissel's excellent forward

entitled

The Reformed Faith and the Jews.

His45

pages provide a lucid and instructive answer to Hal

Lindsey's recent book The Road

to

Holocaust. As

Pastt;?r

Schlissel points out,

Mr.

Lindsey's goal

in

writiftg

the book was

to

associate a particular current

of

Reformed

theology with the persecution of the

Jews

to

encourage Christians to suspect as latent

or

patent anti-Semites all

who

demur

from

his .

(Lindsey's) portrayal

of

the future. (p.

7)

Schlissel

deftly and clearly pulls back the layers

of

Lindsey's

arguments

and

points

out

hisreal problem.

It

is with

the Reformed faith and covenantal theology (p. 25).

Far

from

being

anti-Semitic, those of the reformed

The Counsel of Chalcedon November 1990 Page 16

faith have

had

a history

of

working for the

conversion

of

the Jews. In the

last

2,000 years the

Jews have enjoyed their

most

extensive freedoms in,

and

have

made

their

greatest contributions to,

Reformed and Calvinist countries (p.31).

Being a convertd Jew and recognizing God's

sovereign grace in his life and His lordship over

every area

of

culture and life, Schlissel

is

well

qualified to write on the future of the Jews.

Schlissel, as well as Brown, sees not

only

a glorious

conversion of a multitude of Jews prior to Christ's

coming but also their actual restoration

to

their land,

Israel.

The

second part

of

this book

is

a

reprint of

David

Brown's 1882 edition The Restoration

o the

Jews;

:The History, Principles, and Bearings o th

Questions.

Much

reference and explanation

is

gl.ven

to

Romans

11

but Brown also.opens

up

numerous passages n

the

ld

TestaineD;t

to

. t t e n ~ t h e n his c ~ s e

He

prov1des a compe1lingdiscuss10n of Genesis 28: 12-

15

, Leviticus 26:40-45, Isaiah 11:11-16 and

Jeremiah 23:5-8 amol}g other passages. . The

authors believe

that

the only

way

these ScriptUres

can

be

rightly understood is in

light

of

a future

restoration of the Jews to the Promised Land. Of

course, this does'not mean the temple will

be

rebuilt

nor will Christ come and reign for

a

thousand ye rs

during which many Jews

w ll

be converted.

Both authors stress

that

the Jews will

be

converted

prior to Christ's coming

on

the last day and their

land will be

restored to

heni either prior

to or

after

their conversion.

Like

Paul

our 'heart's desire should be for the .

conversion

oflsraeL

Our p r ~ s n t emphasis is not '

just

on their restoration So that

at

some future time

. they

can be

converted but instead the desire of the

8/12/2019 1990 Issue 9 - Book Review: Hal Lindsey and the Restoration of the Jews - Counsel of Chalcedon

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reformed community, even all Christians is their

conversion so that they might fully enjoy the

Promised Land. Neither is our view one

of full

support of present day Israel no matter what they do.

This is no novel idea. Schlissel and Brown point

out through numerous quotes that this view has been

held by noted Reformed scholars throughout the

ages. The book concludes with helpful appendices

by Schlissel

on

the dispensational hermeneutic and

the relationship

of

the church and the synagogue.

Dr.

R.J. Rushdoony pens a third appendix,

providing an insightful look at the relationship of our

eschatology

on

our work.

The book, actually two books in one, provides a

double barrel response to current false thinking

regarding supposed anti-Semitic beliefs among the

reformed camp. Yet the authors shoot down

arguments, not people. This is always helpful. The

book can be read with great profit by Christians who

hold to a variety of views that stretch from

reconstructionism to dispensationalism. Not only

should

it

increase our understanding

of

Scripture and

particularly God's purposes for the Jews, it should

also motivate us to pray for the regeneration of the

Jews. A failure to humbly reach out to the Jews is a

mark of pride and apathy. Where it exists

repentance is needed.

It

is well past time for Christians to repent of their

apathy toward the Jews and replace that apathy with

a heart's desire for their regeneration. After all

as

the Jews look

at

current Christianity what is there to

envy? Where is there a concern for God's law?

How much evidence is there of a world and life

view? It is the reformed understanding

of

Scripture

that, by God's grace, can arouse the Jews to envy.

Think of what their conversion will mean not only

to

God's glory, but

to

the Gentiles. For if their

rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will

their acceptance be but life from the dead

(Romans

11:15).

By the way, have you heard your pastor pray for the

conversion of the Jews recently?

f

not, why not

buy him a copy of this book also?

Q

...out of the mouths of babes ..

Recently one Saturday afternoon our 6 year old daughter and I

were selling a few items at a neighbomood multi-family yard

sale. It was held in the front of a horse bam and the families

displayed their goods along

th

e fence leading from the stables.

By

late afternoon we were ready to leave so Grace and began

packing up . Hot and very tired, Gzace,

who

was also selling

lemonade, decided to sit

in

the car

while

picked up the ice

chest from her stand.

s

I was walking toward the car, I noticed

her mend, 8 year old Helen, was talking to Grace beside the car.

All of a sudden, Helen

ran

up to me and said,

Mrs

. Balint, Grace

said that there is no such thing as 1uck'. said, Well, that's

what we've taught

G

ce, that there isn't such a thing

as

1uck'

but it's God's providence that m kes

things happen

one way or another.

Helen, also

111ised

in a Ouislian home, nodded her head in agree

ment, that God is in charge and He rules over all things . But,

she said, I've never heanl of prov-, provi-.

..

Providence,

said, I know, it is a big word, tsn't il1' She smiled and zan back

to the car.

Reaching the girls, I loaded the car and Helen said with a big smile

Mrs. Balint, told Gzace to hang the horseshoe U P like thts so

that the providence wouldn't fall out.'

Polly Balint

The Counsel

of

Chalcedon November 1990 Page

17