Tuesday, 19 May 2015 | When it comes to standing with Israel, International President and CEO of Bridges for Peace Rebecca Brimmer believes that a conviction about the Bible determines which side of the fence Christians find themselves on. Speaking to Voice of Israel radio hosts during two different programs on Sunday and Monday, Brimmer addressed the issue of how Christians from around the world can end up on opposite ends of the Israel-supporting spectrum.
“What I see is that Christians who really believe the Bible—in other words, believe that it is the inspired Word of God—those people are still supporting Israel,” explains Brimmer.
However, the flip side of the coin is equally true. Those who believe that the Bible only contains certain words of God and that it can no longer be held as an absolute authority in modern times, opt for the luxury of picking the parts they are comfortable with. Moreover, there are also those who believe that the Bible cannot be interpreted literally and that it should be viewed as an allegory or metaphor. It is amongst these groups, says Brimmer, that support for Israel is waning.
In recent years, Brimmer has emerged as a leading voice amongst Christians around the world who are committed to stand with the Jewish state in practical ways and build bridges to repair and strengthen relationships between Jews and Christians. Serving at the helm of Bridges for Peace for the past 10 years, Brimmer believes this commitment to be imperative.
“The history between Christians and Jews is so harsh, so negative, so horrible. I would love to go back in some sort of time machine to say, ‘You don’t know where this is going!’ But unfortunately we don’t have that luxury. Since that is not possible, the thing that we have dedicated ourselves to is changing the future.”
Brimmer is convinced that we are living in truly unique times during which the God of Israel is proving Himself by fulfilling the prophecies made through the ancient Jewish prophets. “My whole life was surrounded by the knowledge that Israel is important,” she explains. This conviction stems from a time well before her birth.
As a young boy, Brimmer’s father heard a visiting German preacher deliver an unlikely message in his small town church: “The Bible says that the Jewish people will come back from all over the world to their ancient homeland.” The townspeople scoffed and even laughed at the idea. “Of course, it didn’t seem very likely in 1941,” she says.
Seven years later Brimmer’s father had a life-changing moment. On 14 May 1948 the announcement came that Israel had become a state. “My dad said that every hair on his body stood straight up because suddenly he knew that the Bible was real, that God was alive and that He was doing things that He had prophesied 2,500 to 3,000 years ago by Israel’s prophets.”
Brimmer believes that it is this realization that awakens a specific call to action in the hearts of Bible-believing Christians world-wide. “My father said, ‘If God is doing something, surely He wants us to help Him, He wants us to be involved.’”
Speaking on Jerusalem Day, as Israel celebrated the 48th anniversary of the reunification of the city, Brimmer also expressed Christians’ love and appreciation for the City of Gold. “Jerusalem is the center of the world. Just as Jerusalem is holy to the Jewish people, it is also the center of the Christian faith as well. Everything we hold dear from our faith came to us through the Jewish people and from this country.”
Listen to Rebecca Brimmer speak on Voice of Israelabout the rift in the Christian world regarding the Jewish state here, and listen to her share a Christian perspective of Jerusalem day here.
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