Interview Rev Willem J.J. Glashouwer by Hizki Laluyan

What brought you to join Christians for Israel (C4I)?
The founding father of Christians for Israel Netherlands asked me to step into his shoes as Chairman of the Board of Christenen voor Israel – Nederland. In the years that followed I wrote a book WAAROM ISRAEL that was translated spontaneously by people around the world. After the first translation “WHY ISRAEL’ over 30 other translations followed so that Christenen voor Israel developed into an International ministry: Christians for Israel International.


Rev WillemJ.J. Glashouwer	Karel van Oord, Founder of Christians for Israel Netherlands

How do you see C4I, as European Based Christian Ministries with global outreach, achieving their goals? What was the most challenging situation that the organization needed to deal with?
The basic aim for the ministry is to educate the Church. To bring a Biblical message about God’s heart and His everlasting Covenants with Israel and with the Jewish people to all churches and denominations, to the whole of Christianity. To fight anti-Semitism – also Christian anti-Semitism, that developed in Christianity especially in Europe as a fruit of Replacement-theology claiming that the Church replaced Israel as the chosen people of God, creating an atmosphere in which thousands and even millions of Jews could be murdered in the last 2000 years. The Church was often actively involved or stood by watching what was happening without doing anything. Of course, with some good exceptions of individual Christians who did what they could to help the Jews. So this is also a message of repentance for the Church, and to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance by the Church, in acts of love and solidarity with Israel and with the Jewish people.

The challenge for the Church is to change many age-old theological concepts and start to understand God’s heart and plans for Israel, as well as for the Church, the nations and Creation itself. To understand the Biblical concept of the Kingdom. To convert – as a Church! That is a basic challenge for the Church and goes to the roots of the Church and of Christian theology. Although a remnant in all the Churches worldwide is waking up and is ready to face in an honest way serious questions that come forth from the visible restoration of Israel – first nationally, but one-day also spiritually – the majority of the mainline churches as well of the free churches find it scary to open up for these basic questions and rather stick with their traditional views. Which is harmful for the Church itself, because not understanding what Israel is all about in the eyes of God, is not understanding the times we are living in and being unprepared for the prophetic and apocalyptic future of the end times that the world is going through – leading to the Coming of the King and of His Kingdom.

What is your personal thought regarding Israel, the people and the nations?
The LORD God Almighty created Israel as His firstborn son (Jesus is His only-begotten Son, but Israel is His firstborn) and He loves His son very much. He made at least 7+1 Covenants with Israel that are everlasting, covered with an oath and 7 of them are un-conditional. Everything God promised to Israel and the Jewish people He will fulfill for Israel – as well as everything He promised to the Church and to Christians He will fulfill for them. If He loves Israel, should we not love Israel as well?

Do you have a specific method and strategy for working and dealing with people and groups of people around the world with different languages, cultures and way of thinking?
The Bible is a book for all nations, cultures, races, languages, ways of thinking, etc. So the first thing we do is bring this Biblical message about Israel to Christians and Churches in the nations/language areas of the world. When people wake up to this final wake-up call to the Church, we look for people that sense a calling by the Lord to be involved in this. They will form a working-group that could develop into a board to operate in the framework of the legislation of their nation to develop the ministry in their own country. To publish the educational materials, train teachers, organize Israel-Tours, collect funds to support humanitarian projects in Israel, and whatever else is in the goals of the ministry. To serve the Church and help the Church to come to a new understanding. These national ‘branches’ are affiliated with Christians for Israel International.

How do you see the importance of your spiritual life influencing your life and your work?
Understanding more about God’s heart and soul for Israel enriches one’s spiritual life. Some people say: it is like a second conversion. The first conversation was when I discovered Jesus as my Lord and Savior. The second conversion was when I discovered the mystery of Israel. When that happens is changes one’s life in a very positive way and brings about even a renewal of the faith! It takes nothing away from the Church, but adds a lot of good spiritual thing to the Church. One starts to long for the Coming of the LORD and the Coming of the Kingdom! To the resurrection! To the renewal of all things! One understands that we are running out of time of grace over the Gentile world and that we should be preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to the Gentiles as never before. And that Jesus expects to meet with a holy bride to the he Queen on His side! How can the Church meet with Jesus with Jewish blood upon her hands, the blood of centuries of Church-history?

Are there books, people, conferences and/or parts of the Bible that inspire you?
We try to organize all over the world conferences on the subject. My inspiration by the Bible can be found in the books I wrote about ISRAEL – the trilogy WHY ISRAEL, followed by WHY JERUSALEM and finally WHY ENDTIMES. And the daily devotional that grew into a commentary on the Book of Revelation: ZIE HIJ KOMT (BEHOLD, HE COMES). Books by Derek Prince, Lance Lambert and many others from many parts of Christianity today and in the past that can be found among the 125 meters of theological books on the shelves in my study are like good friends who inspire me every day. But after reading the various traditions I always return to the Word of God to read what His opinion is about these things – the Bible has the final word and is the ultimate authority about all matters of faith and life. To me the Bible speaks with absolute authority, not just about faith, soul, heart heaven and salvation, but also when it refers to nature, history, the universe, creation, science and prophecy, which is history written in advance.

What was the nicest thing that happened during you work with C4I? And where did you experience difficulties?
The most beautiful thing that I experience is that during the Biblical teachings you see the Spirit of God moving and you feel that revelation is taking place. Many people have shared with me: I did somehow already love Israel and the Jewish people, but now I understand! This changes my life!

The difficulties are there when people are not opening up to the message but prefer the theological blockade in their brain – grown over a period of centuries by lines of theological and philosophical thinking in the Church - over new insights and revelation that could enrich their life so much. That makes me sad, and I can only pray that the Lord somehow will reach them to receive the same blessings that I had when I started to discover these Biblical truths about Israel and the Jewish people, with regard to the Coming of the Lord and the Coming of His Kingdom.

How did you deal with difficulties or problems that appeared?
As I said: I can only put it before the Lord in prayer, and move on to the next challenges that He puts before me. Although I am 70 years of age now, and retired as a pastor in the national church of Holland, which is the Dutch Reformed Church, I have never been more busy in my life, travelling the world and ‘following’ the book WHY ISRAEL! Having been a pioneer in Evangelical Radio and Television in the Netherlands (EO) and pioneer in Evangelical Higher Education (EH) and pastor of a 2.500 people church in Katwijk (ZH) – moving now for many years in this ministry to bring this Biblical message about Israel and the Jewish people is really like a climax in my Christian life! When He calls you, you are able to walk in the works that He prepared for you in advance – which is a joy to do and a blessings – and even difficulties and problems have to contribute to that!

Many preachers are stuck in a denomination box and don’t preach outside their denomination. During my internship I saw that that you are preaching everywhere interdenominationally. How do you see this issue of the difficulties to break the denomination wall?
“ISRAEL” happens in font of all of us. The whole of Christianity can see with their own eyes prophecies being fulfilled. The whole of Christianity has to face questions that she has not faced before. Coming to a new understanding about Israel and the Jewish people has a uniting effect upon the Church. People from all kind of different churches and denominations suddenly experience a new unity in this new understanding. Maybe not leading to new organizational structures, but certainly to a newly felt unity among Christians. My father used to speak about the ‘visible’ and the ‘invisible’ church. The ‘visible’ church is about the visible organizations of the various churches. The ‘invisible‘ church is present within all the churches: Christians who believe the Word of God, who know the voice of the Good Shepherd and who follow the Lord in their lives. They have a unity of the heart – maybe not in all matters of doctrine – and they wake up when they hear the Biblical message about Israel, and experience a new inner unity with many other Christians in practically all the churches and denominations, Which is great!

Do you have any specific goal(s) that you want to achieve in the coming two years, both personally and professionally?
To break open as many of new territories worldwide as possible. ‘As the LORD leads’, is my motto. I do not throw a dart on the map of the world to decide where to go next. The Lord opens new doors, all the time. I do not have a strategy-plan about what WE are going to do. But I try to be obedient to follow what HE is going to do. After the breaking open of new territories and sowing the Biblical seeds of the message, the seeds need some time to develop. In following-up events – like watering and fertilizing of the seeds by additional teaching and education as well as organizational structures in which others of the ministry are involved, more than I am – we tend to the new plants, hoping for fruits that will manifest itself in the months and years to come! In order that Israel will be comforted, the true Church will be built and all of this with our eyes upon the Coming of the Lord and of His Kingdom! May we then all hear it from His lips: Well done, brother! Well done, sister! I have put you in charge over small things, but you have been faithful! Now I will put you charge of many thongs! Come into the feast of your Lord, that will last for ever and ever!

Hizki Leonard Laluyan is from Indonesia and is a student of Azusa / Theological College Windesheim at Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Hizki introduces himself here.

This is my last study year which requires a practical assignment such as an internship period. I have chosen Christians for Israel considering the overseas ministry it has been doing for years, which I thought would fit me best as an international person living in the Netherlands. This internship has the following goals.

To gain insights on how Christians worldwide see Israel and the Bible, with particular focus to Indonesia and the Indonesian community in The Netherlands.
To establish contact, with diverse people outside of one’s own church or community.
To learn and to gain understanding about the cross-cultural religious traditions, and how to approach them contextually.

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