Messianic

Sukkot

Charla — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:01:36 -0400

Happy Feast of the Tabernacles! I learned today that this feast is supposed to happen this week from a wonderful teaching at church today. It was a little weird only in the fact that this "church" is in the middle of a 40 day fast, and here's this guy teaching us about a feast to be had this week! And he was really excited about it.

He pulled together a number of different scriptures that referenced the feast and the river of life from the temple, and then quoted Jesus making his announcement (John 7:37-39) on the last day of the feast of tabernacles. Instantly, that scripture made sense.

So, Happy Feast this week! I look forward to learning more of the Jewish heritage. I'm not sure where to start besides visiting the synagogue. This guy quoted a book about the Talmud but I thought you said Torah-based teaching is better. ?

Anyway, is anyone celebrating this feast this week? If so, are you building a booth to live in?

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Stupid question?

Charla — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:31:47 -0400

This may be a stupid question but.... if you're Jewish, do you go to heaven when you die?

A family member passed away last week and she was raised Christian, but converted to Judaism when she met & married her husband. Last week she lost her battle with colon cancer. Her memorial service was earlier today.

You've mentioned repeatedly that the Jews are still the chosen people of God, and that the Christian churches did not take the place of the Jews in God's heart. If that is so, then when a Jewish person dies, does that person go to heaven? Jesus said He was the only way to the Father, so does that now exclude the Jews from receiving God's mercy in abiding with Him in heaven forever?

I would hate to think that my family member didn't make it to God.

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Messianic Jews and Messianic Christians

Wayne — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:08:50 -0400

Most people I know believe Messianic Jews to be a tiny, insignificant minority of Jewry. These same believe the opposite about Christians, that they are a very significant minority if not an occasional majority. Let's look at the numbers.

Barna found only about 4% of Americans hold a Biblical worldview. It would seem pretty easy to see that percentage shrink when scaled for the whole world, considering America is a "Christian" nation.

Wikipedia (the bastion of knowledge that it is </sarcasm>) says about 2.5% of American Jews are Messianic. If we assume all Messianic Jews hold a Biblical worldview (a reasonably arguable assumption), that would make 2.5% of American Jews holding to a Biblical worldview. Again using Wikipedia's numbers, that same percentage generally holds for Jewry worldwide.

This means the percentage of Gentiles who hold a Biblical worldview is on par with the percentage of Jews holding a Biblical worldview. Why is this important? They both represent the remnant. They're both Bible-believing. In fact, they're both Jewish, too, one having been born into Abraham's family and the other adopted/grafted. These Bible-believers are brothers and the all-too-common hostility between them (esp. toward the Messianic Jews) is doubly unfortunate.

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Christians are Jews

Wayne — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:34:18 -0500

The vast majority of Christians erroneously believe themselves to be the replacement for God's Chosen People, supplanting the Jews. This is known as Replacement Theology. The only way to hold to this heresy is to deny the Word of God, a dangerous prospect at best. Having accepted the Jewish Messiah, former Gentiles are grafted into the same root as the Jews, so they become Abraham's children and co-inheritors of God's covenants with His people. The International Christian Zionist Center supports the Biblical doctrine quite well:

30 December 2007

THE GOSPEL OF PAUL

If one thing is clear in the writings or epistles of the Apostle Paul concerning
the believing Gentiles, it is that through their new birth or regeneration they
have become an integral part of the tree or commonwealth of Israel. They have not
become part of a new tree called the "church" but branches, grafted into the tree
and people of Israel, with whom they have become one body.

... and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross,
thereby putting to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:16)

This he writes in that same epistle to the Ephesians:

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-if indeed
you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for
you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written
already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery
of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has
now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: THAT THE GENTILES
SHOULD BE FELLOW HEIRS, OF THE SAME BODY, and partakers of His promise in Christ
through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:1-6).

This is all vitally important, for it goes against the conception and wrong notion
held by many gentile believers that God has two peoples: one the Church and the
other His people Israel. This is unbiblical. The Scriptures teach the opposite.
There is One Flock, One Tree, One commonwealth of Israel, ONE BODY and ONE STICK
- not two peoples but ONE!!!

Jesus said:

As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the
sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring,
and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. (John
10:15-16)

Paul writes:

For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so
are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a
wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of
the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if
you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." Well said.
Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty,
but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity;
but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will
be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted
in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive
tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated
olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into
their own olive tree? For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant
of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in
part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And
so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of
Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob." (Romans 11:16-26)

And in Ephesians:

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh-who are called Uncircumcision
by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-that at that time
you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But
now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood
of Christ.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle
wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from
the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one
body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached
peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both
have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:11-18)

Ezekiel 37:15-19:

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "As for you, son of man, take a stick
for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his
companions.'
Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and
for all the house of Israel, his companions.' Then join them one to another for
yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. "And when the children
of your people speak to you, saying, 'Will you not show us what you mean by these?'--
say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which
is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will
join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will
be one in My hand." '

Now this is all so important, because God shows that Gentile believers have truly
been accepted, by Him, into the body and flock of His people, not as second class
citizens, but fully as equals. Already through Hosea, God prophesied that the day
would come when He would call a people who were not called His people. His own people:

And it shall come to pass, in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not
My people,' There it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.' (Hosea
1:10)

As John, the Apostle, reiterates in his epistle to the Gentile believers:

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called
children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
(1 John 3:1)

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His
name. (John 1:11-12)

It is therefore not a new tree which God has planted, called 'the church,' separate
from His ancient people. No! By the preaching of the Gospel He has welcomed us Gentiles
to become an integral part - branches - of the tree and commonwealth of Israel.
And inside that tree or ecclesia of God, there is henceforth NO MORE DISTINCTION
between believing Jews and Gentiles, as Paul so clearly writes in his epistle to
the Galatians:

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as
were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one
in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)

It should be noted that the word 'ecclesia' translated as 'church' in our bibles
is already found in the Old Testament. The Septuagint translates when it speaks
of the congregation of the people of Israel as ecclesia: The called out ones which
the people of Israel certainly also were.

The consequences of this all are far reaching. If there is only One people of God
and not two - the church on one side and Israel, the Jewish people, on the other
- then much of the currently held dispensationalist teaching is unscriptural.

When they return in faith, the Jewish people will not be grafted into a new tree
called the church, BUT IN THEIR OWN TREE, into which we Gentile believers have
already been grafted, writes Paul.

Therefore there will not be a separate rapture of the Church while the people of
Israel - according to some awkward teaching - are left on earth to go through yet
another tribulation. WE ARE TOGETHER IN THIS as Ruth prophetically once already
exclaimed: Your people are my people and your God is my God. And as John the Apostle
writes on Patmos when he sees the bride, the Lamb's wife, descending as that great
city, the holy Jerusalem, out of heaven from God, it is a city which includes as
gates the twelve tribes of the children of Israel!

"Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he carried me away in the
Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a
most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great
and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written
on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three
gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three
gates on the west. (Revelation 21:9b-13)

Therefore Israel is part of the bride, even as we Gentile believers are allowed
to be by the grace of our Lord!

Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director

International Christian Zionist Center

To support this work, please make your checks payable to the International Christian
Zionist Center - USA and mail them to our address below, or you can make a cash
transfer to the ICZC-USA bank account in Israel:
_________________________________________________

Address:

International Christian Zionist Center
P.O. Box 49063
91490 Jerusalem, ISRAEL

Telephone: +972 (0)2 997 8808
Fax: +972 (0)2 997 1659
Email Address: iczc [at] iczc [dot] org [dot] il
Web-site:www.israelmybeloved.com

Israel Bank:
The First International Bank of Israel, Ltd.
Main Branch, Jerusalem 012
10 Hillel Street
94581 JERUSALEM
ISRAEL
Account #: 31-012-409 086193
ICZC-USA
Swift code: FIRBILIT XXX
For TAX DEDUCTIBLE contributions in United States make your checks payable to the
"ICZC-USA" and mail them to:

ICZC-USA
PO Box 680787
Franklin, TN 37068
USA

Thank you. Without your help we would not be able to continue this vital ministry
at this critical hour in history.

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Christians love Jews

Wayne — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:24:08 -0500

It seems Jimmy Carter has again revealed his hatred of Israel and Jews.

I'll put this simply. Salvation aside, you cannot claim the title of Christian and be antisemitic. The Jews always have been and most certainly still are God's Chosen People, His adopted family on earth.

Just as surely as an unrepentant murderer cannot righteously claim to be Christian (a little Christ, or Christ-like), neither can one who hates God's Chosen, or His Promised Land given to His Chosen, claim to be Christian.

Taking it a step further, if you fail to see modern Israel as the obvious fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy, you have no business claiming Christianity, because you obviously don't know how to read.

This does not mean Israel is blameless or even saved from their sins (presently). There is no worship of Jews or Israel here. But to hate those whom God has chosen (and through whom His Son was born), to deny His eternal covenants with them, to replace Israel with a Jew-hating Gentile "church", is anathema to any Biblical faith.

Jimmy Carter is no Christian. He has no clue what the Bible says about God's People. As far as I'm concerned, he is hereby excommunicated from the true, Bible-based faith of Christianity.

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Zola's promotion

Wayne — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:19:03 -0400

Zola Levitt has received his promotion and is now with the Lord. He will be sorely missed, but he's the lucky one. Pray for his family and his ministry.

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Cool article on Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem!

justjon — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 22:26:32 -0400

Hey all,

Many of you may have already seen this, but there's a cool article on WND highlighting the fascinating parallels between King David's fleeing Absalom's coup and Jesus' final entry into Jerusalem. Some of you with better OT backgrounds may already know all this, but I found it fascinating. It's amazing the depth of Scripture. I'm sure we'll all be enraptured listening to Him explain all the many subtle connections and nuances we miss in our superficial reading of Scripture...

Anyway, check it out:

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_I...

Cheers,
Jon

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Zola is ill

Wayne — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 10:25:30 -0500

Please pray for Zola Levitt, his family, and his ministry. He has been diagnosed with cancer. Here's what we know thus far:

It seems that Zola may be getting promoted to the head office. The good news, barring a medical miracle, is that he will meet our Lord before the rest of us. The bad news is that we—Zola’s staff, friends, supporters and even some enemies—will miss him terribly… worse than we can begin to say.

On February 10, Zola had the first symptom of cancer, which has spread from his left lung to his liver and brain. He has already begun treatment and is seeking your prayers that he might become a poster child for modern cancer treatment. To hedge his bet, however, he is doubling his efforts to produce extra TV programs and create more informative and outspoken newsletters than ever.

What a soldier’s testimonial—to stay at his post until called away by ישוע (Jesus)! Happy is the man whose work is his play.

Zola requests that rather than send him cards or flowers, that you show your concern by donating to this ministry to be used for the Lord’s work.

In His service,
Mark Levitt
Zola’s son

See:

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We'd like to find a good church...

Wayne — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 13:04:07 -0500

How hard is it to find a good church today? Are we asking for too much?

Not hostile to homeschoolers;
Not hostile to God's Law;
Doesn't practice legalism and other heresies;
Doesn't spend a fortune on itself.

We'd like to find a good church, but we'd settle for one that simply didn't serve evil in significant ways. We'd like to find one:

Structured to embrace homeschooling philosophies of parent-led education, family togetherness, non-age-graduated segregation, etc.;
Embracing all of God's Word, not just the New Testament;
No legalism or other major heresies practiced or preached;
Modest facilities, or better yet, no facilities or staff (i.e., housechurch).

We'd like to find one that didn't believe immersion baptism was saving--or anything more than ceremonially symbolic, just as the [church-rejected] mikvah was for centuries before. We'd like to find one that didn't believe "tongues" (what's called a "prayer language") was the only valid evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, despite what the Word clearly says (and despite the fact that a "prayer language" isn't even Biblical). We'd like to find one that didn't ban dancing in contrast to Biblical commands, or alcoholic consumption in moderation (even going to the ridiculous extreme of claiming Biblical alcohol had no alcohol). We'd like to find one that properly understood that Biblical tithing cannot be practiced today. Tithes are commanded to not be money, but animals and crops, and are part of the economic system of the tribes (namely, to provide for the Levites), and must be delivered at the Temple. Today's contributions are not tithes, but willful, cheerful donations; and you don't "owe" 10%, but the Lord owns 100% of everything anyway. Give only cheerfully, not from obligation and church-induced guilt. We'd like to find a church that didn't implicitly "require" weekly attendance, as if these were enough to be judged Christian. These are all very common legalisms practiced by much of the church today. Looking at formal, published denominational doctrines, all known [to me] denominations are heretical, just based on these few legalistic heresies stated here.

Beyond this, though, we'd like to find a church that embraced all of God's Word, not just the New Testament. So much has been preached on grace that a strawman has been built, named the Law, and torn down time and again. The Law was never a formula for achieving salvation--the Bible never even suggests this. The Law is for our protection and guidance. It's for our safety. If we follow it, we do so willingly and cheerfully, knowing our Father wants only the best for us (not from us). In fact, there are no major doctrines introduced in the New Testament (other than the rapture--and it can be argued it's only a minor doctrine) that aren't already taught more pervasively in the "Old" Testament. With the "Old", the New doesn't even make any sense. We'd like to find a church that didn't throw the baby out with the bath water.

We'd like to find a church that actively studied and sought out God's will in the Word. We'd like to find one with the intellectual capacity to discover, learn, and then teach Biblical doctrine on levels deeper than the most superficial. We'd like to find a church that actively discipled believers instead of merely "saving" them. We'd like to find a church where there was a place for maturing believers, those seeking Biblical perfection (not sinlessness, as most incorrectly believe, but maturity and completeness, as commanded in Matthew 5:48). We'd like to find a church that wasn't collectively so immature as to not even get the basics of the faith correct (see rant on legalism above).

We'd like to find a church that promoted personal and corporate holiness, but didn't "require" it, a la legalism. We'd like to find one actively fasting, praying, studying, remaining silent and listening, and purposely responding to the Lord's still-spoken will. We'd like to find one that allowed for the use of the gifts of the Spirit, but didn't use them to feel superior or make their use the point of the faith. We'd like to find a church whose leadership didn't implicitly demand clergy-worship. We'd like to find a church whose purpose is to nurture and disciple the believers so they may, in turn, minister to the lost and the hurting--where believers are all ordained as clergy and leaders (priesthood of all believers) and equipped accordingly. We'd like to find a church where the 80/20 rule was really 100/100.

We'd like to find a church that correctly recognized Israel as God's prophetic timepiece, so to speak. We'd like a church that supported God's chosen people and nation, that recognized all Christian believers as being grafted into the Jewish roots, that understood roughly the same percentage of Jews as Gentiles are saved, that Jerusalem is the center of the world, that the Law has not passed away. We'd like a church that correctly believes premillennialism and Israel's Biblical role therein.

We'd like to find a good church. Until then, we'll lead one of our own.

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Sabbath day: Saturday or Sunday?

Dave — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 11:28:44 -0400

I ran across this article on WorldNetDaily today. It describes a Seventh Day Adventist pastor who is offering cash money for anyone who can provide Scriptural proof that the sabbath day was moved from Saturday to Sunday. Though I don't agree with all of his claims (though I confess that I haven't examined his arguments), I do agree that the New Testament contains nothing that abrogates the Saturday sabbath.

As I understand it, the arguments for moving the sabbath to Sunday typically point to either Jesus' resurrection on Sunday, or a couple of verses in the NT that indicate that the apostles worshipped on Sunday. I find neither argument compelling.

Jesus' resurrection on Sunday was predicted by the timing of the Feast of Firstfruits, as described in Leviticus 23:10-11. Christ is the "first fruits" of the resurrection (1 Cor 20, 23). In fact, the proscribed day is described as "the day after the sabbath," which speaks against any notion of moving the sabbath because of the event of the resurrection.

As for the NT verses, the ones I am most familiar with are John 20:19, Acts 20:7, and 1 Cor 16:2. The first two depict believers meeting together on the "first day of the week," and the last singles out the "first day" for setting aside money. I do not see anything in these verses that changes God's commandment to observe the sabbath on the seventh day. (I may post a more thorough examination of these verses later.)

Does anyone have any other thoughts or arguments to present, either way?

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