Chesed Lachem, v'Shalom me'Yerushali'im,
Please forgive me for the delay in releasing this portion of our course. There are so many other distractions, and fires to put out, before I am able to dedicate time to producing these lessons.
The situation in Israel is not altogether well, as any news channel will tell you. Consequently, the Messianic community here also suffers. As a result, the Nehemiah Fund, which I administrate, has received a significant increase in the number of requests for financial assistance, proportionately increasing my workload, together with a myriad of other administrative, family and community related responsibilities, leaving me less time to devote to this course than I had earlier envisioned.
But, be'Ezrat HaShem (with the help of HaShem) and with your patience and understanding we shall continue to learn, and explore the issues before us surrounding the "Deity" of Yeshua debate.
Yet, who knows, if this issue has been reawakened for such a time as this? So many are searching. So many are willing to ask questions that others have forbidden them to ask, until now.
The heat is on! For every message that I contemplate releasing, the enemy of truth within us is rising up to squelch it. They are trying to discourage us and to censor us, but I agree with the Prophet who says, "Samti fanai ka'Chalamish, va'Edah, ki lo Eyvosh! (I have set my face like flint, because I know that I will not be ashamed!)
Right here in the Land, amongst the Brethren, such a storm is brewing! And all because a few of us have decided that we can longer hide in the shadows of muted theology, and in closets of fear, for this compromises our boldness to proclaim the Truth of the Word of G-d through-out the Land.
As a direct result of the infamous article which appeared in Israel Today, last November, and as a result of my offering this course to challenge the notion that Yeshua is G-d, sanctions have already been leveled against me that have been premature at best.
Various leaders in the Land, unwilling to do things decently and in order as all of Scripture would require, and without so much as a telephone call or any opportunity to face my accusers or provide a defense BEFORE they dispatched their punitive measures, leaders of our locally administered Messianic Alliance have brought my faith into question and banned me from their eMail network lists, effectively cutting me off from a vital communications link with the rest of the Body.
Their message is clear. "You are not welcome, nor are you to be considered a Believer in Yeshua, if you don't agree with our particular Catholic views." Rather reminiscent of the days of the Inquisitions, no? The saddest part is that these brothers of mine are Jewish, just like me!
But that's not all! Oh no! The Trinitarian army has plans to march against Jerusalem once again, this coming June the 7th! A great assault is being planned, to squash any dissident voices from reaching the Body, in order to insure that the Gospel message to our People remains wholly "Christian," rather than Jewish, as its origins would demand.
I just received word of this assault, and I'll let you read the translation of their battle plans for yourself:
June 7 National Leaders Conference Topic:
The Deity of Yeshua our Messiah
In the wake of an article published in Nov., 2001 in the monthly magazine Israel Today, a mistaken and damaging impression has been created that the Body of the Messiah in Israel is divided on the question of the Deity of Yeshua our Messiah.
Since every so often dissident voices are heard on this subject and since the issue is at the foundation of our faith, it has been decided to devote the next conference to an overview of the subject and to leave with a declaration of our faith concerning this most important point.
The National Leadership has already determined its decisive stand on this essential issue more than 10 years ago. It was then that the Leadership accepted unanimously the Declaration of Faith which was formulated by a team representative of the wide spectrum of Messianic kehilot in the Land. This Declaration unreservedly recognized the special unity of G-d and the full Deity of the Messiah on the basis of Scripture (see actual Declaration below). In light of the above-mentioned phenomenon, we felt it appropriate to bring the Declaration of the Leadership drawn up then for ratification by the current Leadership, not only as a public proclamation but also as a signed declaration so that there be no doubt as to the content of the Messianic-Jewish faith.
Please pray for the anointing of the Spirit on the speakers and the participants at the conference so that it will produce the desired fruit. Likewise, make an effort to clear your calendar for this day because today more than ever, your participation is important to the building of the Body of Messiah in the Land.
--------------- THE DECLARATION ---------------
G-d: "The Lord our G-d, the Lord is One." The G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'acov is the only G-d and Creator. There is no other besides Him and all privileged attributes are His alone. His unique unity consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Each of them eternal and divine in fullness of Deity. The Son, our Messiah, who was born without sin by the Holy Spirit to the virgin Miriam, is ALSO human in the full sense of the term.
So, there you have it. Sign here below, and you are saved. If you don't sign, not only are you not one of "us," but you are also must likely NOT saved. At least those are the implications expressed in the writ above.
As a Jew, I could never put my hand to the sentence "His unique unity consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Each of them eternal and divine in fullness of Deity," because the Torah and the Prophets and even the New Testament never make such assumptions, as this course will later reveal.
Moreover, the appending of the words "ALSO human" was not by mistake. The Trinitarian must invent a Messiah who is somehow 100% G-d, and 100% man, never mind the incongruous, oxymoron he just created.
Politics, it seems, is always meddling in the affairs of the Church. That is not going to change anytime soon.
You can just hear all the clamor... "We can't have people abroad thinking that WE Believers in Israel are divided! G-d forbid! So... we'll just erase the division." Talk about sweeping dirt under the rug!
It is already a forgone conclusion that THIS issue is at the foundation of our faith, and that before the conference even begins, a declaration against all dissident voices must be broadcast. Ten years ago, the National Leadership, when they were still in diapers, already determined their decisive stand on this essential issue, so who are we to question it now? It must now be ratified and rubber-stamped by the current Leadership, "as is," to remove all doubt as to the criteria by which a true believer in defined.
Why? Because it is the majority opinion. The only trouble is that the Torah knows nothing about this majority opinion. Besides, since when did the Bible ever support the idea of majority rule, on anything theological matter.
Nevertheless, the "desired fruit" must be produced, and you can almost read between the lines "if we want to continue to enjoy financial support from Christians who are sending it to us."
Wouldn't it make more sense to discuss the subject with an open mind, and present fresh views of the passages in question, rather than declare the stance a "fait accompli" before it ever begins? What we have here is the Council of Nicaea II (or is it III, or IV?), only this time, the Messianics are in charge. Would it surprise you to know that each of the signed leaders on the National Leadership committee, save one, are either NOT Jewish at all, or are married to a non-Jewish spouses. One of the committee members is a Arab.
I am amazed to see how HaShem is working behind the scenes, as some men scramble to save their tortured theologies, actually trying to prevent the L-RD of Heaven and Earth from bringing the following prophecy to pass...
For out of Tzion will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalai'im (Yishaiyahu [Isaiah] 2:3)
And yet, here they are, gathering together with one voice, in order to break fellowship with fellow Jewish followers of Yeshua over this Roman shibboleth we call the Trinity, which is an issue the Church itself was never actually able to resolve, and yet despite this, for over a thousand years, they sent one another to hell, because they could not agree amongst themselves on the "Trinitarian" formula. Does that make any sense?
The question of the deity of Yeshua has always been a subject fraught with controversy. That is not going to change tomorrow. But discussion always paves a path to better understanding, unless you just happen to be in the mood to start bloody wars and conquer nations.
The reality is that most "Christians" today have been brainwashed into thinking that their faith stands or falls upon the "Deity of Yeshua" argument. He who challenges classical Christian theology in this regard is in for harsh criticism, at least and/or sanctions of one kind or another, particularly at the level of financial support.
Worse are the insinuations that G-d Himself will reject you for failing to recognize that He is in fact THREE and NOT ONE, through He states "ONE" plainly in Scripture over and over again. One woman, when she discovered recently that I didn't accept Yeshua as G-d, had this to say...
"If we don't believe the Messiah is whom He says He is, how can we hope to spend eternity with Him? We are warned that in the end times, people will be persuaded by many winds of doctrine... and Paul warned that we must never go back to the former way of thinking for we will be in danger of losing our salvation. Yeshua is The Way The Truth, and The Life, to say He is not G-d is to call G-d a liar."
This is the same person who sent me the MJAA "Why We Believe Jesus is G-d" lecture notes and tape, from which we'll embark to refute its conclusions beginning with the Lesson #2 of our series. She went on to say...
"You will see from the hundreds of Scriptures provided by these studies, it is very clear... Yeshua IS G-d. Please do not let anyone deceive you for it is a matter of truly knowing Him if we are to spend eternity with Him."
They all say that, don't they? On go the colored glasses, and poof... the Trinity appears.
" I am demonstrating from Scripture that Jesus IS G-d!"
How many times have you heard that in an argument? Any argument... "I am demonstrating from Scripture that..."
Don't people realize that you can prove anything you want from the Bible? Just name your agenda, and then go verse hunting. Its easy! Especially if you have a computerized Bible program.
We call it "Topical Bible Study." I wouldn't be surprised if John Calvin invented the technique.
You see, for every person who will come to me and say...
" I am demonstrating from Scripture that Jesus IS G-d!"
I can just as quickly retort with...
" I am demonstrating from Scripture that Jesus IS NOT G-d!"
But so what? We haven't accomplished anything.
What is the problem here? We are both using the Bible as an authority. My opponent can prove what it SAYS, and I can prove was it DOESN'T SAY. And yet, the Bible can't say both things at the same time (at least not in this particular argument).
"What I want the Bible to say, by goodness, I'm going to make it say it, even if it doesn't say it."
Of course, by doing this, wouldn't we be guilty of be "adding" or even "subtracting" from the text?
Darn right we would. We would be in violation, not only of the Torah, but of Torat HaShlichim [New Testament] as well.
In order to obey the mitzvot of ADONAI your G-d which I am giving you, do not add to what I am saying, and do not subtract from it. (D'varim [Deut.] 4:2 )
"I have used myself and Apollos as examples to teach you not to go beyond what the Tanakh says, proudly taking the side of one leader against another." (1 Cor 4:6)
I warn everyone hearing the words of the prophecy in this book that if anyone adds to them, G-d will add to him the plagues written in this book. And if anyone takes anything away from the words in the book of this prophecy, G-d will take away his share in the Tree of Life and the Holy City, as described in this book. (Rev 22:18-19)
Lets make up our minds to take a different approach in order to compensate for years of the pre-programmed thinking, which has been hammered into us since our first Sunday School lesson. Most cannot even imagine understanding G-d from the pages of the Torah, because no one ever taught them how. The good news is that it is never too late to start. All it takes is a conscious choice to "undo" our bias. We'll start by keeping the following points in mind...
Was that the original gospel? The Church must allow Messianic Jews to explain their faith in Yeshua on their own terms. This present conflict can be resolved if instead of treating the rejection of the Jesus = G-d formula as a life and death matter, they will attempt to understand where the Jew is coming from and what are the issues that trouble the Jewish people the most. By not attempting to mold Messianic Faith into the Christian image, they will demonstrate their unconditional love for the Jewish people. Only thus, will they be able to continue to help the Jewish soul to recognize his or her Messiah.
We, being members of the people G-d chose to be witnesses of His unity and sovereignty, being descendants of the Patriarchs, Prophets, Priests and Kings who were entrusted with the sacred revelation that was given in - and concerning - this very Land, are being torn asunder by doctrines that were formulated in Rome and in Constantinople by Gentile politicians attempting to fulfill their own lusts for power. Whatever grains of truth these doctrines might contain, they have nevertheless been used as rallying cries for the persecution and murder of Jews and others throughout history.
And what better place to start, of course, than the Torah.
Every year, right around the end of the month of Elul, just before Rosh HaShana, Jews in synagogues the world over are reading Parashat Nitzavim, a reading of the Torah which is found at D'varim [Deut.] 29:9-30:20. A major theme of this parasha involves Moshe's warning to the nation not to take upon themselves strange gods which were not introduced to them at Sinai.
On the last day of his life, Moshe gathers all the people in a final initiation. The covenant he presents includes not only those present, but even generations yet unborn. Moshe admonishes the people to be extremely vigilant against idol worship, because in spite of having seen the abominations of Egypt, there will always be the temptation to experiment with foreign philosophies as a pretext for mixing with other nations from which we were commanded to be separate.
Moshe describes the desolation of the Land of Israel which will result from failure to heed these mitzvot (commandments). Their descendants and foreigners alike will remark on the sure desolation of the Land and its inability to produce crops.
The conclusion will be apparent to all -- the Jewish People have forsaken HaShem and the ONENESS of His Name, by searching and then serving other gods who are not.
Moshe then reminds the people that doing the Torah is not a remote impossibility, as many think today, but rather its fulfillment is within the grasp of every Israelite. The Parsha concludes with a dramatic choice between life and death. Moshe exhorts the people to choose life.
The story is simple, and the idea is simple. Anyone can understand it. Don't look for other gods. Don't even sub-divide the G-d who has been revealed to you. Do not compromise His unity in any way, by adding to, or subtracting from who He is. If such a need arises to slice and dice up the G-d of Heaven and Earth, you had better make sure you only have ONE, when you are finished. Anything else is going to bring upon us a storm. which will almost be impossible to endure.
In the end, the only thing one can hope for, is that after the storm, and as we pick up the pieces, perhaps it will be possible to make clarifications of our ideas, and redo our thinking on this Doctrine of the Trinity and all that is derived from it, only this time without emotions, excommunications, sanctions and well, just plain tyranny amongst the Brethren.
Next up: Lesson 1: A Field Trip to Sinai. G-d reads us His Riot Act.
Shabbat Shalom
Uri Marcus
Jerusalem