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Anti-Semitism in the Church
A Required Response to the Charge
that Messianic Judaism is Apostasy
by Messianic Pastor
Ari Levitt*,
ThM, ThD, DMin, MBA, CNHP
Page 4
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Ms. Nero’s Article Continues |
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My Response |
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This is not to say that Jesus started a new religion because He didn’t.[21] There is a sharp difference between Judaism
and Christianity, but they do not overlap – Christianity transcends, it is
superior.[22] |
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[21] Ms. Nero fatally
contradicts herself on this point. Her entire argument up to here has been
that “Jesus” started a new religion that is superior to Judaism. She now
emphatically states that He did no such thing, which has been
the main thrust of my discussion so far. Thus informed, the reader should
probably, therefore, disregard everything in the left column above this line.
If it is true that: (a) Judaism is “old,” “what was,” or
“inferior”; that (b) Christianity is “new,” “what now is,” or “superior” to
Judaism; and that (c) “Jesus” is the founder of Christianity, then “Jesus”
must have started a “new” or “superior” religion, one which neither He
Himself nor any of His Shliachim [Apostles] followed, since, as we
have already pointed out above, Yeshua and all of His Shliachim lived as
Torah-observant Jews until the day they died. Let me emphasize this in the
strongest possible terms: for Yeshua, Sha'ul (Paul), Kefa (Peter), Yochanan
(John), and the other writers of the B'rit Chadasha to have lived one way
while teaching another way of life would have been the ultimate hypocrisy.
[22] There is absolutely no
difference whatever between true Biblical Judaism and true Biblical
“Christianity”—they are exactly the same, except the proper modern term for
“true Biblical Christianity” as practiced by those who wrote the B'rit
Chadasha is “Messianic Judaism.”
The “difference between Judaism and Christianity,”
to which Ms. Nero continues to erroneously refer, lies not between true
Biblical Judaism and true Biblical Christianity. As we have
repeatedly pointed out, they are exactly the same thing. The only differences
that exist are between (a) man-made Rabbinical Judaism, which accepts
the non-Biblical oral traditions as equal to, or even superior to, the Bible,
and (b) man-made apostate Christianity, which accepts the non-biblical
traditions of the Gentile “church” as equal to, or even superior to, the
Bible, and which denies its historical and theological connection to Israel. |
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God
changed[23] His way of having a loving and
saving relationship with mankind through what now is, thus making
Judaism outdated. The parable of the Householder who planted His vineyard was
also “the nail in the coffin” for Judaism. After G-d The Father, the vineyard
owner saw that Judaism wasn’t working and sent His prophets and His Son whom
they slew, then He decided to … |
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[23] The G-d of the Bible doesn't change.
Don't be deceived,
my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor
turning shadow. (Ya'akov 1:16-17)
“For I, the LORD,
don't change;…” (Mal. 3:6a)
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“…miserably destroy those wicked men,
and…let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the
fruits in their seasons….The kingdom of G-d shall be taken from you, and
given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew
21:33-43).[24]
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[24] When Yeshua spoke of “those
wicked men” in Matt. 21:41 (and elsewhere), He was not talking to faithful
Israel, but to the corrupt religious leaders in Jerusalem. Ms. Nero has taken
the parable she sites totally out of its Biblical context. When you take
Scripture out of context you can prove anything you want to prove. For
example, in two different places the Bible says, “There is no G-d.” Check it
out for yourself: Ps. 14:1; Ps. 53:1. Go ahead, I'll wait
here till you get back.
In Matt. 21:23, Yeshua is
speaking to “the chief kohanim [priests] and the elders of the people”
who were challenging His authority to teach and perform miracles. They said,
“By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?” The
context clearly demonstrates that they were more concerned about their
authority over the people than they were about serving their G-d.
Historically we know that the “chief priests” were members of
the sect of the Sadducees, who were most “liberal” in their theology, denying
the existence of angels or other spirit beings, and denying everything
supernatural. Since they denied the supernatural, then they could not
possibly have accepted a “supernatural” Tanakh (Bible) or a “supernatural”
G-d who gave it to men. They held office only as political appointments from
the Roman government, and derived their authority over the people not from
G-d, but from Rome.
It was to these unbelieving priests, not to G-d’s faithful
Israel, that Yeshua said:
“Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of G-d will be taken away from you
[unfaithful priesthood], and will be given to a nation [faithful Israel]
bringing forth its fruits.” (Matt. 21:43)
How can we be sure that Yeshua was speaking to the priests?
Let Scripture interpret Scripture:
"When the
chief kohanim [priests] and the Perushim [Pharisees, it was the
Pharisees who held the Oral Tradition as equal to the Scriptures] heard His
[Yeshua’s] parables, they perceived that He [Yeshua] spoke about them.
(Matt 21:45)
The same admonitions apply equally well to the corrupt
religious leaders of apostate Christianity today. The Kingdom of G-d will be
taken away from them and given to those who “bring forth fruits” of
righteousness. Since “fruits” are those outward signs that identify the
nature of the tree, then living in obedience to the teachings of a Holy G-d
are the “fruits” that identify a righteous member of G-d’s holy community. |
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That was the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, the death of about one
million Jews, and their dispersion. Judaism is passé, therefore there is no
“Completed Jew” in Christianity as the Messianic Jewish Movement proclaims.
[25] |
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[25] The destruction of the Temple in 70 CE
ended the authority of the Sadducees over the people and re-assigned the
“priesthood” to all Believers. It had absolutely nothing to do with G-d
rejecting His Chosen People. Ms. Nero also neglects the historical fact that
the destruction of Jerusalem resulted in multiple tens of thousands (Acts 21:20) of
Messianic Jews being dispersed throughout the world. It is through their
spreading of the Good News of Messiah that Ms. Nero was able to hear about
Him, even though she has so obviously rejected His true message.
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