It appears that “teaching Believers about their Jewish roots” has such high priority in the Messianic Jewish Movement. Could it be because they are very concerned about Replacement Theology, which is nothing but jealousy?[44]

[44] The two primary reasons that Messianic Judaism is concerned about Replacement Theology is simply that it is a heresy that has been used for 1,700 years to keep Jews out of fellowship with their Messiah, and all Believers in Yeshua are mandated to speak out against heresy. In order for Gentile Believers to properly understand why Replacement Theology is heresy, they must first correctly understand what the Bible teaches about the relationships between G-d, Israel, and the Gentiles. They must come to understand that the leaders of the Gentile “church” have been lying to them for the past 1,700 years. Just as Lucifer attempted to set himself above G-d’s throne, so Lucifer’s children have attempted to set themselves above G-d’s chosen people.

----- Begin Sidetrack -----

By the term “God’s chosen people” do not suppose that I mean to imply either ethnic Jews or the State of Israel. Rather, G-d’s chosen people are those physical descendants of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akov who have come to faith in Messiah in exactly the same way that Father Avraham did—“Avraham believed G-d, and it was credited to him as righteousness”—and those Gentiles who have been adopted into the family of Avraham through exactly the same kind of faith. These are the true Bride of Adonai. Lucifer’s children are those who claim to be “Christians” but who deny the children of Avraham their rightful place in G-d’s plan and who fit the following description:

… lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of G-d; holding a form of G-dliness, but having denied the power thereof. … always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. … corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. … their folly will be evident to all men, as theirs also came to be. (2 Tim. 3:1-9)

----- End Sidetrack -----

For those not familiar with the term “Replacement Theology,” it is the heretical teaching that G-d, Who cannot lie and Who never changes, has arbitrarily cancelled the “everlasting covenants” that He made with Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akov, and with “their descendants forever,” and has transferred those promises to the Gentile “church.” The “adopted” children of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akov have effectively stolen the birthright of the natural-born children, and have driven the natural-born children out of the Holy Community. It was the  Council of Nicea which stole Israel’s birthright from them and gave it instead to an apostate Gentile “church”—according to them, in 325 CE the “church replaced Israel in G-d’s plan”—but G-d had nothing to do with it!

Please read the complete article
“A Brief Review of Replacement Theology.”

Replacement theology is particularly detestable to Jews because it is the theology that many government and religious leaders have used for over 1,7000 years to excuse their attempts to exterminate the “Jewish vermin” from the earth. It is the excuse for every atrocity that has been committed against the Jewish people from the Inquisition to Hitler’s “final solution.” It says that G-d, Who hates divorce, has divorced His bride and married another. (Isa. 49:18; Isa. 61:10; Isa. 62:5; Ps. 60:5; Ps. 108:6; Ps. 127:2; the entire book of Hosea) [45]

Secure your position with Christ in holiness, and don’t worry about the rest. There are no “#1s” in True Christianity, and perhaps that is the problem with the Messianic Jewish Movement – they feel they know best because salvation began with them – “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” – the Jew first. Do they feel they know best since …

 1. they are Jewish

 2. Jesus was a Jew, born to a Jewish woman

 3. Jesus attended synagogue

 4. Jesus was a Rabbi

 5. Jesus taught the Torah/Law

 6. Jesus kept all the customs

 7. Jesus kept all the feast days

 8. the Bible was written by Jews

 9. the first Apostles were Jews

10. the first Believers were Jews

Yes, that is all true. But, the Messianic Jewish Movement does not have a mandate from G-d[46] to distinguish themselves from other Christians as Jewish Believers, while teaching them of their Jewish roots. MJM believe they do; but they don’t.

“Messianic Judaism is a religious movement with the belief ‘that God wants the Jewish people to remain a distinct and obedient nation until the end of time.’ Messianic Jews retain their Jewish symbolism, heritage, culture, and seasonal days of celebration and many details of religious observance” (“Messianic Judaism A Controversial Religion” at www.religioustolerance.org/ mess_jud.htm.)

The Messianic Jewish Movement sees themselves [sic] as separate from other Born Again Christians, and to be distinct they express their Jewishness in their congregations, and that’s not the Holy Spirit. [sic] They justify their Jewish distinction [sic] from the rest of Christianity by believing that Jesus did not come to destroy Jewishness. Well, He didn’t come to destroy their Jewishness anymore than He came to destroy my Blackness[47] or any other “ness.” But, Jewishness, Blackness, and any other “ness” goes on the back burner when it come to The Church – The Body of Christ – Born Again Believers. “Ness” has no place in The Church but the Holy Spirit does so that we are all “one.”

The Messianic Jewish Movement has even gone so far as to change the titles so that they will not be identified with non-Jewish Christians.

“A problem facing the Messianic leaders is that while the term pastor is an excellent job description, like the term church, it never gives the impression the title holder is Jewish” (Return Of The Remnant by Michael Schiffman. Lederer Messianic Publishers, Baltimore, MD, p 52, 1996.)

The crux of the matter with Messianic Judaism is their desire to impress others (Jews) that they are Jewish, Jewish, Jewish. MJM wants to impress upon other Christians that, “Hey, we were first, and we know best.” My dear people, being Jewish is not your salvation. Up front, this tragic way you’ve surrendered yourselves to is the root cause of you not seeing yourselves as “…Christians in Jewish clothing, but Jews worshipping their Messiah” (Ibid. p.50). MJMs, you are Hebrews – Hebrew Christians. This is what has brought you to put heritage (tradition) and culture (customs) before the New Covenant of Christ Jesus, that is, unless you have a different covenant that is not in The Bible, which has ended in your “spiritual arrogance.” [sic]

For the purposes of most (but certainly not all) of the scores of various forms the “Messianic Restoration Movement” (which I personally believe is a much more accurate term than “Messianic Jewish Movement”) takes, “Messianic Judaism” embraces any person, Jew or Gentile, who desires to recognize Yeshua ben Yosef (the “historical Jesus”) as Yeshua HaMashiach, Israel’s Redeemer/Messiah, who accepts the completed atoning work of Yeshua as his/her kiporah (atonement) and accepts the Lordship of Yeshua over his/her life, and who strives to live his/her life in obedience to all that Yeshua and His Shliachim (Apostles) taught and practiced. Since Yeshua and the Shliachim were Torah-observant and taught others to be, this of necessity includes adopting a Biblically (as opposed to Rabbinically) kosher lifestyle, which means obeying all the mitzvot (commandments) of Scripture (but not the Oral Tradition) as the proper guide to faith and practice (for sanctification, but not for salvation).

The goal of Messianic Restoration is not separatism, as Ms. Nero contends, but rather of “the restoration of all things spoken of by the prophets.”

The Bible teaches that Temple worship and at least some of the Levitical/sacrificial system will be restored under Mashiach’s rule in the Kingdom period. The Bible teaches that in those days, the Gentiles will grasp the tzitzit (fringes of the prayer shawl) of the Jews and say, “We would go up to the Temple to worship Mashiach with you.” The Bible teaches that the Kingdom of Israel will be restored as a political entity, that the national borders of Israel will reach from the Nile River to the Euphrates River, that Yeshua will physically rule from His throne in Jerusalem, and that a resurrected and glorified King David will rule as co-regent. In the Kingdom Age all who worship Yeshua will worship Him under a restored form of “Judaism.” The Messianic Restoration says, “Why wait till the Messianic Kingdom appears on earth? Let’s start now so we will be ready when He returns!”

[46]Ms. Nero claims that “the Messianic Jewish Movement does not have a mandate from G-d to distinguish themselves from other Christians as Jewish Believers, while teaching them of their Jewish roots.” If the Gentile church were living in obedience to the Scriptures, that might be true. But when “Gentile Christianity” teaches that “Judaism is dead” and that obedience to the Scriptures (that is exactly what the term “Torah-observance” means) is “passé” or “not for today,” the Scriptures do in fact provide a mandate from G-d for Yeshua’s covenant people:

Moshe went up to G-d, and the LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall tell the house of Ya'akov, and tell the children of Yisra'el: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of kohanim, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Yisra'el.” (Ex. 19:3-6) [The word “holy” means separated or set apart for a specific purpose. G-d’s holy community is therefore required by its very definition to be separated or set apart.]

Now therefore make confession to the LORD, the G-d of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women. (Ezr. 10:11)

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? … Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me,” says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6:14-18 NAS)

Yeshua said: “For most assuredly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least mitzvot, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt 5:18-19 HNV)

But the eleven talmidim went into the Galil, to the mountain where Yeshua had sent them. When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted. Yeshua came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore go, and make talmidim of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of Ruach HaKodesh, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amein. (Matt. 28:16-19 HNV)

Yeshua’s mandate to His people is to teach all men to observe all things that He commanded, and He commanded the whole Torah, ignoring “not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke.” If Yeshua lived and taught Torah observance and Synagogue worship, then whoever teaches that they are “passé” or no longer important “shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.” If the “Gentile church” refuses to practice and teach what Yeshua commanded, then the Messianic Restoration is required by G-d to “come out from their midst and be separate.”

[47] Here is exactly the crux of the entire matter. Ms. Nero correctly points out that Yeshua didn’t come to destroy either Jewishness or Blackness. But in order to be accepted as part of a Gentile Christian church, Mary is not required to give up her “Blackness.” Which is fortunate, because as far as I know, only Michael Jackson has been able to give up his blackness. [Lighten up! It's a joke, for crying out loud!] However, she would require all Jews to give up their Jewishness and become Gentiles in order to have fellowship with her warped version of the Body of Messiah.
 

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