Developing a
Systematic Messianic Theology
“The purpose of careful theological formulations is
not to put barriers in the way of people who are seeking salvation, but
to define clearly the truths upon which genuine [Biblical] faith rests,
so that people will not be misled by false doctrines.”[1]
Within the “Torah Observant Messianic Restoration
Movement” (for lack of better term, since those within the movement have
numerous names by which they refer to themselves), little attention has
been paid thus far to the development of a systematic theology. This is
due, I believe, not to a lack of desire but rather to issues of priority
and practicality.
The modern Messianic Movement marks its beginning at
approximately the same time as the Israeli Six-Day War in 1967. At the
very time that Jerusalem was being liberated from Gentile domination for
the first time since being overrun by the Romans in 70 CE, there arose
almost simultaneously three centers of Messianic Jewish awareness: one in
Florida; one in Ohio; one in the San Francisco Bay area. Since those early
years the movement has been essentially preoccupied with defining itself
and its relationship to both main-stream Judaism and Evangelical
Christianity, as it is actually the child of each, but is a theological
orphan accepted by neither. To mainstream Judaism, the Messianic Movement
is seen primarily as a new “sect” of Christianity whose goals are
to evangelize and proselytize unwary Jews to Christianity. To Evangelical
Christianity, the Messianic Movement is seen primarily as an
attempt to Judaize unwary Christians and place them back under the “yoke
of the Law.”
Neither of those opinions could be further from the
truth. Those within the Movement generally describe themselves as Jewish
and non-Jewish followers of the Jewish Messiah Yeshua who have united for
the common purpose of breaking down the barriers which have so long
divided the Body of Messiah. The Jewish members of the movement desire
only to retain their precious heritage and traditions while embracing
their Messiah; the non-Jewish members desire to claim their status as full
members of the Commonwealth of Israel and the family of Avraham, Yitzchak,
and Ya'akov into which they have been “grafted” and adopted by faith in
Israel’s Messiah.
The ominous
task of developing an “umbrella” Systematic Messianic Theology has
necessarily been postponed due to the pressing need for the Movement to
firmly and clearly identify and define itself, and to gain a measure of
acceptance from both the wider Jewish and Christian communities. The task
is also significantly hampered by numerous seemingly insurmountable
factors, not the least of which is the need to “blend” all that is true in
traditional Judaism with all that is true in evangelical Christianity,
while at the same time discarding all that is “chaff” within both
traditions. The fact that those in the Messianic Movement come from
virtually all of the Jewish traditions and Christian denominations makes
the task even more difficult, because of all of the “denominational
baggage” and “sacred cows” that come from each of these numerous
traditions. Jews can’t agree with other Jews about the major truths of
Judaism, and Christians can’t agree with other Christians about the major
truths of Christianity; how much more difficult it is to get Jews and
Christians to agree with each other about the major truths of the true
Biblical faith!
This fact is complicated ever further by the extreme
“fringe” elements of the Movement that claim that they are the only “true”
Messianic Judaism, but which are in actuality a whole new type of cult
that has arisen with the “Messianic Awakening” and which teach abhorrent
doctrines and outright heresies that have absolutely no basis in either
Jewish or Christian tradition or in Scripture. Among these new cults I
specifically identify the so-called “Two House/Two Stick Movement” (which
is nothing but a re-emergence and re-stating of the Anglo-Israel heresy
taught by the Armstrongs) and the so-called “Sacred Namers” (who
flagrantly violate Torah’s prohibition of misusing the Sacred Name and
claim that in order to be “saved” one must adopt their particular spelling
and pronunciation of the Names of HaShem and Yeshua HaMashiach). There are
certainly other fringe elements, but these are the two most prominent at
the time of this writing.
One of the
preliminary tasks in the development of a Messianic theology is to
identify the major divisions of that theology. In classical Protestant
Systematic Theology there are eleven major divisions of study which
include:
• Prolegomena:
overview, summary statements, and methodology employed
• Bibliology:
the theology of the Bible
• Theology
Proper: the theology of God
• Christology:
the theology of Christ
• Pneumatology:
the theology of the Holy Spirit
• Angelology:
the theology of angels and demons
•
Anthropology: the theology of mankind
• Hamartiology:
the theology of sin
• Soteriology:
the theology of salvation
•
Ecclesiology: the theology of the Church
• Eschatology: the theology of
Future Things
After trying for several years to develop a working
Messianic theology within the traditional framework in which I was
trained, I have finally discovered that it is quite impractical to do so,
for a very obvious reason that has only recently occurred to me. Christian
theology is based on a totally Western (“Greek”) way of looking at the
universe. In order to be true to its Biblical origin, a working Messianic
theology must be based on an Eastern (“Hebrew”) way of looking at
ha'olam (the approximate Hebrew equivalent of “universe”).
Additionally, one of the major tenets of classic Christian theology is
that “Israel” and “the Church” are two eternally separate entities. There
is therefore no suitable division of traditional Christian theology in
which to deal with the fact that “the called-out” holy community actually
consists of all — both “Jew” and “non-Jew” — who have ever come
into a covenant relationship with the Most High.
For want of a better place from which to start, I have
initially identified the following framework for the theology which I will
attempt to develop: (Some articles overlap into multiple categories.)
• Survey: what the Torah has to say about topics which cover
multiple categories.
• About Torah: what the entire Torah, including the Tanakh and the
Apostolic Writings, has to say about itself.
• About HaShem: what the Torah has to say about the Person and
Nature of the God of the Torah; specifically what it says about “Abba, the
Father.”
• About Messiah: what the Torah has to say about the Person and
Nature of “haBen, the Son of God.”
• About Ruach HaKodesh: what the Torah has to say about the Person
and Nature of the “Spirit of God.”
• About Spirit Beings: what the Torah has to say about angels,
demons, seraphim, cherubim, and other spirit beings other than HaShem.
• About Humanity: what the Torah has to say about the human race as
a whole.
• About Sin: what the Torah has to say about the source, nature,
and consequences of sin.
• About Salvation: what the Torah has to say about the remedy of
sin and the “calling“ of “the Elect.”
• About Holy Days: what the Torah has to say about HaShem’s
appointed times and seasons.
• About the Holy Community: what the Torah has to say about the
nature of the Holy Community and how to live within it.
• About Israel: what the Torah has to say about the Commonwealth of
Israel, its land, and its people.
• About Gentiles: what the Torah has to say about the non-Jewish
people of the world and their relationship to HaShem and the Commonwealth
of Israel.
• About the Future: what the Torah has to say about future events.
• About Other Matters: what the Torah has to say about issues that
do not fall neatly into any other category.
As of this writing, I have developed the following
articles in an attempt to develop a comprehensive and systematic Messianic
theology. I do not realistically expect this task to be completed by
either myself or anyone else before Messiah returns in glory.
Survey:
what the Torah has to say about topics which cover multiple categories.
1: First Things First
2: Principles of Bible Interpretation
3: Counterfeit Christianity and the Last Days
4: Getting Down to Basics
5. Honest to God
Believers' Baptism
Communion (The “Lord’s Supper”)
Cultic Changes
Dispensations
Doctrinal Statements
Essentials of True Biblical Faith
Rambam’s Thirteen Principles
Soul Sleep
Statement of Faith: B'nei HaMelech
Statement of Faith: CTOMC
Statement of Faith: MBI
Statement of Faith: Metroplex
Statement of Faith: MJAA
Statement of Faith: UMJA
Statement of Faith: UMJC
Systematic Theology
Thirteen Principles - Messianic
Vocabulary Matters
About Torah: what the entire Torah, including both the Tanakh and
the Apostolic Writings, has to say about itself.
2: Principles of Bible Interpretation
About Torah
Is Torah for Today?
Scholars Who Support a Hebrew Source
The 613 Mitzvot
The Jerusalem Council
Torah
Torah and Legalism
Why Should I Obey Torah?
About HaShem: what the Torah has to say about the Person and Nature
of the God of the Torah; specifically what it says about “Abba, the
Father.”
"Jehovah" Who?
5. Honest to God
About HaShem
Names of God
The Star of David
About Messiah: what the Torah has to say about the Person and
Nature of “haBen, the Son of G0d.”
About HaMashiach
Annotated Calendar
Ha Shem
Mashiach's Birthday
Only a Prophet?
UMJC: About Yeshua
About Ruach HaKodesh: what the Torah has to say about the Person
and Nature of the “Spirit of God.”
About Ruach HaKodesh
About Spirit Beings: what the Torah has to say about angels,
demons, seraphim, cherubim, and other spirit beings other than HaShem.
About Spirit Beings
About Humanity: what the
Torah has to say about the human race.
About Gentiles
About Gerut (Conversion)
About Humanity
Soul Sleep
About Sin: what the Torah has to say about the source, nature, and
consequences of sin.
About Sin
About Salvation: what the Torah has to say about the remedy of sin
and the “calling“ of “the Elect.”
About Salvation
Baptism and Betrothal
Believers' Baptism
Eternal Security
How to Have Eternal Life
Questions About Baptism
The Baptism Debate
About Holy Days: what the Torah has to say about HaShem's appointed
times and seasons.
About Holy Days
Annotated Calendar
Mashiach's Birthday
About the Holy Community: what the Torah has to say about the
nature of the Holy Community and how to live within it.
"Church"?
3: Counterfeit Christianity and the Last Days
About Gentiles
About Gerut (Conversion)
About the Holy Community
Baptism and Betrothal
Believers' Baptism
Followship In The Fellowship
Messianic Aliyah
Replacement Theology
The Jerusalem Council
The Model for the Messianic Community
The “Model” for the Messianic Community
Torah and Legalism
What it Means to be a Messianic Congregation
About Israel: what the Torah has to say about the Commonwealth of
Israel, its land, and its people.
About Israel
Messianic Aliyah
About Gentiles: what the Torah has to say about the non-Jewish
people of the world and their relationship to HaShem and the Commonwealth
of Israel.
About Gentiles
About Gerut (Conversion)
About the Future: what the Torah has to say about future events.
About the Future
Matthew 24:40-41
Sacrifices in the Third Temple
Soul Sleep
The Third Temple
The Twelfth Imam
About Other Matters: what the Torah has to say about issues that do
not fall neatly into any other category.
About Other Matters
Dispensations
Soul Sleep
The Star of David
_______________
1. Robert
M. Bowman, Jr. Why You Should Believe in the Trinity: An Answer to
Jehovah's Witnesses. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989, p. 18.
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