About the Author

Dr. Rickard Leavitt Sawyer (ywlnb yra, Ari benLevi) has been privileged to serve as Professor of Systematic Theology and Comparative Religion, Assistant Dean of Directed Individualized Studies, and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at Spring Valley Bible College and Seminary (Alameda, CA); as Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Golden State School of Theology (Oakland, CA); and as Administrator of Grace School of Theology and Ministry (Pleasant Hill, CA). He has also conducted numerous graduate and postgraduate courses and seminars in Bible doctrine, church administration, comparative religion, and the cults since 1983. He holds a Doctor of Theology degree in Comparative Religion, a Doctor of Ministry in Bible College Administration and Curriculum Development, a Master of Theology in Systematic Theology, and a Master of Business Administration in Church Administration (all summa cum laude).

Since 1967 he has served in numerous Church leadership positions including Pastor, Associate Pastor, Teaching Elder, Youth Minister, Director of Education, Church Chairman/Administrator, Deacon, Adult Education Chairman, and Christian Education Board Chairman, and presently serves as Pastor/Teacher of Family Bible Church and Etz Echad Ministries in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Dr. Sawyer has authored numerous briefs and papers on Christian theology, church administration, world religions, the cults, and the occult, as well as a church management handbook which has been used successfully by numerous churches as a guide to reorganization for increased effectiveness and efficiency of ministry. He has been an active Bible teacher in the local church for 40 years, and has offered church ministry consultation services since 1983. He has known the LORD Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior since 1953.

In 1999 the LORD laid it upon his heart to seek out his Jewish “roots,” as he is a physical descendant of Abraham, his ancestral name suggesting possible relationship to the tribe of Levi. In the course of that quest he “discovered” the so-called “Messianic Restoration,” a rapidly growing group of Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Yeshua HaMashiach who believe that the LORD’s Elect, the Miqra, whether Jew or Gentile, living before or after the Cross, are all one in the Body of Yeshua, and are the “true Israel.”

This position is in conflict with the traditional Gentile Christian teaching that “the Church” is distinct from Israel, and consists of all believers in Jesus Christ from the Day of Pentecost until the Rapture. This traditional position is the one that the author held and taught for over 40 years. However, as pointed out in the above study, the word “church” per se never actually appears in Scripture. The author now believes that the word is actually an unfortunate Gentile translation error that has caused much of the rift between Jews and Gentiles for the past 1,800 years.[1] (See also here.)

The overall goal of Messianic Restoration is to unite Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua HaMashiach into one Miqra, and to offer to all who so desire, both Jew and non-Jew, the opportunity to return to the style of worship practiced by the Nazarene sect of Judaism, as the followers of Yeshua were called until well into the second century of the Common Era. It is their belief that true “Christianity” is properly best understood as a “completed and correct” form of Judaism, and that true "Judaism" is that which recognized Melech Yeshua HaMashiach as Israel's Messiah. This makes perfect sense if one stops for just a moment to consider a few basic points:

• Yeshua ben Yosef, also known as haMashiach, the Messiah, (Jesus Christ) was a Torah-observant Jew. He taught that He had not come to destroy Torah (the Law), but that Torah might be fulfilled. He also taught that “not one yod or tittle” (the smallest letter or even the decorative flourishes on the letters) of the Torah would pass away.
  
• Until the end of the first century, the Nazarene sect (as the followers of Yeshua were originally called) was almost exclusively Jewish, and remained predominately Jewish until well into the second century. In fact, in the early years, prior to the Jerusalem Council, one was required to convert to Judaism before one could be accepted as a believer.
  
• During the Millennial Kingdom, Yeshua will rule the earth from His throne in Jerusalem. The Temple will be rebuilt and Temple worship will be restored. This would suggest that all worship in the Kingdom may well be patterned after Temple worship. If we intend to be a part of the Kingdom, does it not make sense to start practicing that form of worship that Yeshua followed 2,000 years ago, and which He will probably institute in the future Kingdom?
  
• It does not take much research to uncover a huge amount of paganism that has been incorporated into “the church” over the past two millennia. Once having become enlightened to those pagan practices, is it appropriate for a believer to continue to observe and participate in those practices? Or is it better to reject those pagan practices and return to following the Scriptures in preference to the traditions of men?
  
• Once we have discovered linguistic errors in the transmission of the Scriptures, does it make sense to cling to those errors? [Such as the use of terms like “Jesus” and “Jehovah” — both of which are grammatically impossible in the Hebrew language — or obvious translation errors like the words “church” and “Holy Ghost.”]
  
• When we learn that modern Christmas is nothing more than a sanitized version of the Roman festival Saturnalia in honor of their pagan G-d Saturn, and that Yeshua was probably born in the autumn during the Feast of Tabernacles, and almost certainly not on December 25, does it make sense to continue observing what has become the most pagan holiday of the entire year next to Halloween? Or when we have been taught that the modern celebration of Easter is taken directly from the Babylonian mystery religion and is in honor of the goddess Ishtar (Astarte), after whom the Roman Catholic Church patterned their worship of Mary as “Queen of Heaven” does it make sense to continue to observe that pagan festival instead of celebrating the Resurrection on the first day of the week following Passover?
  
• When we learn that there is no valid biblical precedent for setting aside the LORD’s Sabbath in favor of worshipping on Sunday, is there a valid reason for continuing to do so? Or should we be obedient to G-d’s commandment to “remember the Shabbat and keep it holy” — a commandment which has never been rescinded by Scripture. In fact, the practice of Sunday worship began with a decree from the Roman emperor that no work could be done on Sunday because it was to be a day of worship of the Roman sun G-d (hence the name Sun-day). To keep peace with the emperor, the Pope decreed that the day of worship for the church would be switched from Shabbat to Sunday. Catholic leaders still mock Protestants who worship on Sunday, because they are doing so out of their recognition of the Pope’s authority over them.

Dr. Sawyer’s response to these considerations (and numerous others) is that he has fully embraced his Jewish identity, adopted a Hebrew shem hakodesh (traditional “religious” name), is now in the process of studying for certification as a Messianic Minister, and intends to pursue those studies until he can eventually be ordained as a Messianic Rabbi.

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Notes: (Click on note number to return to the text.)

[1] It is impossible to determine whether the error was intentionally or unintentionally anti-Semitic, but more likely the work of HaSatan to divide the Miqra into “us” and “them” and thereby weaken the work of the LORD’s Elect.

http://familybible.org/Teaching/Theology/Baptism/author.htm
was last revised at 06:12 PM on Thursday, 11 September 2008

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PLEASE NOTE: Due to a significant lack of interest in the Messianic Message in our geographical area, Adat B'nei HaMelech has been forced (at least for the foreseeable future) to cease functioning as an active congregation. These adverse circumstances have forced me to take a full-time secular position which will require me to work evenings and weekends for the foreseeable future, precluding group Bible studies due to schedule conflicts. I will, however, continue to operate this website as an on-line ministry for as long as the LORD leads me to do so. As the LORD leads you, your continuing prayers and financial support to offset the on-going web-hosting and other operating costs will be sincerely appreciated. — Ari Site Design and Content Copyright ©1995-2008 Family Bible Ministries. All rights Reserved. All access to this Domain (including email) is subject to the Terms of Use • Copyrights and Permissions • Contact Us The pages on this website contain the name of G-d in various forms. If you print any of these pages, please be sure to handle them with the appropriate amount of reverence and respect. *Ari Levitt is the shem kodesh of Dr. Rickard (Ari) Levitt-Sawyer. Except where otherwise specifically indicated, the opinions expressed on this website are my own, are sometimes highly speculative in nature and subject to differing intrpretations, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of MJAA, IAMCS, MBI, UMJC, or any other  organization or individual. If you disagree with my opinions, please CLICK HERE before contacting me about it.
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