DUAL EXPRESSION CHURCHES by Dan Juster

If you have ever wanted to understand how the Church and the Messianic Movement fit together to form the “one new man” of Ephesians 2:15, Dan Juster’s Dual Expression Churches provides a practical how-to get there.  This is the kind of church that I would personally love to see multiply across the nation.  The church that Juster is describing is what would answer the longing I have had in my own spirit for several years now.
This is not the classic approach that you are familiar with from Christian Zionist churches, but is more truly moving toward the ideal of "of twain one new man in Him." 

From my perspective, Dr. Juster is ever the bridge builder between Jew and Gentile in Messiah.   Read his bona fides as a theologian, author and founding leader of the Messianic movement and the Reconciliation movement in this Toward Jerusalem Council II Executive Bio.  

Since I first became aware of Juster’s ministry and work in 1992, I have found him to be one who has unfailingly pursued the unity of Body.  I have great admiration that he is always seeking resolution without dismissing the troubling issues that must be practically resolved for genuine unity.

I will only add that I consider Daniel Juster to be an apostolic level leader of the Body of Messiah in Israel. 

- Donna Diorio,
Arrows from Zion and Israelprayer.com

     * I have added the emphasis to the original text 

DUAL EXPRESSION CHURCHES
by Daniel Juster,
Director, Tikkun International

Background: The 1970s was the real launching of the Messianic Jewish movement in America. From America, this movement spread to the rest of the world.  The basic conviction of the movement was that Jews who come to faith in Yeshua are called to identify and live as Jews.  

Different theological underpinnings were given for this conviction and there were different out-workings.  Most did understand that Jewish life in the Messiah entailed embracing the Sabbath, the Feasts, Jewish liturgy, modern Messianic Jewish worship songs, Jewish dance and avoiding foods on the biblical list of forbidden foods. 

There was a great desire to see a people movement for Yeshua within the Jewish community.  Evangelism was thus a strong motivation, but so was the fact that Jews are called to be Jewish, the saved remnant of Israel. Distinct congregations were considered essential because Jewish life in Yeshua required social reinforcement. 

It is important to recognize that Messianic Jewish congregations were an expression of the need to fulfill the biblical mandate that Jews remain Jewish in the New Covenant. 

It was a practical response to the reality that churches generally did not understand or foster the Jewish life of their members; indeed, many were not in favor of Jewish life.  Jewish commitment to most churches would lead to assimilation and diminishing the numbers of the Jewish people.  The need for Jews to find inter-generational Jewish identity in Yeshua was clearly recognized.

It should be recognized that although the congregations of the first century in Eretz Israel were Jewish congregations, the congregations planted in the Diaspora were Jewish and Gentile together.  We read of no effort to plant separate congregations for Jews and Gentiles. 

However, because the congregations of the Diaspora looked to Jerusalem, and because many had a Jewish leadership contingent along with those Gentiles that had been part of synagogues (see the history in Acts), Jewish life would have been naturally maintained in a one new man context.  I Cor. 7 notes that distinct callings were recognized in these congregations. 

In the 1980s, the Messianic Jewish Congregational Movement in the Diaspora was  primarily a Jewish movement.  By the 1990s the Messianic Jewish Congregations were primarily Gentile in numbers.  This had both good and bad dimensions. 

Those Gentiles who have a life calling to the Jewish people, and who seek to serve the Jewish people and to win them to Yeshua are a great blessing.  They expand the witness potential of the movement. 

However, those Gentiles who are in the Messianic Congregations because they believe that the Messianic Jewish Congregation is the best and ideal form of a New Covenant Congregation do create many problems.  Many of these folks do not understand the heritage of Christian Church streams and tend to be negative to the expressions of life in the Church world. 

Without understanding, even the Protestant Church is sometimes accused of being pagan and of keeping the wrong dates for feasts, and the wrong day for gathering and rest (Sunday).  Of course, the right dating is a very dicey issue and some leading Jewish scholars today argue that the Church dating for Passover, First Fruits (resurrection) and Shavuot (Pentecost)is sometimes closer as the Temple calendar was solar reconciled annually.

Two other problems are notable.  Some Messianic Jewish congregations simply are not strong congregations.  Their constituents are not the kind that will attract Jews and Jews who visit and see mostly Gentiles “doing Jewish” may well be put off though some may find this interesting or attractive. 

The idea of being indigenous in missions is that the community has people that are like those we seek to attract.  For Jewish people, this often is not merely that they are looking for Jewish practice, but they are looking for Jews. They are also looking for people like them in professions and business.  We often forget this. 

This explains to some degree that tens of thousands of Jews are in churches, some say far more than this.  This is far more than in the Messianic Jewish congregations. 

Part of the reason is that they were brought to the Messiah by Christians in these churches who may not be clear about the calling to Jewish identity in the Bible.  However, another reason is that they find more of their own kind on other levels in successful churches, more business people, doctors, lawyers, and professors.  There are Messianic Congregations that are strong in this way as well, but they are the minority.

We do not want to lose these Jews in churches to the Jewish people.  We do not want to diminish the numbers of the Jewish people.  However, most of these Jews are not open to come out of their churches to Messianic Congregations.

Another question can also be posed, and that is what a Jew will see as more authentic.  Here is a thought experiment.  If a Jewish person comes to a Messianic Congregation and finds mostly Gentiles doing Jewish and a few Jews if that, will he gain a good first impression?  This impression may or may not be able to be overcome. 

Now I am not arguing against such congregations.  Where people are finding life and nurture, I support them.  However, now picture that he is brought to a church with many Jews and finds that the Jews of that church are encouraged to maintain their Jewish life.  Picture also that they have Jewish expression gatherings in the context of that church that celebrate the Feasts, that many keep the Sabbath, and that Jewish parents circumcise their sons to enter them into the Jewish covenant.  Imagine that he meets Gentiles and Jews who seem like normal together people.  The Jewish expressions may be in chavurah meetings (home groups) or in a weekly Jewish oriented service.  He may also be given discipleship material that explains that the congregation believes that their Jewish members are called to identify and live as Jews for the enrichment of the whole congregation. 

Which will be less of a hindrance to him?  I recognize that these are not the only two choices.  The third are strong Messianic Jewish congregations that make great impressions on Jewish visitors; some have a large proportion of Jews and some have a majority of quality gentiles who are wise in their comportment.

Of course, such a congregation where it is the conviction of the community that its Jewish members are called to be Jewish, can be a challenge to Jewish believers in the churches that are assimilating without real understanding or with a false theology.  If leaders of Churches came to this conviction, they could call their Jewish members to Jewish life and create structures and programs toward that end.

We have now identified some churches that are doing just this.  Most of the ones I know are led by Jewish pastors, but there is one I know led by the pastor of a very successful church mostly of Gentiles.  One has purchased an old and large synagogue, refurbished it and made it gorgeous.  They have a weekly Jewish service with a Messianic Jewish leader who is mostly committed to the Jewish ministry.

However, for a dual expression congregation to succeed over the long haul there are several principles and cautions that need to be given.  The key to it is the understanding and commitment of the dual expression pastor.

Key Principles in Dual Expression Churches

Dual expression churches may exist under one incorporation or ultimate organization and eldership or may carve out two leaderships that are integrated in defined ways.  They may be one leadership in one building, may have separate incorporations with some leaders serving both or the dual expression may take other forms. 

The key to dual expression is that the head leader is clear in conviction and has significant understanding of Jewish life and calling and deeply values Jewish expression while at the same time has a significant understanding and commitment to the value of historic Christian expressions.  Dual expression is just that; that one gathering is fully Christian with a Jewish roots understanding of the Bible, and the other is a fully Messianic Jewish expression.  The people who prefer one or the other are taught to value the other.

It is important in this regard that people learn to compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.  What I mean is that many Gentiles who think that the Messianic Jewish congregation is the ideal form of the Church think this because of an insufficient understanding, education or experience in the heritage of the Church.

Today many contemporary expressions of Christianity have no rooting.  The songs were recently written.  There are few verses and little depth of content.  They are cut off from the great content of historic Christianity.  Therefore when they compare Messianic Judaism and the contemporary Christianity they have known, Christianity comes out badly. 

In Messianic Judaism they find a continuity of rooting where they are saying prayers that were said anywhere from 3,500 years ago, or from the time of Yeshua, and that are many centuries old.  In the Feasts they find numerous traditions of depth that give guidance as to how to celebrate, though much Yeshua centered content needs to be added. 

Christianity also has depth of rooted expression that is from the Apostles, the Church Fathers and then throughout history.  Some Christians may have come from Catholic or Orthodox backgrounds and have judged these expressions as compromised with paganism. 

While some of these judgments may be a misunderstanding, they then reject these expressions and compare them to Messianic Judaism which looks pure and rightly rooted, with historic pagan Christianity (in their view) and shallow contemporary Christian expression and again choose Messianic Judaism as the ideal expression of the New Covenant. 

We should note that if Messianic Judaism embraced the whole of Orthodox Judaism there would also be much that is objectionable. 

The main issue is that the person who disdains the Christian heritage does not know the depth of the Protestant Christian heritage in its many varieties.  These factors are important in creating the kind of dual expression that is really more trustworthy.  It is an expression that honors both the Jewish and Christian heritage where it is coherent to the Bible.

The Enriching Christian Heritage

I want to take one example, and that is Christmas and the birth of Yeshua.  Those who want to bash Christianity seek to say that Christmas is a pagan holiday.  While I am not arguing for a Messianic Jewish emphasis on Christmas, I think it is important that we understand the richness of the meaning of this season for true Christians. 

The traditions of the four weeks of advent leading up to the nativity are alive with anticipation.  A new candle is lit every week.  There is great celebration that the incarnation has taken place.  The tradition of bringing festive joy through caroling in various neighborhoods, to nursing homes, to shut ins, and just in public places calls attention to the great act of God in Messiah Yeshua. 

In addition, the content of the carols for the most part is spiritual, deep, and true.  A world without this heritage would be less rich.  Some may argue that the date of the birth of Yeshua was not December 25, and that the date had pagan origins.  That is not the main point to me; but the point is what is celebrated.  What is celebrated is thoroughly biblical in meaning. 

Messianic Jews, despite seeking to bring Yeshua into the meaning of Sukkot and or Chanukah, have not developed near the depth and wonder that is part of the Christian celebration. 

Christmas has its Jewish roots in the biblical readings for the season, the very Semitic stories in Luke and Matthew that speak of a Jewish young virgin, betrothal, circumcision, the dedication of the first born (the pidyan ha ben), and the amazing accounts of the prophecies of Zechariah and Simeon.  The texts emphasize with clarity that the coming of Yeshua gives certain hope concerning the fulfillment of the destiny of the Jewish people. 

I might say that there is more emphasis on these Jewish texts in the Christian liturgical tradition than we yet find in the Messianic Jewish liturgical tradition.

My view is that dual expression will not work unless the leader of the dual expression congregation understands to some degree the great depth of the Christian heritage and the great depth of the Jewish heritage when brought to coherence with the New Covenant.

Much of the Christian heritage is Jewish rooted.  The issue is that those roots have been obscured or unrecognized.  Jewish rooted practices have been Christianized. 

I herein give some more examples of the richness of the Christian heritage with its Jewish rooting. 

Good Friday and Easter are good examples.  The tradition leading up to Good Friday is one of fasting and preparation.  During Holy week Christians who follow their heritage have gatherings that relive the experience of Yeshua and the disciples in the last week.  This emphasis of reliving and the use of imagination is very strong in the historic Christian heritage and is parallel to our reliving the Passover-Exodus events. 

The elements of the Passover celebration as it was in the first century is marked well in the Gospel accounts.  Yeshua is gathered with his disciples in a Passover meal in the Synoptics and the traditional elements are distributed.  He uses them as symbols for a new meaning, his body and blood that are given for us.  The celebration of the communion connected to Holy Week is very solemn.  Good Friday brings solemn readings from the accounts of his trial and crucifixion. 

Sadly, many contemporary Christians are cut off from this heritage.  However, we should note the obscuring which a dual expression congregation will remove. 

It will be clear that Yeshua celebrated a Passover meal remembering the Passover and Exodus from Egypt to introduce the theme of his Passover and Exodus.  Good Friday is the deepest time of self examination and the closest thing in the Christian tradition to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement in Judaism.

Resurrection day is the most joyful day on the calendar.  I would imagine that dual expression congregations would gather as one on this day.  Sun rise services recalling those who went to the tomb early in the morning, the proclamation that Messiah (Christ) is risen, and the singing of glorious hymns of His resurrection and our resurrection are the most joyful and uplifting in the whole year.  This is a Jewish Feast. 

By some calendar theories, according to Elat Mazir of Hebrew University, the day of resurrection on the Christian calendar is closer most years to the right day than the Rabbinic dating.  Yes, we would prefer it not be called Easter.  However, again the point is the meaning.  Again, the Jewish roots should be unveiled; that this is the Feast of First fruits and our resurrection is anticipated.

The Church also celebrates the Feast of Shavuot, or Pentecost.  The hymns, readings and messages on Pentecost Sunday emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit.  This is very Jewish in rooting, since the day recalls Acts 2 and the Jewish Feast taking place in Jerusalem.

Again the veil does need to be removed. 

It should be known, as many scholars teach, that the Jewish believers in Yeshua were meeting in the Temple, probably Solomon’s Portico, when the Spirit came upon them.  This is why so many could rush toward them and hear them speaking in tongues and then hear the Gospel message spoken by Peter.  The New Covenant Temple filled with the Spirit was given birth in the ancient Jewish Temple. 

Connecting to Jewish roots will adjust the way the Christian heritage is presented, but it will still be the Christian heritage.

There is so much more that we can note that has its origins in Judaism.  The symbols of the churches include an eternal light (ner tamid in Jewish Synagogues), and an altar reminiscent of the table of show bread since Yeshua is our sacrifice and on it are the elements of the bread and wine, the symbols of his sacrifice, the seven branched candelabra (menorah) and in some churches two pulpits, one for reading the Word (since the word itself stands above its exposition) and one for the sermon.  This is also parallel to synagogue use. 

In some churches there is a processional with a very large Bible parallel to the processional with the Torah.  The lectionary gives a set of set readings to cover much of the Bible during the year, and there are blessings before and after the readings!  This sounds very much like the Synagogue.  It is indeed from the Synagogue though the New Covenant Scriptures are central to the lectionary.

 

The architecture of most classical churches preserves the three fold division of the ancient Temple, the outer court=the narthex, the inner court= the sanctuary where the people sit, and the front stage area where the elements of the Lord’s supper are placed as a symbol of the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place.  The symbols of the architecture are to remind the gathering of believers that they are now the Temple when they meet and are in the sanctuary and they enter the Most Holy Place when they receive Communion. 

All of this is very Jewish in rooting.  However, because there are also sometimes big crosses, a Jewish visitor misses all the Jewish elements that are present in the Church, because they are Christianized. 

While the Christian heritage will not be the primary expression of Messianic Jews, it should be understood and appreciated and Christians need to understand their heritage from a Jewish contextual place and with gratitude.  Even the creeds of the Church are defended as basically Jewish in content and from Scripture in the argument of Oskar Skarsaune in In the Shadow of the Temple.  Creeds are declarations that release great power through faith proclamation.

I want to close this section with one more paragraph about the Communion Service. The astute observer will note that the Church rightly connected the Communion not only to Passover, but to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), but again this is obscured. 

The book of Hebrews gives an exposition of the meaning of Yeshua’s sacrifice and His High Priesthood in the light of Yom Kippur.  While in Judaism, the family table is like an altar, in the Christian tradition, the altar is the table where the elements are placed, connecting it to the symbol of the Most Holy Place and the meaning of Communion portrayed in Hebrews 8-10.  In the most ancient churches, the priest in symbolism, went behind a veil and came forth with the elements that would not be mere elements when we partake. 

I know that this is a more controversial ancient tradition, still maintained in the Eastern Orthodox Church in its many ethnic expressions, but rightly or wrongly, the ancient churches did use even more of the symbolism of the ancient Jewish Temple in the vestments and rituals, from incense to an even more distinct Temple architecture.

The Enriching Messianic Jewish Heritage

The Messianic Jewish heritage adheres more closely to the Jewish calendar and the most ancient expressions of Judaism and seeks to bring out the fullness of Yeshua in that ancient heritage.  While the Church emphasizes a weekly Sunday as the weekly day of resurrection celebration, a weekly first fruits celebration, the Messianic Jewish heritage emphasizes the Sabbath day as the day that symbolizes our entering into rest in him. 

All of the meaning of Yeshua’s teaching on the Sabbath: healing, his being Lord of the Sabbath, and more are central to the day.  In Judaism the Sabbath is a memorial of the Exodus, so for Messianic Jews the Sabbath is a symbol of his triumphant exodus from death to resurrection life.  As divinity, He has work to do on the Sabbath that is parallel to his Father who sustains the universe on the Sabbath.  Hebrews 4 is an important text.  In addition, the Sabbath is full of eschatological meaning since it points to the Age to Come, and Age of Rest from all sorrow and sin, the Age of the Spirit.

All of the Feasts take on the note of eschatological victory.  Messianic Jews celebrate Passover according to the Rabbinic calendar so as to be in sync with the usages of our people.  No one knows the exact dating for sure.  Passover celebrates the events in Egypt leading to the Exodus.  The family and congregational gatherings use the  Jewish liturgical book called the Hagaddah. 

In addition to the traditional material which is usually abbreviated in Messianic Jewish circles, there is a wealth of material added that brings out the full meaning of Yeshua as our Passover Lamb and the one who gave his blood for us.  Where the service is for believers in Yeshua, the broken bread after the dinner (afikomen) and the third cup of wine are taken after solemn reflection as the symbol of his body and blood given for us.

First Fruits on the Rabbinic Calendar is the day after Passover day, but this is probably mistaken and the celebration of his resurrection should be on the first day of the week during Passover week, the Feast of Unleavened bread. 

The Messianic Jewish community does not yet have a rich quality of celebration on a day given as Resurrection Day.  Many years the Christian date is the same as the probably Biblical day.  So a joint celebration with Jewish and Christian heritage elements could be very appropriate.

There are key liturgical texts for the weekly service.  Despite some arguing that Judaism does not have creeds, this is false and many Jewish scholars have said the same. 

The Sh’ma from Deut. 6:4 ff is the basic creed of Judaism.  It proclaims that God is One, our God alone and then notes that we are to teach loyalty to God to our children and constantly remind ourselves of this commitment by various memory means noted in the text.  Messianic Jews usually add a confession of Yeshua as LORD to the Sh’ma part of the service. 

There are numerous texts that have probable origin in the Messianic Jewish community that serve as creeds or confessions, the first verses of I Cor. 15, the most ancient written confession, Phil. 2:5 ff, Hebrews 1, and others.   Messianic Jews often add the commandment that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, this from the teaching of Yeshua on the two greatest commands in Mark 12. 

The Amidah, the prayer said standing is the other great confession of faith.  It was contemporary to Yeshua and included at that time 18 prayers but also spoken in the form of a confession of faith with certainty of the fulfillment of what is prayed.  I believe it functions as a confession of faith.  A 19^th prayer was added after the destruction of the Temple.

The weekly service in the Messianic Jewish congregations vary greatly.  Some use more liturgy and some emphasize mostly new Messianic Jewish praise and worship songs; others include generic contemporary Christian worship pieces but that are fitting to a Messianic Jewish context.  We do note that for many the Torah service with the songs and blessings before and after are a staple.  Readings from the prophets and the New Covenant Scriptures are important.  The Aaronic Benediction is almost universal. 

It should be noted that other benedictions from the New Covenant Scriptures which are used in the churches are also appropriate with the Aaronic.  Other important prayers and hymns, the Adon Olam, the Kaddish that parallels the Our Father prayer of Yeshua, are sometimes used in memorial for mourners.  The Alenu with the Hope of the world wide Kingdom of God to come, is also commonly used.  There are Messianic Jewish versions and additions to these worship pieces. 

Many Messianic Jews do wear fringes on a prayer shawl that remind of us of our covenant obedience and priesthood.  It is more common for women now to wear a prayer shawl with fringes.  As believing Gentiles are now part of the priesthood in Yeshua, communities vary as to whether Gentles wear prayer shawls or fringes in the Messianic Jewish worship service.

The other Feasts of the Jewish calendar are full of Messianic meaning and there is an ease of connection to the fullness that Yeshua brings.  Messianic Jews remember Israel and the harvest seasons as was originally part of the Feasts.  Shavuot or Pentecost emphasizes the giving of the Law and for Messianic Jews, the emphasis of the Spirit connects us to Romans 8:4 where it is taught that only by the Spirit do we fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law.

The Fall Feasts are of great importance.  The season begins with Yom Teruah, the Feast of the Blowing of the Shofar, on the first of the seventh month (Tishri) but also recognized as the first day of the first month of the ancient Near Eastern New Year, hence called Rosh Hoshana, celebrated as the anniversary of creation.  The Feast emphasizes God’s Kingship and the coming judgment. 

There is an emphasis on repentance as well.  The sacrifice of Isaac is especially noted and is proclaimed as a point of appeal for the forgiveness of sins.  There is a note on repentance and forgiveness for the whole 10 days from Rosh Hoshana to Yom Kippur.  The content on God’s mercy and grace as our only hope is outstanding.   This is seen especially in the most popular prayer-song during these days, the Avinu Malkeinu, our Father and our King. 

The ease of adding Yeshua centered content is quite amazing.  The sacrifice of Isaac leads to exposition on the sacrifice of Yeshua.  The blowing of the Shofar on Rosh Hoshana is a herald of the coming of Yeshua as described in I Thess. 4, and I Cor. 15 which become prominent texts.  More than any Church tradition, Rosh Hoshana is a Feast of the Second Coming.

The richness of Yom Kippur and all the symbolism of that day lead to a great emphasis on the sacrifice of Yeshua as our High Priest and sacrifice.  Hebrews 8-10 is connected to Leviticus 16 as the most prominent texts of the day.  Isaiah 53 is also quite universally used on this day in the Messianic community.

 The longest confession for sins in any liturgical tradition, the Al Het, (For the Sins) provides the very deepest level of self-searching.  However, it is important to note that the prayers of confession on Yom Kippur are prayers for corporate Israel not merely individual in purpose. 

The liturgy of the Feasts is parallel to the Sabbath and includes the Sh’ma and the Amidah and other elements that are found in the daily and Sabbath services.  Yom Kippur emphasizes the work of Yeshua and can be ended with Communion which in Israel is called the Siudat Yeshua, the supper of Yeshua.

The last major Feast is Sukkot, or Tabernacles.  This Feast is a remembrance of the time in Egypt when we dwelt in tents.  God provided all of our needs.  So we are to remember that our provision is in God and not what we have stored up.  In addition, we wave the species of the palm, willow and myrtle, and a fruit called an etrog to declare God’s Kingship over all the directions of space and time. 

Zechariah 14 says this Feast will include representatives of all the nations. 

The Sukkah we build is decorated and for a week, festive meals are taken in the Sukkah, as it is the largest and most joyous harvest festival.  Yeshua used the symbolism of Sukkot to declare that he was the water of life and the light of the World.  Because of the harvest theme, we think it points to a world wide harvest in the last days. 

As the Feast celebrated by all nations in the Age to Come, the Feast lends itself to a great celebration of Messianic Jews and Christians together.  Sukkot may have been the time of the birth of Yeshua, explaining why there was no room in the inns.  So it is appropriate to remember the Incarnation at this season. This is the biblical calendar.

There are also minor Feasts that also have importance in the Jewish heritage.  The Feast of Esther called Purim celebrating our deliverance during the Persian Empire is one.  Hanukah which celebrates the great victory of the Maccabees in the wars of 165 BC against the Syrian-Greek Empire is another.  The Temple was cleansed and rededicated.  Israel had almost 80 years of independence. 


Hanukah is connected to the passages in John 10 on the good shepherd, for false shepherds were seeking to raise a rebellion against Rome, and Yeshua indicated it would be a true disaster to do so.  These false shepherds, the zealots, sought to duplicate in their day the victories of the Maccabees.  There were other false shepherds among the religious leaders.  

Yeshua as the true High Priest and Good Shepherd is a good theme.  Hanukah was originally a belated celebration of Sukkot and like that Feast is 8 days in length.  Some connect this Feast to the Incarnation and bring the birth of Yeshua into their celebration. 

There are other days recognized in Messianic Jewish Congregations.  For example, the 9^th of Av when both Temples were destroyed is very significant in Jewish thought.  Many other tragedies in Jewish history took place on this date in the summer.  Congregations fast and pray for redemption for Israel on such days.  There is also Yom ha Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Israel Independence Day.

Communion in a Messianic Jewish Context

I have a conviction that Messianic Jewish expressions whether in dual expression churches or in Messianic Jewish congregations should have a strong emphasis on Communion or the Lord’s Supper. 

I Cor. 11 makes it quite clear that this was not only an annual celebration.  The text is in our earliest written New Testament book and reflects a very strong Jewish background.  There is great renewal power in receiving the elements of the Messiah’s Supper, including both spiritual and physical healing. 

In addition, showing the Lord’s death may well have a spiritual warfare aspect since his death disarmed the powers of darkness (Col. 2).  Participation in unity thus is a great protective covering for the community. 

In a Messianic Jewish celebration, the elements are always explained in their Passover context and Hebrew blessings precede the distribution of the elements.  Some pass the elements to those seated in the sanctuary, some have people come forward.  Some take it all at once and some take if one at a time from leaders in the front who distribute.  Some vary in their presentation.  The reading of I Cor. 11 with its explanation and warnings would be common to both Messianic Jewish and Christian practices. 

Communion can also be one of the joint times where people who favor one of the dual expressions come together in joint celebration.  This is highly recommended since the unity of the whole congregation can be celebrated and the Jewish dimensions added to the celebration are meaningful to all. 

Having led Communion in this way in many Christian contexts has always resulted in appreciation and I have never known any to be offended, but only enriched.  I recommend that the people in both expressions find a way to celebrate at least monthly, whether in the distinct expressions, together or in both ways.  The celebration really elevates Yeshua and his centrality.

Why Two Expressions? 

To give full expression to the depth of the heritage of Messianic Judaism and Christianity can only be done if there are two expressions and cross fertilization by some attendance between the expressions.  To try to have one expression will short change both traditions.  Two expressions also maximize outreach to different people.

Jewish and Gentile Distinctions in Practice

One of the harder issues to grasp is that Jews and Gentiles generally have distinct callings.  There is such a strong push to a unity that homogenizes. 

Yet Paul under divine inspiration calls the Jewish disciples of Yeshua the saved remnant (of Israel) which means they are still identifiably Jewish.  (Romans 11:5)  This saved remnant has a sanctifying effect on the rest of the nation (Romans 11: 16).  They are a foreshadowing of all Israel being saved, (Rom. 11:26) and affirm that the Jewish people have a distinct and continuing gift and calling that is irrevocable.  (Romans 11:29) 

Indeed in I Cor. 7 Paul says, “But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him so walk.  And so I ordain in all the churches.  Was anyone called while circumcised?  Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised?  Let him not be circumcised.”

A dual expression congregation does not waver about the fact that its Jewish members are called to identify and live as Jews.  For most Messianic Jews this is rooted in Torah and Jewish tradition so far as it coheres with the New Covenant order. 

Jewish parents will enter their children into God’s covenant with the Jewish people (Israel) by circumcising their boy babies on the 8^th day and dedicating their girls as well.  Gentiles will not practice covenant circumcision for their children.  Jewish members will observe the Sabbath.  Gentile members may do so, but are not responsible to do so. 

Jewish members are called to seek God about which worthy Jewish traditions are to be embraced that can enhance their Jewish walk in Yeshua.  Jewish members may be called to make Aliya (to go up) and gain citizenship to live in Israel. 

While Gentiles are free to participate in Jewish Feasts, Sabbath and more, and Jews can participate in the Christian celebrations.  In general, Jews will be responsible for Jewish life and tradition and Gentiles will not be so responsible.  There are some Gentiles who have a primary call to the Jewish people.  They will likely be more a part of the Jewish expression.  But most Gentiles do not have this as their primary call though all are called to care about the salvation of Israel and appreciate all that has come to them from the Jews.

An understanding of distinction in unity and unity with distinction has to be taught.  People need to be discipled into this in a deep way if the dual expression congregation is to succeed long term and not produce confusion and offense.  Some will think that distinction itself is pride.  All such ideas have to be overcome if there is to be success in the quest.  Distinction in unity is mutually enriching, just as in the case of male and female, and this is the model for understanding one new man.

The dual expression gives credibility to the Jewish witness.  This is because the larger congregation as a whole has ministry to the poor, widows, and homeless, students from the ghetto needing help, immigrants and so much more.  The good works in the larger society give a boost to the Messianic Jewish witness of the Jewish believers.

Discipleship

The Dual Expression Congregation is called to disciple all its members in the basic universals.  At the same time, it is called to disciple its members in distinctive callings and the meaning and rationale for having a dual expression congregation. 

Members need to embrace that distinct calling of life and identity of its Jewish members.  The book Growing to Maturity which I authored some 30 years ago and completely revised in 2011, is a very helpful guide covering the universal and Jewish calling as is the little book I wrote entitled The Irrevocable Calling.

Discipleship for the whole congregation needs to stress the issues of Jewish inter-generational continuity.  This is especially important in marriage where the Jewish person needs to prayerfully consider the importance of marrying another Jew or at least marrying one who will embrace the calling of Jewish life and raising Jewish children.  One cannot preclude the Spirit leading Jews and Gentiles to marry, but one can emphasize marrying within one’s calling.

Education for children so they grow up understanding Biblical faith along with distinctive callings is also important.  The curricula need to include quality material on this subject.

Dual Expression Meetings

Dual Expression congregations may give expression to this calling primarily through small groups that mostly meet in homes.  Messianic Jewish Home Groups can do much to celebrate the Feasts and the weekly Sabbath together.  Home Groups can be the foundation connection to discipleship, especially if there is open sharing and if there is real mentoring for new believers.  The worship can easily be connected to ancient prayer expressions as well as to modern styles of worship.  We call such groups chavurah groups, the Hebrew word for fellowship.

However, many will feel the need for something more.  Jewish tradition and Church tradition provide for the greater grandeur of a larger gathering for worship and exposition.  Though I think the home group is the most central meeting of the Body, the larger celebration is of great value as well. 

A weekly or monthly gathering for Jewish corporate worship and the same for Christian corporate worship can be a wonderful addition.  It is hard to maintain the Jewish distinctive if the primary larger gathering is only the Christian expression.

I would hope that dual expression congregations have a wonderful presence of God in both expressions, that the gifts of the Spirit are manifest as is fitting to the smaller home gatherings and the larger gatherings.  It is my hope that the dual expression congregations will have a great effect on Jewish evangelism, and will challenge many Jews in churches to return to their Jewish identity and life and to foster dual expressions where their pastors can truly study and with understanding embrace a the dual expression vision. 

If the pastor is lukewarm, but allows it, it will produce great tension over time.  It must be the conviction of the head pastor and the eldership.

Dual Expression Combined Meetings

Members of dual expression congregations will sometimes attend the meetings of the other expression and learn mutual appreciation while maintaining calling and preference.  

However, times of joint expression are also important.  We have mentioned communion as one thing that can be joined.  There can be periodically joint services that have both Christian heritage and Jewish heritage elements, but in such joint gatherings, the expression of both due to time constraints will be shortened.  Yet such joint meetings are important for unity. 

A joint celebration for Sukkot is especially worthwhile and may include other Messianic congregations and churches in the region as a foreshadowing of Zechariah 14 and the hope of all nations celebrating this Feast. 

There could be joint celebrations on the weekend of Passover week, perhaps with the both the Shabbat and Sunday service being joint.  Shavuot or Pentecost Sunday could also be a time for such a joint gathering and emphasis on the Spirit.  Shavuot Sabbath can emphasize the Jewish traditions to a greater extent.  Some may want to join with the Messianic Jewish expression for Shavuot Shabbat.

Symbolism in Dual Expression Congregations

Some Christian churches do not have a crucifix or emphasize the cross as a prominent symbol.  However, some classical Christian expressions, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist Episcopal, and many more emphasize the symbol of the cross.  Prominent and beautifully designed crosses are part of processionals or prominently displayed behind the platform.  Stained glass also displays such crosses. 

This symbolism creates difficulty if the Messianic Jewish expression uses the same sanctuary.  There are many solutions in situations where such overt Christian symbolism prevails.  Military chapels use a revolving stage setting.  The Christian stage is replaced by the Jewish stage setting.  The Chapel in Annapolis has Catholic, Protestant and Jewish settings!  Changing the setting is common in cases where Messianic Jewish congregations rent from churches.  This could also be the case with Dual Expression churches.  Messianic Jewish congregations sometimes rent the fellowship hall in churches and put up their own symbolism.  This can also be a solution in those Churches whose symbolism is too much for the Jewish visitors we seek to reach. 

Messianic Jews need to appreciate Christian symbolism for what it is and get past Jewish revulsion.  Never the less, the Messianic Jewish expression is to be a setting of familiarity and ease for Jewish visitors who do not know Yeshua.  Therefore, we need to see that one of these solutions is found.  It is the overwhelming experience of our history that the most overt Christian symbolism, sometimes in ornate crosses and stained glass are too foreign for Jewish visitors.

Resources

I am listing important resources that can be helpful.  Most are available from Messianic Jewish Resources and from Amazon.

Growing to Maturity by myself is a Messianic Jewish book of basic doctrine and discipleship.  It is highly recommended for membership classes and discipleship and worth reading for all members in a Dual Expression Congregation. 

I have also authored The Irrevocable  Calling which gives clear outlines of the meaning of the distinctive callings of Jew and Gentile in Yeshua. 

My book with Asher Intrater, Israel, the Church and the Last Days is important in showing God’s purposes in the last days with Israel and the Church. 

That They May be One, is an important primer in Church history that will greatly aid all in appreciating the good things in Church history, for we know far too much in Jewish history that is not good.

For a deeper theological understanding my Jewish Roots is very helpful.  It is a Biblical Theology survey. 

The most important book writing by a Christian supporting unity with distinction is R. Kendall Soulen’s The God of Israel and Christian Theology.

The Messianic Jewish Worship Book available from Tikkun International gives provides a Yeshua centered appropriation of the best in Jewish worship expression.  

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem?

Psalm 122:6 tells us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” – or does it?!  An Israeli ministry to widows and orphans shares that the more accurate translation is, “Ask how Jerusalem is doing.”  In this teaching article, we are challenged to inquire about how the people of Israel are doing, not just the political state.  “For their sake” – the house of the LORD in Israel – I will pray for your peace, Jerusalem.


This is a guest column by Orna Greenman of A Sign & A Wonder Ministry to orphans and widows in Israel. 

Throughout the ages, many Christians have been praying for peace in Jerusalem and for security within Israel’s borders, based mainly on Psalm 122:6. And yet, peace and security seem to be so far away.  Are we praying amiss?

A more accurate translation from the Hebrew is, "Ask how is Jerusalem doing."

Jeremiah uses the same phrase when he describes the fatal situation in Jerusalem, and then stops and cries out, "Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Who will mourn for you? Who will stop to ask how you are doing?" (Jer. 15:5).

This last phrase - "Who will ask how you are doing?" - is the same as the one in Ps. 122:6. But for some reason, in Psalms it is wrongly translated as a command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, rather than inquire about her situation.

The text does not command us to pray automatically for peace, it does tell us to get involved, to develop a relationship with the land and the people, so we know how they are really doing and why is there no peace.

Is it possible that those of us who have been praying for peace within Jerusalem may be working against God's will? I know this is a radical statement, but you see, peaceful borders are not the core issue with God. It has never been the core issue throughout the Bible. Wars and swords and exile - all those horrors that He inflicted upon us - have been His way to attract our attention, to turn us back to Him. Our borders were never in the hands of men, no matter how powerful the leader was. Borders are always in the Hands of God alone. He is the only one who determines and establishes them.

Whenever God warned us of war and lack of peace, it was not because we gave away land. It was for two main reasons: 1) idolatry - looking elsewhere for help other than to Him; 2) Injustice and oppression of those who live in the margins: the needy, the aliens, the orphans and the widows.

So you see that our prayer focus has been in the wrong place. We have been praying about the results and forgetting the cause. We are asking God to fix the judgment instead of praying that the reason for the judgment would be rectified.

From day one the Israelites failed to inherit the entire Land and to drive out the local inhabitants (Jud. 1:27-33). God did not punish them for that, but for the influence these inhabitants had on the nation, for the idol worship that was brought in (Jud. 2:2-3). Israel should focus on returning to her Husband and on her moral condition, if she wants to enjoy secure borders.

As I traveled the States during the summer, I was surprised to find out that the very people who dedicate time to pray for Israel, do not really know how she is doing. Most people were only interested to hear about foreign affairs and the upcoming UN resolution concerning the statehood of the Palestinian authority. They did not have a clue that multitudes of Israelis, hundreds of thousands, were spending the entire impossibly humid summer months in tents all across the country, pleading for social justice, being fed up from the impossible living cost in the land.

Most of the Christians I met also did not know that the former president of Israel, the number one citizen, Mr. Moshe Katsav, was about to go to jail for raping his secretaries. They never heard of other Knesset members who are already in jail for corruption or for sexual harassment. Almost all prayer warriors I had met were clueless about all these matters. And those who knew about it, considered it as marginal. They did not pay much attention nor invested prayer into it. They knew a lot about border issues, about the Iranian nuclear system and about military issues concerning the Middle East, but very little, if anything, about the two main reasons for which God judges His nation with restless borders.

If Israel will settle these two issues, peace will be the automatic result. When we pray that there will be peace, and ignore the reasons for lack of peace, we are somewhat resisting God's method of pulling Israel back to Him.

How than shall we pray for Israel, so that she will eventually be able to enjoy peace?

Our prayers must focus on the root issue, on the pain of the widow and the needy in society, who is weeping for someone to manage them, someone to lean on. We need to pray that the leadership of Israel will develop jealousy for righteousness, to a loathing of all forms of corruption, and for the ability to trust God to fulfill His promises concerning the borders.

The word “widow” in the Old Testament does not refer only to a woman without a husband. It means a woman, a city or a nation who is in ruin, who has no provider and no one to manage her life.  The OT refers to Israel as a widow (e.g. Lam. 1:1; Isa. 54:4) not because her Husband died, but because she does not consider Him as her provider.

How typical of God's system.  Just like His blood can cleanse (where any other blood only defiles), and His death can give us life, so also do the weakest and seemingly most unnecessary members of the Body are the ones we need the most (I Cor. 12: 22). We consider them as shameful members, but God sees them as vessels of great glory (v. 23).

The last verses of Ps. 122 speak about our brothers and companions, about the house of the Lord. "For their sake", the psalmist says, "I will pray for your peace". This brings up another important point to focus on in prayer, a focus that many Christians neglect.

Do you know how your Israeli brothers and sisters in the Lord are doing? Or how are the 150+ houses of the Lord across the land are managing? Are you aware of the persecution that goes on here, or our daily struggle to establish righteousness and to survive? Do your prayers focus on the wellbeing and needs of your family in the Lord in the land, or on mainly on our borders?

The former Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meier, once said that Israel is easy to love from afar, that is to say, uninvolved. To truly love Israel, like loving anyone, even a country, one must be familiar with her goings on and the issues she must deal with.

My prayer is that this update will encourage you to love truly, to become familiar with our real issues. I hope it will refocus your prayers for us, so that we will truly be able to enjoy peace and prosperity within our walls.

Teaching widows to establish the borders of the Land

In a couple of weeks our team will join hands with another ministry in the south of Israel, in an attempt to see how this fresh understanding of Scripture can be best applied.  We invited a group of widows and broken women to join us, and we plan to teach them how quickly God hears their cry and about the amazing effect their prayers can have, if they will learn to bless those in authority, versus constantly complaining about them.

We covet your prayers for that weekend (March 23-24). If you feel led to pray for us as we prepare and run this weekend, please email me back. 

Disconnections from Rightly Connecting

by Donna Diorio 

from whom the whole body, joined and knit together
by what every joint supplies,
according to the effective working
by which every part does its share,
causes growth of the body
for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:16

One of the greatest blessings of my connectedness with the Israeli Body of Messiah  is that many meanings in the Bible that I unconsciously skipped over because I didn't understand, or just adopted a misconstrued, non-Hebrew-thinker conclusion about, does not happen so readily anymore.

Now I listen to those who understand the Hebrew mindset behind the writings of the Bible.  The result is that the scripture has been broken open by my Hebrew-thinking friends like a loaf of bread shared among family members sitting around a table.  The fuller meaning and texture has been freely given and it is a great gift that I treasure from the Jewish Body of Messiah.

I believe, this is why the New Testament book of Hebrews tell us we are not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves together."  All of us have something to contribute to the betterment of the rest.  Every part of the Body of Christ contributes to the whole well-being of the Body - including the vital Jewish part.

My mother used to warn against not 'cutting off your nose to spite your face.'  This is how much of the Church has been in refusing what the Jewish believers in Jesus have to bring to the table as we break bread and share the Word of the LORD.

I don't understand why anyone would be content to run with an assumed meaning instead of being teachable and open to learn what God has given Jewish believers to bless the rest of the Body. Christians encourage each other all the time that God has given each of us a unique gift with which to bless the rest of the Body. Rightly so. Then how is it that so many willingly dismiss one of the greatest gifts the Jewish believers have to share with us? 

Accurate context is not just another among many potential considerations, it established the primary intent of the writer. How can we ignore the writer's intent and content ourselves with our own conceptions?  Our assumed applications might have a valid secondary meaning, but why would we willingly ignore the main purpose for a Spirit-inspired statement in the Word of God?

With the exception of Luke, the whole rest of the Bible was written by Jews steeped in Hebrew thinking and using Hebrew idioms that were not known or understood by non-Jewish translators or theologians. Why would we purposely refuse knowledge of context, meaning and intent?  Pride, maybe?  Not wanting to admit that we don't have it all already?


Almost the whole New Testament was written by the apostle Paul who was not one of the untrained apostles. He was not a fisherman but was a religious scholar, highly trained in the scripture. 

This should give us a clue that Paul was able to connect-the-dots of the deep mysteries of God the Holy Spirit gave him because he was trained in a foundational knowledge of God's Word.  The Holy Spirit can reveal mysteries to us, but even prophets understand that the fullness of God's mysteries require familiarity with scriptural facts.

The foundations of God are laid in the Hebrew Old Testament. This foundation is what the apostle Paul used to connected the dots from the revelations that he received from the Holy Spirit.  Paul understood the prophetic revelation like Daniel before him: "I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet."  

The apostle Peter drew attention to Paul's wisdom that came from training in the scripture combined with revelation, in  2 Peter 3:15-16 saying Paul's wisdom excelled in "things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures."  Untaught people and unstable people.  Not untaught, unstable people - but two categories.  The untaught refers to those who were untaught in the Old Testament scriptures.

Even Peter was teachable when it came to receiving understanding from Paul. Peter who had walked side-by-side with Jesus, understood that Paul's foundation in understanding the Bible is what opened up the mysteries of the kingdom to him, when combined with what the Holy Spirit revealed to Paul.  Peter and the other common folk Yeshua chose as disciples and raised up as apostles could astound the Pharisees with their command of the kingdom of God, yet it was the apostle Paul, religiously-trained in the scripture who excelled above even the apostles in expounding the deepest mysteries of the kingdom of God.  Selah.


I have never undertood Christians who dismissed the whole of the Old Testament as something that was not necessary to their understanding of their faith.  Crazy. It is the foundation of their faith!  In Ephesians 2, Paul says that Jews and Gentiles in Messiah are being built as a Holy Temple together in Him "on the foundation of the apostles and prophets."  We can't build on anything but the foundation for a lasting structure.

As someone who has spent the last couple of decades diving into trying to understand what's what and who's who among the Jews, I can tell you that as a Christian, if you refuse what the Jewish believers have to add to your comprehension of the whole Word of God, then you are seriously out of the loop of understanding what God is doing and where all this is heading.

That "forsake not" verse I referred to earlier is not just about going to church - it is about all of the parts being rightly connected with the other parts of the Body of Christ. Selah

Excuses for remaining disconnected

And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
1Cr 12:21

Some Christians have told me that they refused to get involved with Messianic believers because they have seen people fall off the deep end into legalism, and what I have to say to that is, BALONEY.

All we have to do is hold EVERYTHING up to the Word of God and use our God-given gift of discernment. Don’t cut off the gifts that God has given through the Jewish parts of the Body to share with the Church just because someone else was led astray.  There are false prophets and false shepherds everywhere - including in the 'cutting edge' prophetic circles that reject the Messianic movement as a valid expression of faith (and especially in those that reject that Israel has any ongoing significance in the purposes and plan of God!)  


One Christian marketplace minister told me that he watched what happened to Reggie White when White got led into a Torah-focus that began to ruin him, so the marketplace minister let that incident and example become a blanket condemnation of the whole of the Messianic movement.  That is just wrong and more reflective of prejudice than of 'Berean' vigilance.


Recently I found out that the Messianic Jew that led Reggie White down the wrong path was rabbi Ralph Messer - the guy who caused such an uproar among Jews (saved AND unsaved) in the past few weeks by wrapping a Torah around Eddie Long.  He had previously done the same with Paula White.

Do you see a pattern here? If we are spiritually unguarded - and perhaps full of secret sins - then we don't have protection in detecting the false prophets or false shepherds that are everywhere. 

There are those in the Messianic movement that I would not follow and do not endorse, but the vast majority of those that I do know are a wonderful blessing to me.  The Messianic Jews I'm most familiar with are in the Israeli Messianic community because that is where my exclusive focus has been in the past decade.  Whether charismatic or not, I find the majority of them to be Biblically stable and spiritually sound in faith. The bread they break each week in their prayer letters and teachings are heaping blessing upon blessing of understanding the Word to me.

This is an aside, but personally I look to the Israeli Messianic Jews as those who have been freed from many of the Jewish-identity issues that plague Messianic Jews in the Diaspora because of the rejection from the Jewish community.  There is such an alienation from family, friends and community that happens to many Jews who come to faith in Yeshua/Jesus, that it would be good if the Church demonstrated more empathy.   However, when a Messianic is a citizen residing in the Jewish state the need to prove they are 'still Jewish' is not as great a personal issue. A Messianic Jew in the Jewish state of Israel is confirmed in the continuing identity that they are still very much "real Jews."

Some Christians say that the problem with Messianic Judiasm is that they preach Israel, not Jesus. I think I know what they mean about this and among some ministers, that may be so. however it is hard to ignore GOD'S focus today because His purposes organically include Israel.

It is impossible for Messianic Jewish ministers NOT to break open the Word of God concerning Israel precisely because the Jewish State is key to God's plan and that has put it in an existential fight for life seemingly against the whole world. Those who do not grasp GOD'S plan and purposes for Israel would tend to downgrade the need to teach out of the WORD OF GOD regarding ISRAEL. That's another "selah" point.

While it is true that the enemy cannot completely destroy Israel because God has purpose for Israel in these last days, it is also true that without the Body of Christ standing up WITH Israel that the enemy WILL be able to cut off many Jews from the land of the living before they can receive Messiah into their lives.  We must stand with Israel to limit the death toll that the demonic opposition CAN achieve.  The enemy may not achieve wiping Israel off the map, but demonic-inspired opposition can kill many Jews before they come to the knowledge of their own Messiah.

This precedent in the Bible is easy to see:  We need only to look at all the Jewish babies who were killed in Moses’ and Herod's times as the devil sought to thwart the plan of God.

Or the contemporary examples of Haman:  Hitler and any of the other forerunners of those antichrist spirits that are all-out opposing the LORD's purposes toward His "Chosen People".   Iran now stands in that leading role.

Don't get in a huff, Christian, over the Jews being known as "the chosen" by God because it has put a target on their backs that demons seeks out.  Israel was singled out to be a blessing not only in providing the bloodline for the birth of Jesus, but also to be the key to the great last harvest of international souls. Like any individual who has been singled out by God to fulfill something for the kingdom of the LORD, the JEWS have paid a steep price for being "the Chosen People" of God.

One can see this clearly in the prophetic word of the LORD to Zechariah, (v.2) “The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers….(v.15) But I am very angry with the other nations that are now enjoying peace and security. I was only a little angry with My people, but the nations inflicted harm on them far beyond my intentions.


Zechariah's prophecy that has proven historically true and Isaiah 61:7 records the promise of God to Israel that is to come as a result:  "Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs."  

As a Christian, if you don’t know the history of the persecution Jews have endured all over the world, you should since a great deal of it has been at Christian hands.  A great book to bring you up to speed is Dr. Michael Brown’s classic, Our Hands Are Stained with Blood. 

Here is the caveat:

Many Christians who learn our shameful history of how Christians have dealt with the Jews over the past 2,000 years make the mistake of camping out in that place forever.   

That‘s what we do, isn’t it? We camp out in the place of the last downloaded understanding of God and fail to move on.  We have to repent of our shameful history and then move on to a productive connection with the Messianic parts of the Body. 


The Messianic community should not stop teaching about Israel, and it cannot stop enlightening Christians who are NEW to the discovery of Jews who believe in Jesus of the shameful history of Christian persecution of Jews.  What we cannot allow is indulging the so-called “Messianic Christians” to set up a permanent camp at being incensed over Christianity’s shameful past with the Jews.  


No! It is wrong to allow Christians joined to the Messianic movement to stay in that mode of righteous indignation over the shameful past because it turns into SELF-righteous indignation which destroys anything we have gained in learning the truth!  


This shared bitterness devoid of grace becomes a quicksand graveyard for many Christians to moving forward into more meaningful connection with the JEWISH MEMBERS of the BODY of MESSIAH. 


God wants to establish the coming together of the whole Body in a connectedness that works together from the instruction of its Head.  From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  Eph 4:16

What happens when the Christians who are stirred by God to care for the Jewish people or to join themselves to the Messianic community stay in a graceless bitterness over the past is that God’s purposes are thwarted. If we, as Christians associated with the Messianic movement, remain in the place of anger and unforgiveness, it will divert us from the purposes of God to connect with the other parts of the BODY of the LORD together under one Head - that is Yeshua/Jesus.   

Just moving into a connectedness with unsaved Israel is a booby-trap for Christians that will imprison us.   

When we have been hurt, human nature is such that we like it when others join into our offense.  It makes us feel vindicated.  To live in the kingdom of God, we have to put a halt to living in the place of offense.  We cannot allow ourselves to live there and cannot invite our spiritual relatives to move in to that place of bitterness where we continue to live in it vicariously through them.


If the Messianic leadership allows the Christians among them to remain in the place of bitter, unforgivness over Christian history with the Jewish people, instead of urging them to move on into a more productive relationship and connection with God’s purposes in raising up the believing Remnant in Israel, then we will continue to see the great numbers of Messianic Jews and Christians default from the faith, opting into traditional Judaism that excludes Jesus.  This is the high price we pay for not keeping the Messianic House in order. Selah.

And lastly, as much as it is a disconnect for the Church to ignore the Divine significance on the worldwide explosion of salvation among the Jews and of their existence as a impacting Remnant in Israel, IT IS ALSO A DISCONNECT for the Church to bypass the Body of Messiah in Israel in order to CONNECT with unsaved Israel.  Christian Zionists need to take this word to heart more urgently than ever before. 

There are many ways to leave the path of God’s purposes.  Those I’ve addressed here are a few that I see working in the Church and in the Messianic movement.  Both sides can be guilty of slowing down the LORD’s purposes to make “in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace.”

Between the Rock and hard place

by Donna Diorio

I just read an Op-Ed on one of the most popular Israeli newspapers. Online it is Ynet. The article is Israel and the Christians and it discusses why the ultra-Orthodox Haredim are wrong to oppose all Christian help for Israel saying,

"...devout Protestants were advocating the restoration of a Jewish State with Jerusalem as its capital long before Theodor Herzl." And, "...to label all pro-Israel Christians as “missionaries”, as haredi group Yad L’Achim is saying, is not accurate."

But here is where this 'liberal' Jewish attitude puts pro-Israel Christians between the Rock and the hard place:

"Certainly, some US Evangelicals would like to convert Jews, and Israel must fight them. However, the vast majority simply wants to bless Israel because that is what they believe is the right thing to do."

The Jewish writer goes on to conclude:

"Israel’s leaders urgently need to set up a moral platform rejecting the “Judeo-Christian” blend, which theologically fuses Jews and Christians together without protecting the Jewish faith and maintaining Israel as an independent single-faith Jewish community. But the Bible teaches also that if there is the “gentile” who is jealous and aggressive (Amalek), there is also a “Righteous gentile” who is admiring and willing to help (Jethro.)"

So what is the dilemma for Christians who love Israel? You are being asked to reject "Jewish Christians" or Messianic Jews to retain good standing with Israel.

This writer and many of the Jewish organizations that work with Israel-supporting Christians say they will not work with anyone who supports evangelism among Jews.

I personally believe that it is not the biggest issue at stake for Israel-supporting Christians to say they will not attempt to evangelize Jews in Israel because Israeli Jewish believers are the best witness of Messiah Yeshua anyway, not Christians.  It is illegal for non-Jewish Christians to act as missionaries in Israel, but Jewish believer-Israeli citizens are free to share their faith.

What is the important issue at stake is the willingness of pro-Israel Christians to deny relationship with the Jewish believers in Jesus in order to maintain their relationships with Israeli organizations. That decision puts such Christians at odds with the Head of the Body of Messiah in Israel, who is, of course, Jesus.

Do you understand that it is a popular teaching that the Messianc Jews of Israel and the Christians who support them are enemies of Jews? They are called "Amalek," a hated enemy of Israel. Exodus 17:16 notes that, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."  Additionally, it was King Saul’s failure to “utterly destroy” Amalek that triggered God to tear the kingdom out of Saul’s hand and to anoint David for kingship.

For Jews of our day to equate Messianic Jewish believers and the Christians who support them as “Amalek” is an extremely serious sign of the depth of anti-christ (anti-messiah) spirit at work.  The apostle Paul was not just using hyperbole when he said that those who think in this way are “enemies of the gospel.”

In contrast, Christians who are willing to "bless Israel" without understanding that salvation is the ultimate blessing for ALL, including Jews, these are called "righteous Jews" by unsaved Jews.

The Rock and the hard place decision here is summed up in this: "For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." John 12:43

Too many Christians tell themselves that their good works are making Israel jealous of the Christian faith, but isn't that just wishful thinking?  I've seen enough comments of the anti-missionary activists in Israel to know that what really makes them jealous is any type of Christian support of the Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua in Israel, and any kind of favor among men that God grants them whether in the courts, on the job, among their neighbors, in the military, in the media and in the public opinion.  These are the ONLY places I have witnessed "jealousy" of the faith emerging in unsaved Jews.

I relate to the desire of non-Jewish Christians to be a part of blessing Israel as the scriptures mandate.  Finding the narrow path that truly does bless Israel is where we end up between the Rock and the hard place.

The apostle Paul staked out the narrow way that we must walk between the Rock and hard place with the Jewish people:  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. Romans 11:28

We have to comprehend the election of God is still in force upon the Jewish people – and many will ultimately respond by receiving the gift of salvation in Yeshua.  At the same time it is a NECESSITY to grasp that this people we love in conscience toward God – namely Israel – are also enemies of the gospel.  

If the narrow path between the Rock and the hard place was easy to find everyone would be walking it.

A Worthy Word from Israeli Messianic Jew, Arni Klien

This word was sent out in the prayer letter of Arni and Yonit Klien, who have a prayer and worship ministry in the Judean Hills, called Emmaus Way. There are so many many good words in this writing that I asked permission to share it more publicly than just to my subscribers. Be blessed as you read.



Three lies were planted in the Garden of Eden.
They sit at the root of every spiritual struggle of faith we face in life.

by Arni Klein
July 2011
Israel

Receiving Our Gift

From time to time we read about breakthrough discoveries in science or technology that end up making a real difference in people’s lives. Sometimes researchers work for years and years in search of such keys. Other times we seem to just stumble onto great things…by the providence and promise of God. Israel continues to be a light and a blessing to the nations in so many ways.

You would think that with all the contributions and discoveries made by Jews that have dramatically affected the quality of life of so many, the people of the nations would be grateful, and we (Jews) would have a deep sense of accomplishment. Well, at the moment this is not our present reality.

While thinking about this, it occurred to me that many of us don’t recognize the gift we have to give, or perhaps to say, the gift we have been made to be. The system of this world conditions us to think so competitively and comparatively that unless we are the greatest something or other, we often tend to think we have nothing to offer.

This thought come out of a personal moment I find myself in concerning the seminars I have been presenting over the past year in Germany. I am amazed and blessed by how deeply people are being touched by the Lord.

As some of you know, I have been working on these teachings and sharing them in bits and pieces for a long time – about twenty-five years. In one part of me I am convinced that the insights that make up these messages are from God. But another part of me has had a struggle to accept having something that is not common to all and is really a blessing to others.

Can you relate to this? Having the feeling I am not alone in this, I felt to share this bit of my process.

A Piece of the Puzzle

On my last trip (to Germany), a new piece of the puzzle concerning the teaching came into view.

Three lies were planted in the Garden of Eden. They sit at the root of every spiritual struggle of faith we face in life.

In speaking out against God so openly and freely, the serpent insidiously came against God’s omnipotence. (Let us not forget that the serpent was more subtle or cunning than any beast of the field). By the fact that God did nothing to stop the serpent from implying such a negative thing about Him, Adam and Eve were subtly given the sense that God is not over the serpent and therefore not all-powerful.

Next came the not-so-subtle implication about God’s word. The serpent said, “He said you would die, but you won’t.” In other words He is not to be believed.

Lastly, in that He won’t let you eat from that one special tree, He is withholding from you the best part.

The three lies are: God is not all-powerful, He is a liar, and He doesn’t love or really care about you.

Here comes the new part: Each module of the seminar rests on the revelation Name God gave along with each of the three covenants He made with Israel. These names, and the characteristic demonstrated through each, are His answer to satan’s three attacks against His character and nature.

• El Shaddai is almighty, all-powerful, all Abraham would ever need.
• Moses received the Torah from Yahweh – I Am That I Am – the unchanging One Whose word never fails.
• The new covenant reveals Yeshua, the savior, who held nothing back, proved God’s love, in Whom we have the Kingdom.

When we come to know God in each of these three dimensions, there is nothing satan can do to shake us from our foundation. The seminars are designed to help us see - in the light of God’s ways - where He is and where we are, so that we can become all He has called us to be, unto the revelation of His glory in Israel and the nations.

I don’t know if this adequately conveys to you our amazement at the completeness of this picture we are looking at.

While the process remains a lifelong endeavor and there are still no short cuts outside of embracing the Cross, the simplicity and clarity of it all blows our mind. The fullness of life is to be found in knowing God according to these three covenant Names.

The Going Forth

Seven years ago we began writing and speaking about the special calling on the third/fourth generation (after the Holocaust).

Since then we have been waiting for the Lord to release His heart cry to the youth of Germany. We sense the time has come to gather together the different groups and individuals from around Germany with whom we have been in touch, for a time of fellowship, exchange, and impartation.

To that end, our friends at TOS Ministries in Tubingen will be hosting a gathering on February 4th-5th of next year (2012). We will be writing more about this in the days to come, but wanted to alert all who might be interested to mark these dates on their calendars.

We are excited about this being in Tubingen for several reasons. Firstly, we have been bonded with TOS since our first days in Germany and deeply admire the depth and sincerity of heart they walk in. They have invested heavily in the relationship between Israel, the Jewish people, and Germany and have been true pioneers in the quest to bring reconciliation and healing to those affected by the Holocaust in Israel, Germany, Europe and the rest of the world as well.

The university in Tubingen was the womb for the marriage between religion and secular humanism and was consequently foundational to the formation of Nazi ideology. Please pray for this generation to take their place in God’s plans and purposes.

Calling to the Men

We have recently come in contact with a group of men that are regularly gathering throughout Germany to spend hours and sometimes days simply adoring the Lord with no agenda. (We trust you realize how uncharacteristic this is of the German soul structure, and especially among men).

In May, while they were with us in Nes Harim, I had a dream. In it I had been ministering in another land (which I understood to be Germany) and was on my way to return home to Israel when I was approached by a multitude of men wanting to relate about the word I had just shared. Their number was simply astounding. It reminded me of the hidden seven thousand in Elijah’s day.

The Lord impressed me that there are many men in Germany ready to walk in a new way...to come before the Lord with no agenda… to wait on Him and relate with one another in a new way. Please pray for the call of the Spirit to be heard that men no longer walk according to the spirit of the sons of Greece but become true sons of Zion.

Grass Roots

More and more we are convinced that the change we long for – the release of the Spirit – the abiding manifestation of the Lord's Presence – will be the result of a grassroots movement of simple people committed to laying their hearts and lives before the Lord and one another.

For decades the western church has looked to big ministries and large conferences for the long-awaited breakthrough. Since we moved to Israel nearly twenty years ago, our perceptions, expectations, and understandings have been dramatically altered. Coming from a thriving congregation of over two thousand in the US, it took awhile for us to understand that bigger was not better, and that as nice as gifts were, they were not what drew God close.

As we wrote above, our minds are being blown by the simplicity of the Lord’s ways. It is hard to grasp how little we need to do to fulfill the desires of His heart.

In the face of ever-encroaching darkness, many are desperately searching for an answer. Are we in fact searching for something that is right in front of us? Could it be we know it so well that we no longer see it? Might we speak it so often that we no longer hear it? It was there when Moses lifted his hands in the midst of the battle. It was there when Jehoshaphat turned his face away from the enemy. It was always before King David. It cannot be learned, it cannot be taught or given from one to another. It’s not a purpose to be accomplished. It’s not a system to be replaced or a structure to be renewed. It’s not new. We talk about it, write about it, and sing about it. When we really find it we lose all our questions. The 'it' of course, is Him.

There’s an infinite difference between looking for something to do and being the dwelling place of God.

Do we know? Do we really know what it means to enter and abide in His http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifreshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift? How long can we wait? How long can we be still? http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

The answer to these last questions might be a good measure of how well we know Him.

Arni & Yonit Klein, Emmaus Way in Nes Harim in the Judean Hills
Kleinfax prayer letter
For information on making a contribution

When the love of many waxes cold

I wrote this on a Facebook NOTE this morning but for some reason it has been blocked so no one can see it but me. Must be something worth reading.

I was arrested by the words quoted by Messianic Evan Thomas this week in his prayer perspective from Netanya, Israel.

Referencing the current Israeli housing demonstrations, Etgar Keret, one of Israel's leading journalists recently wrote in HaAretz,

"The fight will be 100-percent Israeli, blue and white. And it, as many of the signs at the demonstration noted, is the battle over the home – not just in the sense of the mortgages and housing prices, but also in the deeper sense of the word, "home," as the place where you feel wanted and valued and to which you feel connected. Our country has long since lost all sense of solidarity and mutual responsibility, replacing them with the only common denominator that remains – the primordial fear of all that is different, the other. And each time a few lazy days of steamy summer go by without missiles, flotillas and any other existential angst-provoking events, we are forced to look at each other and rediscover that we forgot long ago what it is to be one people."

Kachol lavan - blue and white.

I just learned that Israeli motto-to-live-by recently, although I have seen the effects of it in operation for many years. Kachol lavan means Jews depending upon themselves alone. As one author explained it, it was a lesson learned from the Holocaust when the world stood by and saw Jews marched into the fire and did nothing. So instead of ever trusting anyone again to help them, many Israelis operate under the "kachol lavan" way of thinking: Israel can depend on no one to help but Israelis.

It is not so different from the thinking of any other person that has been abused in life. The capacity to love and trust others shrinks more and more as the years go by hardening into bitterness and unfulfilled revenge. No one - no matter how they might try to help is allowed to penetrate the hard shell that forms the encased heart of a wounded soul.

That is one reason that circumcision is a sign of the covenant - not just the circumcision of the foreskin, but the circumcision of the heart which is a sign of our spiritual covenant. In order to become a spiritual people of God, we have to allow the circumcision of our hearts. It is a process where the old, hardened encasing that we have wrongly believed will protect us from further hurts and wounds, is cut away so we can become human beings again - created in the image and likeness of God.

Most of the world is in a state of uncircumcised heart, and most of us who believe have parts of our hearts that still are in need of the hardness being cut away. Where there is no circumcised heart, there are people full of wounds and bitterness who believe they can't trust anyone to look out for them and it's every man for himself. Dog eat dog.

This is the lawlessness of the streets - and I don't condone it in the least, but I am saying that if we could allow a little compassion to creep into what we are seeing in the world today, as spiritual people we could begin to speak to those hardened hearts with new hope. They need salvation. They need Yeshua and the promise of a new heart whereby we are transformed from glory to glory.

I began this note talking about how Evan Thomas' prayer perspective this week was like a critical piece of a puzzle that was working in my spirit already. What Thomas saw in the journalist's statement he deeply identified with. As he wrote to me in a follow up, the journalist "had 'captured' something very important if we want to truly be able to intercede for this nation's peoples right now. I actually believe that there is something very similar going on in the hearts of people all over the Middle East at the moment." Evan was urging us in our intercession over Israel to consider how in the terrible rioting of the Arab nations surrounding Israel, many people are suffering greatly. He wrote:

"The third area of national focus of course is steadily rising tensions leading up to the unilateral declaration in the United Nations General Assembly of an independent Palestinian State. This is supposedly about to take place next month in September. The implications of this of course are huge. The nation is divided in its political position as is the Body of Messiah. ...
"Many voices in the Messianic Jewish community are deeply concerned about the theological implications of dividing the Land. Notwithstanding, Evan is concerned about the social implications of an independent State. Is it economically sustainable? What will it look like? Will it have its own armed security forces and will they represent a realistic threat to Israel's security? Will the Fatah party be strong enough to maintain a political balance or will the new State move towards radical Islam and Sh'ria law?

"How then shall we pray? Firstly, of course, as the Spirit of God leads. Nevertheless, please take into account that amongst our neighbors in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt there are many people suffering extreme hardship. Pray for the children, grieving the loss of fathers (and all-too-often mothers). Pray for families that have lost homes and fields and are struggling to put food on their tables. Pray for the general populations of these countries who are suffering from the sense of betrayal from their own governments.

"Remember that what happens across our borders affects Israel also. Destabilization can quickly lead to rapidly spreading conflict and in the Middle East we are all highly militarized nations with very little love for one another."

Whether we are speaking of embattled nations or spiritually embattled individuals, it is true that so much of the anger manifesting itself around us is simply because people are hopeless and without a saviour. They have given up on love in a very real sense and decided that whatever they get in this world they are going to have to take it for themselves. No one else can be counted on.

What the Israeli journalist Keret wrote about the Israeli housing demonstrations is as true applied to the chaotic streets of Arab nations and London even as it is also true of a troubled young relative of mine locked up in a hardness of heart from the wounds of a lifetime. Not that a lot of bad personal choices haven't been made along the way contributing to the state of such a person, but sometimes in order to catch a glimmer of compassion for those who are creating chaos, we need to consider those much closer to our hearts. We need to think in terms of someone we love who is also fighting futilely to depend only on themselves to survive in a harsh world.

Yeshua made it clear that He did not come into the world to save only the good, whole and righteous people who 'deserved' the blessings of His salvation. He said He came for the distressed, the abused, those whose hearts were sick with the hardness of life's wounds. Doesn't that sound like anyone you know, or maybe have read about or heard about in news reports?

One of the In Christ's Image Training teachings of Francis Frangipane is an interpretation of Matthew 24:12, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." His reading of the verse is that it is possible for Christians to allow their hearts to grow cold because of exposure to so much wickedness and iniquity in the world. Isn't it so? Can't you think of several people in your life that you feel cold toward? Be honest with yourself.

We are certainly living in days where love has waxed cold in our world. This is cause and effect of iniquity, or lawlessness, that is abounding. It is a viscous circle. Not only does the abused become an abuser, but as people of God just being exposed to so much rampant lawlessness is able to rob us of our greatest defense - a warm, open and loving heart.

We have to guard our spiritually circumcised hearts from growing cold in love. How does a heart grow cold? It begins to harden. It may not harden against everyone, but begins to shut down warmth toward others. It begins to qualify who deserves our warm heart and who deserves only a serving of icy coldness. To keep our hearts circumcised with warm, living love these days, we have to have Yeshua's vision of people, not our own.

I am not saying we are suckers and that we do not take a realistic view of people. I'm not proposing that we excuse lawlessness, or the abused one that is abusing - but spiritually, we have to find the compassion to appeal to Heaven on their account. We have to become the good Samaritan who cannot just walk around the wretched, beaten up lives we encounter on the road.

I will also confess that I am saying this every bit as much to myself as I am to anyone who reads this note. The truth is that we are all being battered by the harshness of life. If it is not touching you, then it is likely touching someone that at one time you had a very warm heart for. The continual 'seduction' of harsh living conditions is the temptation to harden our hearts is always there.

The seduction is that when we harden our hearts toward someone that it will protect us from further receiving any further hurt from them. That's not the way it really works, but in fact that is the simple process of how an abused person becomes an abuser. Little by little the whole heart is taken over by hardness and the lack of love, that it morphs the person from being a victim into being a predator.

What is the answer then? Only Yeshua, only Jesus can cut away the hardness of our hearts, giving us a new heart. This was a major theme of the prophet Ezekiel:

Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

If Yeshua's mission is our mission, then we too are in the world to seek that which is lost - that which is beaten down, hard-hearted and helpless to change anything in their rotten lives. Clearly our spiritual challenge is to make sure that we have not allowed hard heartedness to creep back in. Talk is cheap. It is easy to repeat all the Christianese love mottos; it is another thing to guard your heart with all diligence to keep a vision for the salvation of the world.

It is like the Ha'Aretz reporter said, "the battle over the home – not just in the sense of the mortgages and housing prices, but also in the deeper sense of the word, "home," as the place where you feel wanted and valued and to which you feel connected."That's the yearning every every human heart - whether they find it or not - to feel wanted and valued and connected in love.

One final thing keeps springing to memory in relation to these things and I think it is an great example of how we can let our hearts grow cold again even after Yeshua has given us a new heart.

Several years ago a prophecy was circulated that made its way to me. It was more pathetic than prophetic, but the prophet had many who defended this word.

The 'prophecy' was based on the biblical story of Abigail who was at first married to the rogue Nabal, who was struck down with a heart turned to stone. Abigail was then legally free of him and then married to David who was to become King. (1 Samuel 25) The prophecy was a word to encourage many women (and some men) that God was about to answer their desire for a godly spouse by striking down their own Nabal - a name that means "fool" or "folly" - so they could move on to a godly spouse worthy of them.

It is such a perfect example of cold love in a believer to me. Good grief - just get a divorce already! Do you honestly think that God is any more pleased with you sitting around fantasizing that your spouse is going to die so you can move on to a worthy, godly mate? That is a heaping helping of cold love - and the people who defended the prophecy could not discern the cold heartedness of it. I'm sure you can think of examples from your own experience. We know what cold love is, even though we don't want to recognize it in ourselves. It is much safer for us to get real about the cold love we still harbor in our heats because cold love is a real enemy to us in these days. Let's keep it real, but let's keep our hearts warm, too.

Blind Spots in the Body

When Martin Luther emerged as a groundbreaking man of faith after nailing his 95 Theses on the door of the Church in 1517, he also believed that God would return salvation to the Jews. In 1514 Luther wrote:

"Conversion of the Jews will be the work of God alone operating from within, and not of man working — or rather playing — from without."

He had that partially right. We can't make anyone see if God has not given them eyes to see. God has to give the revelation to every man - Jew or Gentile - before they can see Jesus.

Luther was completely right that God would return salvation to the Jews. The last nine years of his life though, Luther had become a bitter Christian anti-Semite, penning his infamous treatise, On the Jews and Their Lies.

Apparently Luther came to resent the Jews for not appreciating his position advocating for them. I guess he expected the Jews to be more responsive to him because he was not antagonistic toward them for their rejection of Jesus.

He understood that salvation comes by a revelation of Yeshua that only God can give a person, but what Luther did not understand is that there is a plan of God in operation. In other words, a plan that has a specific time table.

The apostle Paul laid it out very clearly in Romans 9-11, but this plan is also a revelation that must be given by God. We cannot make anyone in the Church or elsewhere see what the plan of God is concerning the Jews, or the timing He has put on His plan which will ultimately see "all Israel" receive the revelation of their Messiah's identity.

What happened to Martin Luther is a little scary, isn't it?
He knew God was going to save the Jews, but allowed himself to become bitter over the Jews not doing so in his timing.

In his turning bitter toward the Jews in the last decade of his life, he really fulfilled the word of wisdom in Hebrews 12:15, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."

How much of Christian history has been defiled by the bitterness that took root in Martin Luther against the Jews? He started out well, with an open heart but ended up bitter because his open heart did not unlock the closed hearts of the Jews. The time was not yet, but Luther did not have that revelation.

I wish I had a dollar for every time that after I shared my connection to praying with the Israeli Messianic Jews, and a Christian responded to me in alarm, "What about the Palestinians?" 'Yes, I know,' I explain. 'We pray for both the Jewish and the Arab believers in Israel.'

What I don't say is, 'Your exclusion of care and support for Israeli Jews is not my exclusion of care and support for the Palestinians believers. It isn't either/or, it is one new man in Messiah. Not that there isn't a lot of Palestinian-hatred expressed among Christian Israel supporters. That position is wicked too.

This is the fine line we walk as Christian supporters of Israel. Always a fine line because we are walking through one heck of spiritual minefield in every way. Israel is the center of the storm because the plan of God is being consummated here.

Some Christians don't believe God intends the salvation of Israel on a national scale. Other Israel-supporting Christians do not believe they have a part to play in the salvation of the Jews. The latter is a belief that Jewish salvation is something that God alone will accomplish - much like Martin Luther's quote in this opening - and that it will not occur until after all the Christians have been removed from the earth in the Rapture.

That is not what I believe because I see God is already pouring out the revelation of salvation by Yeshua to Jews. The salvation of the Jews has been occurring in an increasing manner that parallels the return of Jews to the Promised Land, the re-establishment of the State of Israel and the reunification of the capital, Jerusalem. It continues to increase even in the present as those radical enemies of God's Israel in neighboring states are being loosed from the short leash of secular dictators.

The Ezekiel vision of the Valley of Dry Bones was the prophetic picture God gave for what He has been doing in the return from exile of the Jews, as well as the spiritual restoration of Israel. It is a progression that unfolds as it is prophetically commanded on earth. (Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven) When the Church sees that this is the will of God and begins to speak into it like Ezekiel did.

There is a timing of the salvation of Israel and we are moving swiftly now through the rapids in the stream of time toward it.

Despite all that, half of the Christian church does not even believe God even has a plan that includes Israel's salvation. They do not view current events as the fury of the demonic unleashed upon the center of God's will in this season.

How they miss that is a mystery but they cannot recognize it as it is clearly imparted in the Scripture, nor are they able to see it in its fulfillment in real time. It is a revelation that is given by God. Don't let that word revelation scare you. It just means that God shares a nugget of His wisdom, knowledge and understanding with us so we can begin to grasp His love, His Word or His plan.

If God does not give us understanding, then no amount of teaching, preaching or debate will awaken us to the truth of the matter. And it does not matter if Christians are activists working exclusively for the plight of the Palestinian people, or if they are just apathetic toward the Jews denying there is any special purpose that God still has for them - classic replacement theology - there is no way "to make them" see His continued purposes for Israel. Only God can give a heart to see.

Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

This was the state of the children of Israel in Moses time and throughout biblical history. God knew from the beginning that when the Messiah would walk among them, they would not be able to perceive Him BECAUSE God had foreordained it to be so. Romans 11:30-32:

For as you in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Jesus also confirmed what Moses had declared of the children of Israel from the beginning:

Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Do you get that? Paul also said in Romans that "blindness in part has befallen Israel." Why? So through the Jews' unbelief, God could widen the net of His catch to salvation of all the nations. Yet, it is so clear that He intends to return with mercy to the Jewish people, "that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy."

Mercy. That's what Martin Luther ran out of and it defiled generations of Christians toward the Jews.

We have to be careful that we don't run out of mercy too because in America, Jews often vote for Liberal humanistic values and that doesn't set well with many a Christian-Zionist. I see it expressed in political blogs that I frequent and it really irritates even the most conservative of Republican Jews to see a 'more Zionist than thou' attitude from Christian Israel-supporters.

We also have to be careful that we don't run out of mercy in the face of persecution of Messianic Jewish believers in Israel. Not that we have un-sanctified mercy toward their persecutors, excusing or ignoring the aggressions as if they didn't exist. (Or toward the Islamist terrorists for that matter! Terrorists are terrorists.)

Rather, we must stand up and condemn persecution - even when it comes via religious Jewish zealots. We must keep the understanding before us that the apostle who wrote the lion's share of the New Covenant was a persecutor of the Jewish believers just like the anti-missionaries are today.

Spiritually, we have to join in with the Israeli Jewish believers in appealing to Heaven for God to send their persecutors a light from heaven - the same as He sent understanding to the apostle Paul so long ago. The anti-missionaries of modern Israel are EXACTLY like the anti-missionary of the Book of Acts. We are living in the days of Acts chapter 29.

Likewise, we cannot make Christians see who do not have a heart to perceive what God is doing among the Jews in our time - restoring Jewish spiritual eyes to see Yeshua and to hear the good news of His salvation. Blindness in part has befallen them. God is not a respecter of persons. Blindness in part befell Israel and now blindness in part has befallen the Church. In the end though will emerge one new man from the two in Messiah.

This is a great mystery of God to me. On one hand many of those Christians who deny the return of God's purposes to Israel in these last days, are among those portions of the Church that have had so many other truths restored - like the truth that God is still healing and delivering people today and the other miraculous gifts we see the first century believers walked in.

It is a mystery to me that many of the most ardent Christian Israel-supporters do not much believe in the spiritual gifts of the Bible still operating in our day, but they do get the revelation of the salvation of Israel. The only way I can understand this mystery is that God is going to humble both segments of Christians with the understanding at some point that neither of them has it all, and they both need each other for a more complete expression of who He is.

As the apostle Paul broke out in praise after explaining the mystery of God's blinding the Jews to Messiah in Romans 11:33: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!

On a personal note, a couple of years ago I set out to try to discover how to address the spiritually cutting edge Church that did not understand that God is currently pouring out upon the Jews a heart to perceive Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah. I had been immersed in Messianic Judaism for two decades and felt like I needed a refresher course on how the Church generally regarded the Jews and Israel.

I'll be honest, I've had to struggle with anger and disillusionment at what I've heard. Even though I know only God can open the eyes of their hearts, it has been very hard for me to hear the statements and bear with the attitudes. It so permeates some sectors of the church and they do not even know how offensive some of the expressions are.

On the other hand, I have grown really impatient with much in the Messianic movement, like what I consider too much emphasis on the traditions that are more rabbinic than scriptural. Or, how Christians who join with the Messianic movement not being encouraged to celebrate their own identity in Yeshua rather than adopting a "Jewish lifestyle". That is not how Yeshua makes one new man in Messiah. We can learn to appreciate our Jewish roots without starting to dress like the Frum in Mea Shearim.

I think these things which are not scripturally balanced make for the pitfall of so many in Messianic Judaism falling from faith because they prefer to return to Judaism. We have to be vigilant against providing conditions that make it easy to lose our way.

Not that I am perfect, not by a long shot, but I am longing for the manifestation of the authentic one new man in Messiah. Less than that has become increasingly unsatisfying to me. So I have been living one foot in the Messianic movement and one foot in the Church that doesn't perceive that salvation of the Jews is happening right now - and it is a bona fide prophetic fulfillment of the scriptural plan of God.

What would one new man in Messiah look like?

To me it would look like Jews and Gentiles who are as different in expression as a man and a woman, a husband and wife. Not competing with each other, but complimenting each other in the life the walk together. One, but different; mutually respectful. Equal before God, but serving separate callings before Him, too. The freedom of a man to be a man and a woman to be a woman. A Messianic Jew to be a Messianic Jew and a Christian to be a Christian.

The reason I began to write this note was to encourage us, you and me, not to become bitter over those who are still blind to God's purposes in Yeshua/Jesus. We all have blind spots and mercy is clearly the antidote God intends us to use to help others overcome their blind spots.