Telling It Like It Is

I find it interesting that what my family and I believe is challenged more and more, and that the people challenging our beliefs are calling themselves brothers and sisters in Christ that claim to know the Bible.  They don't start by asking questions.  Rather they assume A LOT and come at us attacking or preaching (more like "Bible-thumping") as though we were young believers.  We are thankful for the friends and family, regardless of personal beliefs, that DO ask questions and simply want to know what we think or believe about a passage of Scripture, or a topic.  Regardless if their goal is to educate themselves, educate us on their views, or to make an attempt to change our way of thinking, we get the chance to explain what we believe and why....because these people ASK us.

One of the things that we get accused of is being part of the "Hebrew Roots Movement" (HRM).  And when I respond that, although it may appear as such, we are in no way part of any such thing, it bewilders the people that accuse us of that.  Again, questions are not asked; only accusations made.  What is the HRM, you ask?  Well, for the most part it is people, mainly your average church-going Christians, that see something new and see that there is truth in the Hebrew and Jewish origins of Christianity.  They want to collect judaica, and have a "heart for Israel."  But, in practice, they haven't really changed. Their beliefs minimally change. And worst of all, they still don't have a clue as to what their Bible truly says.  There are a few pastors that run seeker-friendly churches and decided to ride the wave of HRM popularity and change the way they teach to start incorporating more Hebrew terminology and Messianic songs.  And unfortunately, those church leaders are doing their congregations a very, very large disservice.  Many, if not most, Hebraic teachers are made out to be associated with the HRM, and some actually are.  But most are not.

Many years ago, when I had a website by the name "Torah-Observant Followers of Yeshua" or tofy.net for short, I was accused of many things which, lucky for me, mostly fell into a single category.  So, I wrote a short article entitled, "What TOFY is not."  In it I have very harsh words for anyone claiming association with the HRM.  Here is an excerpt from that article:

Although I am not privy to everything that has been going on and what has been said that has caused dissension within Messianic (Jewish => Christian) and Hebraic (Christians following the Torah) circles, I keep being led to squash a weed that seems to continue to emerge, without the knowledge of those wheat stalks around it.

 If this sounds cryptic or like I'm speaking in some other language, please refer to the parable of the tares (weeds) and the wheat. The weed that I am referring to is the term movement. I keep hearing from people that they are part of the "Messianic *movement*" or the "Hebraic Christian movement" or the "House church movement" or the "Secession movement" or a variety of other movements.      

The fourth definition of the word 'movement', as taken from Dictionary.com, states, "A tendency or trend". Do you notice anything odd about that when it pertains to the terms above? Let me rephrase those terms by using this definition: "Messianic trend", "Hebraic Christian trend", "House church trend," etc... so what's wrong with this picture? Allow me to go one step deeper by defining 'trend': The third definition [ibid] states, "Current style; vogue" ... in other words, something that goes out of style; something that is temporary in thinking. Is the picture beginning to become a little clearer? 

I, my family, nor this website is part of any movement, trend, or anything else that is temporary in thought. We have been LED, without ANY earthly prompting, to go back to look into head covering, the holy days that our forefathers have celebrated for centuries, and what life in the 1st Century (and prior) in Israel was like.

    ...

If the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is guiding you, as He is to be our Guide in all matters, to follow the holy days of our ancestors, then please, PLEASE, do not claim to be a part of any movement. There will be consequences in the future pertaining to this. There will be times of persecution, but as a "member" or "participant" in any so-called movement, you will be treated WORSE than any Jew who has been fulfilled by the renewing of their mind by the belief in Yeshua as the Messiah. Currently, any person that claims to be a Messianic Jew is spat upon and considered less than dirt. Imagine what you will be called, and how you will be treated, if you claim to be part of a movement! By claiming such a thing, you are claiming that the Jewishness of the Gospel, or the Jewishness of Yeshua is TEMPORARY!  If it were "temporary" then it wouldn't have been going on for 2,000 years!  If you can be called "less than dirt" even by true so-called Messianic or so-called Hebraic followers of the True Messiah, imagine what the Judge of the universe will say when He reminds you, on the day of judgment, that you were part of something that called His Son, and His Breath, something that is other than eternal!

The argument for the use of the term is that people are feeling "moved" to "return" to their Hebraic roots of the Christian faith, or that (if you are a Jew) you are being "moved" to recognize the true Messiah.  Sorry.  I don't buy that definition.  When someone is being "moved" to do something in regards to the Bible, THEY are not the one moving... it's the Ruach HaQodesh.  You may feel prompted, or called, but the common thought when you say that something "moved" you, it pertains to a stirring of emotions. (i.e., That performance really moved me.)  And, by the way, how can you "return" to something or some place that you have never been to before?

So, why do we not claim to be a part of this so-called HRM movement?  As the article states, we were led by the Holy Spirit, without the prompting of any human, without the knowledge of anyone outside of our family (at the time), to learn about the way the First and Second Century believers read, heard and interpreted the Scriptures.  For the longest time, we didn't know anyone else was being led to do the same thing.  Little did we know...  We started to learn Hebrew, not because we simply wanted to learn a new language, rather because it would make it easier to understand one of the original languages that the Bible was written in.  We had friends tell us (again, accusations without questions) that we were converting to Judaism, losing our salvation, turning our backs on Christ, and a host of other nonsense.  Over time we were introduced to people with similar or the same beliefs, Hebraic teachers and a continuous hunger to know more.  That was over ten years ago.

Once we started learning that others believed like we do, I reached out and asked a simple question: "When did you start believing this way, or when were your eyes opened to these things?"  The answers astounded me.  There were large groups of people that were spaced out every seven years!  There were a few people in between the "marker" years, but there were always a larger number of people every seven years.  I revealed what years were the "marker" years only after I gathered enough answers that showed the pattern.  And with each marker, there seemed to be a larger group of people than the one before it.

People often believe we are Jewish.  My common response is, "not that I'm aware of."  Unless it is proven through DNA testing, that will always be my answer.  I do not pretend to be Jewish, nor does any member of my family.  There is a dire warning to those that do: "Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie -- behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you." -- Rev 3:9.

So, if we're not Jewish, and we're not part of the Hebrew Roots Movement, then what are we?  We are modern day Hebrews.  We have crossed over into a new land of knowledge.  We have been called to be set apart from the world (1 Jn 2:15); led not by man but by the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26).  By our faith and trusting in what we have been taught, we have become "zera'eem", or sowers.  How do we plant seeds?  By the way we live our lives and by the way we answer questions and provide information and   We don't always get to see the fruit.  But it is awesome when we do, because we know we really didn't do anything, but it was the working of the Holy Spirit and the desire of the person(s) to know the truth of Scripture.

You see, far too many people have been, for lack of a better word, "brainwashed" into what they think they believe the Bible says.  They think they know the Truth.  It doesn't matter if they have memorized every word.  They believe what they have been taught by their pastor or minister, and don't take the time to study the text for themselves; nor do they ask the right request of the Holy Spirit and our Father - "show me the truth; show me Your truth."  I will tell you from my own experience, and from similar experiences of others, that when our Father removes the scales and opens your eyes, you will experience a hunger for Scripture like you have never known in your entire life!

So, to sum this whole thing up, if you want to know what we believe, ASK US.  If you want know know why we believe what we do, ASK US.  But please don't preach to us, nor assume that: we don't know anything, are in a cult, are being taught by a false teacher/prophet, that we are foolish and blind, part of some movement or that we are following the Law in order to be saved.  Because those would all be false.  And if you truly want to know what the Bible says, in the correct context, pray about having your eyes opened and the Truth shown to you.  It doesn't take a preacher, priest, or prophet to show you.  It can be shown to you by the Holy Spirit.  Think about it.  Pray about it.