Copyright 1999 Kenneth Garrison
All
rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce provided that proper
attribution is given. For additional copies, write: Tzemach
Institute
for Biblical Studies,
Published
by Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies,
Email:
tzemach@tzemach.org Questions
to the author may be sent to the mailing address above or via email at:
ken@tzemach.org
ISBN
0-9669174-0-5
Library
of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-96867
Unless
otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American
Standard Bible Copyright
1960, 1962, 1963, 1968,
1971,
1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: Hebraic
Roots - A Background
1. Redemption and God's People
Reference
Covenants and Election
Election and Salvation
2.
Two Covenants - Two Peoples
3. Separation of the Church from
4. The Further Separation
5. Doctrinal Development by the Church
Challenges and Reactions
Lack of Central Authority in the Church
Gnosticism
Rejection by
Greek Philosophical Influence
Legal Embrace of
Evolution of Church Doctrine
Definition of God
Replacement Theology
The
Law
Judgment and
6. This Gospel of the Kingdom
The
Another Gospel
7. A National or a Universal People?
The Church
and Universal Identity
The
Church's Role in
Challenge
8. Redemptive Activities at the Climax of
the Age
The
Beginning of a New Era
The
Dragnet
Church Identity
Prophetic Fulfillment in the Twentieth Century
Population
Technological Advances
Globalism
Ingathering of the Exiles
Summary
Part Two: Establishing Hebraic
Roots
in the
1. Introduction
2. The Ben-David Covenant
3. Functions of the
4. The Formation of the
Role
of the Pastor
Role
of the Individual Member in Body Faith
Faith Righteousness and the
Faith in the Ministry of Messiah Jesus
Faith and Body Life
Ministries to the
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The
Importance of Assembling with the
5.
Worship and Hearing
6. Church Identity
7. Summary
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Further Information. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
"Hebraic roots" have been discovered and realized in the
experience of the Fellowship
Church
where I have served as pastor for the past 21 years. I would like to thank the congregation
who
has been bold in spirit and strong in faith to venture forth in this discovery
process. In
addition,
I would like to express thanks to the many individuals who contributed directly
to the
preparation
of this work: Jon Klein, Larry Dorcik and Pam Cook
for their work in reviewing and
proofreading
the text; Dr. Irving Teitelbaum for his review of the
text from a Jewish perspective; Lee
Underwood
for formatting the text; and Gloria Marxvach for the
cover design. Finally, I
would like
to
thank my wife, Jo, for her perseverance while experiencing much of the basis
for this work
alongside
myself and for her encouragement in the long process of writing this text.
INTRODUCTION
Often I think about what it would have been like to have been one of
Jesus' disciples. What
would
it have been like to have been taught and discipled
directly by the Master, Himself? In a
similar
way, my mind often considers what it would have been like to have been a part
of the early
Church
in
Peter,
John and the other disciples. They
were Spirit-filled believers; they had been taught directly
by
Jesus, Himself, and they were ministering in the midst of the people of
Obviously,
this early Church was fully integrated into the fabric of
prophetic
destiny of the people of
denomination
of Judaism.
How distant the Christian Church of today appears from that simple
beginning. My
experience,
as a pastor, leads me to think of the divide between the Church and
too
great to attempt to bridge. Yet the
Holy Spirit has repeatedly given powerful witness that this is
God's
will for us today. Indeed, we
represent the first generation since Peter, John and Paul which
has
the opportunity to discover its roots in
Hebraic Roots was written to outline the path to establish the true
Biblical roots of our faith.
The
information contained herein is readily documented historically. The conclusions drawn are
not
based on obscure interpretations of the Scriptures or of history. They flow quite readily from
the
simple information available to us.
The steps outlined have been tested in a local church
setting
and have been found to provide a great opportunity of witness both in the
Jewish and
Gentile
communities. In other words, the
steps outlined here work.
We live in a new age of opportunity in the world. Prior to the regathering
of
focus
of ministry was toward the nations.
The Church reached out with the ministry of
reconciliation
to whomever called on the name of the Lord. Now that
authority
of a sovereign Jewish state, we have entered a new age. We have opportunities available
to
us today that no prior generation has had.
The message of world deliverance by the hand of
God
is now appropriate. The
establishment of God's literal Kingdom in
in
addition to the message of individual reconciliation to God, we can boldly
proclaim God's
Kingdom. To be effective in doing this we must be
established on a solid Biblical foundation.
The Bible is the only remnant of God's authority left to us. For us to have an effective
witness,
our faith must be Biblically consistent.
Therefore, we must establish Hebraic or Biblical
roots
in our faith. It is my hope that
you will prayerfully read and implement the steps outlined in
this
book and that the Lord will bring a fresh and bold anointing in His Church
through you in this
day.
Kenneth E. Garrison
Pastor,
Part One:
Hebraic Roots - A Background
1. REDEMPTION AND
GOD'S PEOPLE
In order to understand the need for "Hebraic roots", we must
understand the overall
redemptive
plan of God and how He is accomplishing His plan. One of the simplest ways of
looking
at the problem of man is by considering the subject of authority. When man fell in the
Garden,
he became his own individual point of authority. Today, there are literally billions of
points
of
authority in the world. Each person
struggles with a continuing series of questions to resolve,
and
each is resolved relative to his own self-interest. Every individual then is pitted against
every
other
for survival.
God is moving to establish a single authority instead. Before the fall, man functioned under
the
singular authority of God. God's
redemptive activity has been aimed at reestablishing His
singular
authority. Throughout the ages God
has been working in different ways to accomplish this
goal,
but these efforts have always been directly related to this goal. Zechariah prophesied that in
the
end: "And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord
will be the only one, and
His
name the only one". (Zechariah
14.9) Paul drew the same conclusion
when he stated: "And
when
all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to
the One who
subjected
all things to Him, that God may be all in all". (1 Corinthians 15.28) So when we consider
what
God is doing, we must do so in light of His overall redemptive purpose.
Reference
In the original creation man existed directly under God's
authority. Indeed, he was created
to serve
as
the link between God and His creation.
We get a glimpse of this arrangement in Psalms 8: "O Lord, our
Lord,
how majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor
above the heavens!
When
I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which
Thou hast ordained;
what
is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost
care for him. Yet
Thou
hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and
majesty! Thou dost make
him
to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and
also
the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes through the
paths
of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how
majestic is Thy name in all the earth"! (Psalm 8.1,3-9) For man to
function
effectively in this position, he was required to submit to the authority of
God. He perceived
every
thing and every event relative to the person and purpose of God. Each situation was judged
"good"
or
"evil" relative to this perspective.
Two trees are described in the Genesis account: (a) the "Tree of
Life" and (b) the "Tree of the
Knowledge
of Good and Evil". Both trees
denote communion or communication: The "Tree of Life"
denotes
communion with God, and the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil"
denotes communion
with
Satan. Man originally lived in open
communion with God. He submitted to
God's authority. He
functioned
in the capacity for which God had designed him to function. He saw everything to be "good"
or
"evil" relative to God.
He ate of the "Tree of Life".
We are told that God commanded man not to eat of the "Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil".
He
cautioned man that in the day that he ate of this tree, he would die. Eventually, man did choose to
eat
of this tree. The Bible gives us no
hint as to the period of time that man existed in the garden prior to
this
event. Since man stood in the
direct presence of God having intimate communion with Him, he was
continuously
renewed. Therefore we would
conclude that he lived in a perpetual state.
When man did eat of the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil", two things occurred which are
described
in the Genesis account. First, man
was driven out from the presence of God.
This constitutes
spiritual
death and would ultimately lead to physical death. The second thing that changed was that
man,
for
the first time, perceived all things and every event "good" or
"evil" relative to himself.
He saw himself
naked
and he was afraid. When God
encountered man in this condition, He asked, "Who told you that
you
were naked?" (Genesis 3.11a)
God recognized that man had initiated a line of communication with
the
one that the Bible calls "the accuser of the brethren", (Revelation
12.10) otherwise known as The
Satan. Man initiated this line of communication
which now would dominate every aspect of his being.
He
would receive a continual appraisal of every situation judging them as
"good" or "evil" relative to
himself,
becoming the center of his own private little world. He would struggle for what he perceived
to
be
scarce resources in order to provide for himself. Obviously, he would have to compete with
every
other
person for these same resources.
Without the blessing and wisdom of God at his disposal, these
resources
would be depleted. His capacity to
compete would be diminished with age, ultimately leading
to
death. This sequence of the death
process is referred to as the "curse".
This then is the condition that all subsequent generations have been
born into. Because it is all
man
has ever experienced, he considers it natural and normal. He has lost sight of the role for which
he
was
created. This lofty station seems
like a fairy tale as he continues to struggle for survival all of his days.
Even
though man may from time to time acknowledge some responsibility for the
stewardship of the
earth
and the creation, he is always compelled to struggle for his own private
survival.
Only an intervention from outside of mankind could significantly change
the situation. Man is
hopeless
on his own. We maintain that such
an intervention is in process. We
call that process
"redemption". The account of "redemption" is
recorded in the Bible. God, from
the time that man was
driven
out from His presence, has been patiently working to bring all things back into
order, i.e., under
His
authority again. Since, by God's
own design in creation, man was created to serve as His authority
figure
in the world, man must be the one brought into submission to God.
Therefore, when we consider what God is doing, we must do so in light of
His overall redemptive
purpose,
because all He does is consistent with this purpose. So if we study His covenants, we must do
so
in light of His purpose of establishing His singular authority in the
universe. If we consider the
subject
of
individual salvation, we must do so again in the same light.
Covenants
and Election
We now will consider the concept of covenant. In modern legal terminology, a covenant
is a
contract. We make many contracts throughout our
lifetime. A contract is simply an
agreement between
two
or more parties which defines the purpose and conditions of that
relationship. A Biblical covenant
does
the same thing. In the Scriptures
we can clearly see three covenants that God has made as a part of
His
redemptive plan. These are the (1)
"Abrahamic Covenant", (2) the "Mosaic
Covenant", and the (3)
"Ben-Davidic
[son of David] Covenant". In
each case God chose the party He would enter into covenant
with,
He revealed Himself to the one chosen, and He specified the terms and
conditions of the covenant.
The
covenant partners either accepted or rejected the covenant.
The covenant partners of God are designated as the
"elect". Election means
simply that a person or
persons
have been specifically selected to enter into covenant relationship with
God. God always
chooses
those who are to become His covenant partners. Therefore, we may say that the one
elected
never
chooses himself, but is chosen by God.
A natural conclusion that we must draw from considering
this
process is that it is not "fair" when considered purely on humanistic
grounds. Therefore, we say that
God
exercises His sovereignty in the election.
We also conclude that not all human beings are elect in
terms
of God's covenants.
Election
and Salvation
Most people believe intuitively that God is "fair". As a result they feel awkward with the
concept of
election. Often there are attempts to relate the
concept of election with the concept of salvation (being
saved
from eternal separation from God).
In order to be "fair", doctrines are developed that indicate
that
the
election of God is now universal, i.e., everyone is "elect". In fact, election is not related to
salvation.
God
chooses people to become His vessel in the world to work out His purpose of
establishing a single
authority
in the universe. Those elect have a
unique opportunity to become "co-workers" with God but
this
does not guarantee their individual salvation. Those not elect in accordance with the
covenants,
nevertheless,
have the option of salvation.
Indeed Peter boldly proclaimed that God is patient: "not
wishing
for any to perish but for all to come to repentance". (2 Peter 3.9b) Paul declared that God:
"desires
all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth". (1 Timothy 2.4) We, therefore,
conclude
that the concept of election and the concept of salvation are not related. One may be elect and
not
saved. On the other hand, one may
be saved and not elect.
2. TWO COVENANTS - TWO
PEOPLES
earth. The respective covenants stem from the Abrahamic covenant and together encompass those elect
in
the world; those through whom God has chosen to accomplish His purpose. The original covenant was
made
by God with Abraham. This covenant
was later confirmed to his son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob.
In
this covenant God initiated the redemptive process that He intended to carry
out in the world. While
promising
a number of blessings to Abraham, God revealed His redemptive aims by saying that
through
Abraham,
God would bless all the families of the earth: "And in you all the
families of the earth shall be
blessed". (Genesis 12.3b) Most of the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant were confirmed by God
when
He established His covenant with
priests"
(Exodus 19.6). He would set
and
honor". (Deuteronomy
26.19) God would give to
Isaac
and Jacob. (Exodus 23.31) And God
would continue the redemptive process through this elect
vessel,
the nation of
Later (around 1000 BC) God made a covenant with King David who served as
a type of the coming
Messiah. God promised David that his son would
stand in a very special position of anointing: "When
your
days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your
descendant after you, who
will
come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and
I will
establish
the throne of his kingdom forever".
(2 Samuel 7.12-13)
These covenants that God made with
with
Abraham. Each represents God's
choice of an individual or a people to serve Him as He pursues the
redemptive
process. We will investigate some
aspects of the covenants that God has made.
In order to set the stage for discussing the covenants, there are four basic
premises that need to be
stated:
(1) Subsequent to the Abrahamic Covenant, God
has established two basic covenants
as
recorded in the Scriptures: One with
Jesus. The latter covenant was initially stated
to David (2 Samuel 7.8-16) and made with the "Ben-David",
Solomon. It is being fulfilled through Jesus.
(2) Individually a person can relate to God through only one covenant at
a given time.
(3) There has developed, therefore, two great peoples; one associated
with each
covenant.
(4) God intends for these two peoples to complement one another to
affect His
purpose
of redemption. Each functions
differently but shares a common identity.
With these basic premises we now consider the nature of these
covenants. The characteristics of
each
are outlined in Table 1. Note some
of the dissimilarities between these covenants. The focus of the
Mosaic
covenant has always been centered around the nation of people in the
of
the Ben-Davidic covenant has always been on the King. Throughout the centuries the Jewish
people
have
looked persistently to the day of their regathering
to the
Seder
which is closed with the prayer "L'Shannah Haba'ah B'Yerushalim"
meaning "may we celebrate this
festival
next year in
Its
concern is for serving the King and ultimately being gathered to Him.
The message or ministry of Israel is different from that of the
Church. When the people of
are
living in their land, they become a nation under God's specific authority and
are to be witnesses to all
other
nations relative to the blessing secured by serving God. While dispersed,
God's
judgment to all other nations. (Jeremiah
25.15-29) When
Church
is "The Kingdom of God".
When
comfort
and encourage
message
of personal reconciliation to God.
(2 Corinthians 5.18) Basically, in the diaspora,
testimony
that God will shake or destroy the nations (national units), while the Church
extends the hope
of
salvation to the individuals of those nations. Over the centuries both groups have
largely lost track of
their
original message and function. Each
has adopted a basic mentality of survival in the dispersion.
There are some questions which always arise when we speak of
covenant
with God. Do we conclude that all
Jews are saved? Expressed in another way, will all Jews live
eternally
with God after physical death, if we say that
no!
individual
Gentiles, will have to stand before God and give an account for their lives
upon parting this
present
life. (Malachi 3.16-18) Judgment is
always in the hands of God and we must leave it there. It is
sufficient
to say that, "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes
judgment". (Hebrews
9.27) Each of us, whether from Jewish or
Gentile backgrounds, are directly accountable unto God in
judgment.
Another question that often arises is focused on the concept that
obsolete
according to the statements recorded in Hebrews 8:7 and
been
faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second". (Hebrews 8.7) And, "When He
said,
"A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and
growing
old
is ready to disappear".
(Hebrews 8.13) At first
reading, this would appear to be the case.
However, if
so
interpreted, this Scripture would be in direct conflict with other Scriptures
which indicate that God's
covenant
with
Scriptures
indicate the eternal nature of God's covenant with
portion
and, hence, the book of Hebrews as unscriptural. Realizing this, we must consider other
interpretations
of Hebrews 8:7 and
Since the book of Hebrews
was written to individual believers from Jewish backgrounds, hence the
name
Hebrews, and since these believers were evidently considering a return to
Judaism; we conclude
that
the exhortation relative to the "old" covenant is applicable only in
their own individual lives.
Therefore,
for them as individuals, the first covenant (their lives as Israelites before
personally receiving
the
revelation of Messiah Jesus) has gone out of existence as they became
individually a part of the new.
Remember
one of our basic premises: one can be an active participant in only one
covenant at a given
time. What we must not conclude is that the
covenant itself is going out of existence in a general sense.
In
other words, we must not interpret Hebrews 8 as indicating that God has
abrogated His covenant with
the
nation of
did
conclude. This has, in turn,
provided the basis for the concept that the Church has now replaced
We conclude therefore that God has two major active covenants to
accomplish His purpose in the
earth. Each covenant has a great people who
have been joined to God by the covenant.
We must always
remember
that existing in one of God's covenants does not mean that we are special of
ourselves, or that
God
loves us or is concerned about us more than for any other people. Each covenant represents a
unique
opportunity for righteousness in God's purpose. The true outworking of either covenant
should
complement
the other in order for God's purpose to advance.
With this understanding firmly in mind, we are to rejoice in our calling
and open ourselves to
becoming
more fruitful vessels for the outworking of His purpose. As believers in Messiah Jesus we have
a
special opportunity relative to
Church. Today is the day of great
opportunities. Men and women of
true faith must realize this and act
on
it.
================================
Table
1. God's Redemptive Covenants
COVENANT:
Mosaic:
TRAITS:
Land, Circumcision, Law
PEOPLE:
PURPOSE:
In the
In the dispersion: Announce judgment to the nations.
ULTIMATE
GOAL: To return to the land and live there under God's authority.
COVENANT:
Ben-Davidic
TRAITS:
House, Throne, Kingdom
PEOPLE:
Church
PURPOSE:
With
With
ULTIMATE
GOAL: To be gathered to the King.
================================
3. SEPARATION OF THE
CHURCH
FROM
Today when we consider the Church and
evident
to those of us who have embraced a vision of establishing churches with Hebraic
roots, that both
the
Church and Synagogue are content with the separation. In fact, any suggestion of change makes
both
groups very uncomfortable. We want
to investigate (1) how this separation took place and (2) who is
responsible
for it. Finally, we would like to
(3) establish a Biblical vision of mutual cooperation which we
believe
God originally intended.
The first church was established in
backgrounds. We believe from our study of the book of
Acts that they were observant Jews in every sense
of
the word. They evidently worshiped
in the
at
the ninth hour, the hour of prayer".
(Acts 3.1) They studied in
the synagogues, "But going on
from
Perga, they arrived at Pisidian
Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat
down". (Acts 13.14) They obviously participated in everyday
Jewish life. Nevertheless, they
were
different. They each had experienced God's Holy
Spirit bringing them into His presence.
They enjoyed
this
awesome sense of communion with God.
Notable miracles occurred through them. They became
distinguished
as the sect called "The Way".
(Acts 9.2) "The Way" implied the way of direct communion
with
God. Messiah Jesus declared that He
was, "the way, and the truth,
and the life; no one comes to the
Father,
but through Me". (John
14.6) The early Church was
experiencing this awesome communion with
God
in Messiah Jesus.
We conclude that the earliest
distinguished
or separated the Church from
two
to ten years. During this time
there were conflicts between the Church leaders and the leaders of
other
sects, but this type of opposition was typical of that experienced between the
various sects.
The second major step taken by God to further separate the Church from
God
expressly intervened by revelation to Peter convincing him to go to the home of
Cornelius. Peter
went
and while he preached concerning Jesus, the household of Cornelius boldly
received the same
anointing
that the Jewish believers had received on "Yom Hashavuot"
(Day of Pentecost). "While Peter
was
still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were
listening to the message. And
all
the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift
of the Holy Spirit
had
been poured out upon the Gentiles also.
For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and
exalting
God". (Acts 10.44-46a) Those present from Jewish backgrounds
were amazed that God had
poured
out this distinctive anointing upon these Gentiles. Peter, on the basis of what he saw God
doing,
openly
received them into fellowship. He
immediately baptized them. This
step was very momentous
because
these Gentiles were openly received within the fellowship without the customary
steps of
conversion
that were required by the Scriptures for Gentiles to be accepted within
great
conflict was initiated.
After these things, the Church began to be spread throughout the
dispersion. Paul made numerous
missionary
journeys throughout the
Gentile
cities. Much of our New Testament
is made up of letters from Paul to these newly-established
churches. During this era the Church continued to
see itself and to be seen as a part of
of
Judaism, although the distinction between
We conclude that God sovereignly chose to
distinguish the Church from
sanctified
from the nations by God's covenant with them. The Church was even further sanctified
or
distinguished
from
provide
a vessel of anointing within
do
not believe God intended to initiate a totally separate group unrelated to
identity.
World events also began to play a significant role in further separating
the Church from
desperate
to overthrow Roman dominance in order to establish an independent Jewish
State. In 66 AD
the
Zealots gained an upper hand and war broke out. (Marvin Wilson, "Our Father
Abraham", Grand
Rapids
and
prophecies
spoken forty years earlier by Jesus,
"But when you see
recognize
that her desolation is at hand.
Then let those who are in
those
who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the
country enter the city;
because
these are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be
fulfilled". (Luke
21.20-22) Jesus instructed His followers to flee
in such an event and they did so.
The general community
of
multitudes
from
sixty-five
years until the final humiliation of
Revolt".
The era from 66 AD until 135 AD was most difficult for both
the
was
now lost. Intense persecution of
Jews and Christians led both groups to develop a defensive attitude
about
themselves. The Jewish people could
not overlook the fact that the Church had forsaken the revolt
against
independent
of
As men from Gentile backgrounds came to leadership positions in the
Church, the tie with
was
further weakened. We see in
Ignatius' epistle to the Magnesiums, written around
110 AD, that the
Shabbat
was soon ignored and worship was encouraged on the first day of the week.
"Wherefore if they
who
were brought up in these ancient laws came nevertheless to the newness of hope:
no longer
observing
Sabbaths, but keeping the Lord's day in which also our life is sprung up by
him, and through his
death,
whom yet some deny." (Magnesium 3.3)
This was called the "Lord's Day" because the resurrection
occurred
on this day of the week. The Jewish
people were soon seen as having been cut off from God's
plan,
and the Church began to develop the theological argument that it had replaced
become
the "New Israel".
Eventually, the Biblical feasts or festivals were replaced by Christian
festivals.
Finally,
in the time of
changed
from the Biblical revelation of the Holy One of Israel who had anointed His
unique Messiah by
His Ruah Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) and
subsequently anointed His chosen vessel (the Church) with the same
spirit,
and was re-defined as the Holy Trinity (three coexistent and coequal
manifestations making up the
Being
of God). Since such a definition
was directly contrary to Biblical revelation, this action sealed the
separation
between the Church and
With
the
Law,
the "Mishna", was codified by 200 AD. Over the next several centuries this was
supplemented by the
"Gemora" to form the "Talmud".
Thus, today, we see these two entities in the world: the Church and the
Synagogue. Each denies
union
with the other; both are comfortable with the separation. However, it seems obvious that God
never
intended such a separation.
According to Paul's exhortation to the Romans, the Church must see
itself
grafted into the rich olive tree or it will be cut off. He specifically exhorted the Church, "Do not be
arrogant
toward the branches: but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who
supports the root,
but
the root supports you. You will say
then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
Quite
right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your
faith. Do not be conceited, but
fear;
for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare
you". (Romans 11.18-21)
Elsewhere,
Paul described believers as being part of "the
Obviously,
God intended the Church to share a common identity with that of
a
simple extension of
God
never intended two trees. He
intended one and that was
people,
and branched out in anointing with worldwide scope in introducing God's Kingdom
into the
world. Today, God is calling for the Church to
repent from its separate identity, to humble itself, and to
acknowledge
its ties with
4. THE FURTHER
SEPARATION
Why did the Church further the separation of itself from
us
understand this, we will consider the story of Jeroboam ben
Nebat.
The story is recorded in I Kings
12:16-33. God anointed Jeroboam to be king of the
house
of David due to the sins of Solomon.
The judgment occurred during the reign of Rehoboam
ben
Solomon. Rehoboam
reigned only over the tribe of Judah and Benjamin; Jeroboam ruled over the
other
tribes.
It is obvious from our text that Jeroboam did not trust the Lord to
establish the kingdom He had
promised
him. The
priesthood
ministered there. Jeroboam was
afraid that if the people in his kingdom continued to worship,
according
to Scripture, in
Jeroboam's
kingdom would lose its separate identity.
He thought he would lose his throne. In reaction to
this,
Jeroboam committed three specific sins.
First, he built an idol (two golden
calves) and said to
brought
you up from the
idols
were really the Biblical God.
Secondly, he built altars before these idols at
altars
rather than on the Altar of the Lord in
offerings
at any place other than that place where He established His name, i.e.,
seek
the Lord at the place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your
tribes, to establish His name
there
for His dwelling, and there you shall come".( Deuteronomy 12.5)
Thirdly, Jeroboam instituted a unique festival which rivaled the
festivals of the Lord, "And
Jeroboam
instituted
a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast
which is in
and
he went up to the altar; thus he did in
stationed
in
he
had made in
in
his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of
(1
Kings 12.32-33)
This festival was established in the eighth Hebrew month (Cheshvan, October/November) and
appears
to have been patterned after the festival of Sukkot. In this manner Jeroboam sealed the
separation
of the
were
dispersed by
have
been preserved in the Jewish people; (2 Chronicles 30.1-12) nevertheless, the
itself
was destroyed forever due to the sin of its first king, Jeroboam. Hosea prophesied that this remnant
would
be preserved in the Jewish people when he said, "Afterward the sons of
the
Lord their God and David their King, and they will come trembling to the Lord
and to His goodness in
the
last days". (Hosea 3.5)
We have considered the sins of Jeroboam because they have been repeated
in the Church for
exactly
the same reasons --- to establish and maintain an identity for the Church
separate from
obvious
that Jesus instructed His disciples in the worship of the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac and the
God
of Jacob. He specifically quoted
the "Shema", "Hear, O Israel! The Lord
our God is one Lord". (Mark
12.29) During the apostolic era the leaders of
the Church followed this form of worship.
However, in the
second
and third centuries Christian doctrine evolved beyond Biblical revelation. Finally, at the council of
Nicea, convened and directed by Caesar Constantine, Jesus
was defined as being of the same essence as
the
Father. (Isaac Boyle, "A Historical
View of the Council of Nice, [Baker Book House,
20)
Later, in the General Council held in
way. These definitions of God were based on
philosophical speculation as to His nature, rather than on
Biblical
revelation because the Bible does not define the detailed relationship of the
Father, Jesus and the
Holy
Spirit. Thus, the basis for the
mystical Holy Trinity was formulated by the bishops of the Church.
Later,
Augustine developed the concept further in his writings. It has become universally accepted in
the
Church
since then. There is some Biblical
basis for understanding that God has been manifested as a
triune
being. We believe that this is
obvious from the New Testament literature.
We are opposed,
however,
to the definition of God as the mystical Holy Trinity because this contradicts
directly the name of
God
revealed to Moses, "I Will Be
that which I Will Be". (Exodus
3.14). God boldly declared that man
could
not define Him. This is exactly
what the Bishops of the Church did as they defined the Holy Trinity.
In
this manner, the Church defined for itself a god, the mystical Holy Trinity,
not conforming to the simple
revelation
of Scripture, and labeled this god as the true Biblical God. It would not be wrong to speak of
God
being revealed in the New Testament era as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is wrong to say that this
defines
God. Thus, the Church followed the
sin of Jeroboam and affected exactly the same results --- a
determined
separation from the Jewish people who held to a Biblical definition and
revelation of God.
Jeroboam's sin of erecting alien altars was repeated by the Church as
the Altar of God was
universalized. This step was aided by the fact that
Titus destroyed the Altar of the Lord in 70 AD when he
destroyed
the
the
Tabernacle and, later, in the
see
that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the
mountain"; (Exodus
25.40)
and, "who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses
was warned by God
when
he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, 'See', He says, 'that you make all
things according to the
pattern
which was shown you on the mountain'"; (Hebrews 8.5) yet, God declared that the physical
altar
would
be established forever, "For
now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be
there
forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually". (2 Chronicles 7.16) In the Christian
view,
the destruction of the physical altar was interpreted as a declaration that it
was obsolete to God's
purpose. Christians saw the heavenly altar
mystically associated with the sanctuary of the Church. Thus,
the
Altar of God was seen as universal and unconnected with a given geographical
location. The Church
saw,
and continues to see, no need for the Altar of God in
spiritual
altar. Again, the separation with
The final sin in which the Church followed the pattern of Jeroboam was
in the matter of Biblical
festivals. The most important Biblical festival by
Jewish reckoning is the weekly Shabbat.
(Samuel T.
Lochs
and Saul P. Wachs,
"Judaism" Argus Communications,
that
this would be a sign between Him and His people, "So the sons of
to
celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as
a perpetual covenant. It is a sign
between Me
and
the sons of
ceased
from labor, and was refreshed".
(Exodus 31.16-17) As early
as the second century, the Church
adopted
a Sunday "shabbat" and by doing so denied
their union with the Biblical God and His people.
Again, at the time of
Charles
Scribner's Sons, N.Y., pg. 105)
Other festivals such as Easter and Christmas were defined separate
from
Biblical revelation to distinguish Christian practice from Jewish
practice. Easter had been separated
from
the Jewish Passover as early as 200 AD.
Christmas was associated with the pagan Roman festival of
Sol Invictus and celebrated on December 25th. Thus, the Church defined for itself an
entire set of festivals
which
were different from the Biblical festivals. This effectively defined Christians as a
separate people
from
The sins of Jeroboam were repeated by the Church. Changes in Christian doctrine and
practice
evolved
throughout the second and third centuries.
changes
into Roman Law at the first General Council of the Church at Nicea. Little
has changed since that
time. Following the guidance of
a
religion totally separated from God's people,
day. When the reformation occurred, these
most basic doctrines were left unquestioned. The
reformation
Churches carried over these universal concepts into their own practice; they
remain as such
today.
Now God is calling for repentance.
control. Christians are being challenged to
embrace their real roots. Will
local churches be grafted into
come
in three areas:
1. From the mystical Holy
Trinity to the worship of the Holy One of Israel and His Messiah
in
the Holy Spirit;
2. From a universal
spiritual altar to the Altar of the Lord in
3. From Sunday Shabbat and Constantinian festivals to Biblical Shabbat and festivals.
That church, or those churches, which cling to the Constantinian
tradition will almost certainly
become
the false prophet envisioned by John, (Revelation 13 and 19) who stands
alongside the final
"beast"
government of the earth. We see
bold overtures in the world toward a one-world government.
We
believe that we are also approaching the manifestation of a representative one-world
religion. That
one-world
"beast" government and religion will ultimately attempt to destroy
God's people
Biblical
believers, we have the opportunity and responsibility to stand in unity of
identity and purpose with
5. DOCTRINAL
DEVELOPMENT
BY THE CHURCH
The Church was established during the first century AD, first by Messiah
Jesus in His earthly
ministry,
then by His disciples. We have the
New Testament as a record of these events.
During the
apostolic
era, the apostles and the
With
the death of the apostles and the destruction of
second
and third centuries, the Church changed markedly due to a number of
pressures. There was little
unifying
central authority during this era.
There was considerable Greek philosophical and cultural
influence
introduced into the Church.
Christianity, as it evolved in this era, was considered illegal in the
the
doctrinal position of Christianity evolved throughout this period. This came to an end with Constan-
tine
and the first General Council of the Church at Nicea.
Following the time of
Church
position in such a way that could be easily understood. His interpretation of Church position
has
been
extremely influential. Few
significant changes have been made since the time of Augustine. (See
Table
2)
Challenges
and Reactions
LACK
OF CENTRAL AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH
During the first Century, the original apostles continued to exert
strong influence over the Church.
As a
result, the Hebraic character of the early Church was maintained relatively
faithful to that vision set
forth
by Messiah Jesus. Obviously, the
impact of men like Peter, John and Paul was sufficient to guard the
doctrinal
positions of the Church and to avoid acceptance of unscriptural positions. Peter and Paul
probably
died during the seventh decade of the first century. Most maintain that John lived to near
the
end
of the century.
The period from 70 AD to 110 AD has very little documentation that can
help us understand what
took
place. However, after 110 AD, we
have recorded literature available from the Church leaders of the
second
and subsequent centuries.
recovered
from this period, the forty years from 70 to 110 remain one of the obscurest
portions of church
history. This is the more to be regretted because
they were an epoch of rapid change in the church itself.
When
the characteristics of the church can once more be clearly traced, its general
conception of
Christianity
shows surprisingly little of the distinctive stamp of Paul. Not only must many now unknown
missionaries
have labored in addition to the great apostle, but an inrush of ideas from
other than
Christian
sources, brought undoubtedly by converts of heathen antecedents, modified
Christian beliefs
and
practices, especially regarding the sacraments, fasting, and the rise of
liturgical forms. The old
conviction
of the immediacy of the guidance of the Spirit faded, without becoming wholly
extinguished".
(
considerable
shift in position from that maintained in the New Testament writings. The position of the
Church
continued to evolve through the third century. There was no clear cut authority that
governed the
Church,
therefore, local leaders were relatively free to modify their position without
much interference.
Most
of the leaders of the second and subsequent centuries were from Gentile
backgrounds and did not
have
any strong allegiance to Hebraic interpretation or practice. As a result, pagan influences were
readily
introduced into church practice evidently without significant objection. The local church competed
with
the local synagogue and the seeds of competition and mistrust were sown. Neither the Church nor
the
synagogue have recovered from this mistrust.
Finally, in the fourth century,
made
Christianity, as it had evolved to his day, the official religion of the
Roman
law became intertwined. General
Councils of the Church were convened to determine doctrinal
positions
for the Church. The period of
relatively free evolution for the
Church was over. A central
authority
had once again been established; the doctrines of the Church were locked into
position. It
would
be very difficult to change those positions in the future. Even to this day the vast majority of
the
Christian
Church embraces those positions fixed by the early Church councils.
GNOSTICISM
There were a number of cultic influences that served to mold the Church
position as the religion of
Christianity
was being defined. One of the most
influential movements was "Gnosticism". Gnosticism
was
a syncretistic philosophy adopting concepts from many existing
philosophies. It taught a dualistic
philosophy
characteristic of the Persians. It
maintained that the "spiritual" existence was higher than the
lower
"material" existence.
Special knowledge was required to attain to the higher spiritual
existence.
This
was salvation to the Gnostic. The
Gnostics taught that Jesus was never born of the flesh (lower
material
world), but only appeared to have done so.
He was seen as revealing the true god of the higher
spiritual
world as contrasted to the god of the Old Testament who was concerned with the
material or
lower
world. Due to Paul's emphasis on
the old and new natures, the Gnostics embraced the writings of
Paul
as contrasted to the other writers of the New Testament.
Gnosticism flourished during the
second century. Its influence
threatened early Christianity. Many
Church
leaders rose to the challenge of confronting Gnosticism. However, as a result of the struggle,
many
gnostic ideas were incorporated into Christianity. For example, the concept that we have
received
salvation
and will "go to heaven" when we die is a result of gnostic influence.
It reflects the concept of
evolving
or going on to a higher, spiritual existence. In fact, true Biblical revelation shows
us that God is
preparing
to come down to earth and dwell in the midst of man; that a dominant purpose of
God's people
is
to prepare a place for Him, not simply to get ready to go "up" and
join Him in heaven.
Another influence of Gnosticism is that the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament) are often received
as
inferior to the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament). Church leaders would deny this, but in
reality,
little
emphasis is given to the Hebrew Scriptures while major emphasis is given to the
letters of Paul. This
is
exactly what the Gnostics did.
Finally, Gnostics emphasized special or secret knowledge that resulted
in salvation. Today in the
Church
we hear terms like, "coming to a saving knowledge of Christ". This is in contrast to the Biblical
concept
that true believers are elect or chosen by God according to His purpose. Our relationship is
based
on His call and our response or obedience to Him. We are saved as we interact with the
risen
savior
and the Holy One. (Romans 5.11)
Salvation is not a result of some special knowledge.
REJECTION
BY
In the
(Clarence
Wagner, "Covenants", Bridges for Peace,
as a
legitimate religion and, hence, was legal in the empire. During much of the first century, the
Church
was
seen as a sect of Judaism (Acts 24.14) and, therefore, it was seen as
legal. During the second
century, the Church clearly separated itself from
Judaism and defined itself as universal (or catholic).
Since
it was seen as evolving during the latter part of the first and the early part
of the second century, it
was
seen as a "new" religion and therefore was considered illegal by
challenge
of defending the Christian position.
These were the "apologists" of the second and third
centuries. Often these apologists appealed to Greek
philosophy as much as to Biblical truth in presenting
their
arguments. This provided a
back-door entrance of Greek thought into the evolving theology of
Christian
doctrine.
A related development regarding the defense of Christianity was the
effort to show that Christianity
was
the legitimate continuation of the ancient religion of
would
be shown to be legal since it would have existed for millennia. But in order to show that
Christianity
was the legitimate continuation of the religion of
illegitimate
continuation of that same religion.
Hence the concept of "replacement theology" was
introduced
by Church leaders. By this means,
"replacement theology" became a foundational part of the
doctrine
of Christianity.
GREEK
PHILOSOPHICAL INFLUENCE
Early Christianity evolved in the geographical regions where Greek
philosophy had its strongest
base
in the ancient world. As a result,
the Gentile leaders of the Church were often strongly influenced by
Greek
thought, perhaps without even realizing it. The effect of Greek thought can,
however, be seen.
For
example, the Greek philosopher Protagoras said,
"Man is the measure of all things". This states the
ultimate
premise of humanism. This focus on
man became a defining part of Christianity. Messiah Jesus
declared
that the first and greatest commandment was, "And you shall love the Lord
your God with all
your
heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your
strength". (Mark 12.30) This is
opposite
to Greek thought. However, in
Christianity, concern for man has far exceeded concern for God.
Indeed,
concern for the well-being of man (or mankind) is seen as equivalent to
concerning ourselves
with
God. Thus, much of modern
Christianity is a haven for humanistic thought and sentiment.
LEGAL
EMBRACE OF
Probably the most deadly influence on Christianity was its eventual
acceptance in the Roman
Empire. By the time
internal
decay and attacks from without.
serve
as a disciplined backbone which would provide a unifying influence for the
Empire. He envisioned
using
the Church for this purpose. In
order to do so, He declared Christianity the official religion of
He
restored formerly confiscated property to the Church, (Walker, "A History
of the Christian Church", pg,
101)
and gave bishops government pensions.
Above all he projected the Church into the position of
ultimate
political acceptance in the community.
The acceptance, the power and the wealth totally
corrupted
the Church. It would never
recover. Following
apostasy. There have been temporary revivals from
time to time, yet, the main body of the Church has
remained
committed to apostasy as it is today.
================================
Table
2. Post Biblical History
Apostolic
Age (30 AD - 70 AD): Church seen as
a part of Judaism - Period of apostolic authority - Church
maintained
Hebraic characteristics and roots.
Transition
Period (70AD - 110 AD): After the
destruction of the
period
of great transition. There is
little literature from this period to give understanding. The Church
appeared
completely changed at the end of this period.
Evolution
of Christianity (110 AD - 325 AD): Christianity evolved as a separate religion. During this period
there
was an open debate and development of Christian theology. Often this was shaped by philosophy
or
by the struggle against heresies.
Christianity was illegal in the
Church
occurred, although, general, widespread persecutions were rare.
Constantinian Church Era (325 AD) Christianity and the Empire
became intertwined.
Church
as a grassroots political organization.
Christianity was made legal and eventually was made the
religion
of the empire.
================================
Evolution
of Church Doctrine
In order to demonstrate the evolvement of Christian thought, we will
consider four specific
doctrines. We will include numerous direct quotes
from early Christian leaders who spoke of these
subjects. In this way we can readily see how the
Church position evolved.
DEFINITION
OF GOD
The Bible is the written revelation of God to man. There are many names of God revealed in
the
Scriptures. Perhaps the most significant one was
revealed to Moses at Mt. Sinai in
the incident of the
"Burning
Bush". God declared that His
name is, "I Will Be that which I Will Be". (Exodus 3.14). This name
is
extremely important because it declares that God is not only
"self-existent" and "sovereign" but, in
addition,
He declared by this name that He is not definable. We can say that we understand something
about
God but we can never assert that we have defined God's being. Other names of God revealed in
the
Bible include "the Creator", "El Shaddai",
and "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of
Jacob".
God also revealed His intention of sending a very special anointed king
who would ultimately reign
over
the whole world. This king
eventually became seen as the Messiah.
Of course we maintain that
Jesus
is that Messiah or uniquely anointed king.
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as "the only
begotten
of the Father", "the Word", "the Way", "the
Truth", "the Life", "the Resurrection", etc.
Throughout the New Testament we hear the terminology concerning God the
Father and our Lord,
Jesus,
the Messiah. From time to time
there is a reference made to the Holy Spirit. We can witness the
terminology
used in the greetings of the New Testament letters:
"Paul,
a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel
of God, which He
promised
beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His son, who
was born of a
descendant
of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by
the
resurrection
from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
through whom we
have
received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all
the Gentiles, for His
name's
sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are
beloved of God in
called
as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ". (Romans 1.1-7)
"Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at
in
Christ Jesus. Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ". (Ephesians 1.1-2)
"Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and
of Christ Jesus,
who
is our hope; to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace
from God the Father and
Christ
Jesus our Lord". (1 Timothy
1.1-2)
"James,
a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who
are dispersed abroad,
greetings". (James 1.1)
"Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout
sanctifying
work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His
blood: May grace
and
peace be yours in fullest measure".
(1 Peter 1.1-2)
"John
to the seven churches that are in
who
is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne; and from
Jesus Christ, the faithful
witness,
the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and
released
us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to
His God and
Father;
to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen". (Revelation 1.4-6)
The book of Revelation gives us a number of specific pictures of the
Holy One and His Messiah.
Worship
is pictured in Revelation 5:11-14.
Worship is directed to "He who sits on the throne" and to the
"Lamb". In the Ages to come (the New Creation)
glory and honor will be brought to the city of
subjection
(under the authority of) to the Holy One.
We as believers find our acceptance in God's
presence
in Messiah Jesus. Yet Biblical
worship and service are ultimately directed to the Holy One of
Notice that in these greetings, reference is made to God the Father and
to "our" Lord, Jesus Christ
(the
Messiah). There are isolated
references to the "Spirit".
The pattern set here in the New Testament
should
have been followed by the Church in all subsequent generations. However, we will show that the
Church
of the second, third, fourth and fifth centuries departed from this pattern and
developed, by
means
of Gentile philosophies, a detailed definition of God referred to as the 'Holy
Trinity'. By doing so,
the
post Biblical Church violated the most significant, revealed name of God,
"I will be that which I will
be",
(Exodus 3.14) which is understood to imply that man cannot define God and is
forbidden to attempt
to
do so.
The language of the second century Church leaders follows closely that
of the New Testament.
Polycarp's epistle to the Philippians (~110 AD) sounds much like
Paul: "Polycarp,
and the presbyters that
are
with him, to the
and
from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, be multiplied". (Epistle of Polycarp
to the Philippians, 1.1)
Clement,
bishop of
God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, from Almighty God
through Jesus Christ,
be
multiplied". (The First
Epistle of Clement to the Corithians)
Ignatius,
the bishop of the Church at
to
the Church which is at
fulness of God the Father, and predestinated before the
beginning of time, that it should be always for an
enduring
and unchangeable glory, being united and elected through the true passion by
the will of the
Father,
and Jesus Christ, our God: Abundant happiness through Jesus Christ, and His
undefiled grace".
(The
Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, 1.1-3) Note that Ignatius departs somewhat from
general New
Testament
usage when he uses the expression "Jesus Christ, our God".
Justin (~150 AD) used terminology in which we can discern the developing
pattern that will be
followed
in subsequent centuries: "Hence are we called atheists. And we confess that we are atheists, so
far
as gods of this sort are concerned, but not with respect to the most true God,
the Father of
righteousness
and temperance and the other virtues, who is free from all impurity. But both Him, and the
Son
(who came forth from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other
good angels who
follow
and are made like to Him), and the prophetic Spirit, we worship and adore,
knowing them in
reason
and truth, and declaring without grudging to every one who wishes to learn, as
we have been
taught". (The First Apology of Justin, chapter
VI)
Justin
continues this pattern as he declared: "For, in the name of God, the
Father and Lord of the universe,
and
of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit,
they then receive the washing with water". (ibid.,
chapter
LXI)
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, (~ 180 AD) maintains a more
Biblical pattern than his contemporaries.
He
wrote:
"The Father is indeed above all, and He is the Head of Christ; but the
Word is through all things,
and
is Himself the Head of the Church; while the Spirit is in us all, and He is the
living water, which the
Lord
grants to those who rightly believe in Him, and love Him, and who know that
there is one Father,
who
is above all, and through all, and in us all". (Iranaeus
Against Heresies, chapter XVIII)
Origen in the third century expressed similar terminology
concerning God the Father and Jesus the
Messiah
and, in addition, he expressed uncertainty concerning the Holy Spirit:
"Then, the apostles related
that
the Holy Spirit was associated in honour and dignity
with the Father and the Son. But in
His case it is
not
clearly distinguished whether He is to be regarded as born or innate, or also
as a Son of God or not;
for
these are points which have to be inquired into out of sacred Scripture
according to the best of our
ability,
and which demand careful investigation". (Origin, "De Prinapiis",
preface) Later he uses
terminology
that would become foundational to the philosophy of the Holy Trinity:
"From all which we
learn
that the person of the Holy Spirit was of such authority and dignity, that
saving baptism was not
complete
except by the authority of the most excellent Trinity of them all, i.e., by the
naming of Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit, and by joining to the unbeggotten
God the Father, and to His only-begotten Son, the
name
also of the Holy Spirit".
(ibid, chapter III)
In
the writings of Tertullian in "The Apology"
(~200 AD) we hear the terminology that would be adopted at
the
Council of Nicea: "We have been taught that He
proceeds forth from God, and in that procession He
is
generated; so that He is the Son of God, and is called God from unity of
substance with God. For God,
too,
is a Spirit. Even when the ray is
shot from the sun, it is still part of the parent mass; the sun will still
be
in the ray, because it is a ray of the sun--there is no division of substance,
but merely an extension.
Thus
Christ is Spirit of Spirit, and God of God, as light of light is
kindled". (Tertullian,
"The Apology",
chapter
XXI) Tertullian
argues against the concept that the "three manifestations of God" are
"one
person":
"in the case of the heresy, which supposes itself to possess the pure
truth, in thinking that one
cannot
believe in One Only God in any other way than by saying that the Father, the
Son, and the Holy
Ghost
are the very selfsame Person. As if
in this way also one were not All, in that All are of One, by unity
(that
is) of substance; while the mystery of the dispensation is still guarded, which
distributes the Unity
into
a Trinity, placing in their order the Three Persons -- the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost; three,
however,
not in condition, but in degree; not in substance, but in form; not in power,
but in aspect; yet of
one
substance, and of one condition, and of one power, inasmuch as He is one God,
from whom these
degrees
and forms and aspects are reckoned, under the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the
Holy
Ghost". (Tertullian,
"Against Praxeas", chapter II) It should be obvious to the reader that Tertullian
had
long since departed from any fidelity to the language of the New Testament and
was advancing his
argument
based on some philosophical thought process unrelated to Biblical revelation.
Arius in the fourth century preached that the
Son was a created being. According
to the account of
Eusebius,
Arius maintained, "that God has not always been
a Father, and that there was a time when the
Son
was not; that the Son is a creature like the others; the he is mutable by his
nature; that by his free will
he
chose to remain virtuous, but that he might change like others. He said that Jesus Christ was not true
God,
but divine by participation, like all others to whom the name of God is
attributed. He added, that he
was
not the substantial Word of the Father, and his proper wisdom, by which he had
made all things, but
that
he was himself made by the eternal wisdom; that he is foreign in every thing
from the substance of
the
Father; that we were not made for him, but he for us, when it was the pleasure
of God, who was
before
alone, to create us; that he was made by the will of God, as others are, having
no previous
existence
at all, since he is not a proper and natural production of the Father, but as
effect of his grace.
The
Father, he continued, is invisible to the Son, and the Son cannot know him
perfectly; nor, indeed, can
he
know his own substance".
(Isaac Boyle, "The Council of Nice", Baker Book House,
The dispute arising from the view expressed by Arius
caused Emperor Constantine to assemble the
First
General Council of the Church at Nicea in
the
Council concluded that the "Son is consubstantial with the
Father". This was
understood: "to signify
that
the Son is not only like the Father, but so similar that he may be called with
propriety the same; and
implies
that the resemblance and immutability of the Son is different from that which
is affirmed of us,
and
which we acquire by the practice of virtue, and the observation of the divine
commands". (Isaac
Boyle,
"The Council of Nice", Baker Book House,
adoption
of the church creed associated with the Council of Nicea:
"We believe in one God, Almighty
Father,
maker of all things seen and unseen, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, begotten of the
Father
and only begotten that is, from the essence of the Father, God from God, Light
from Light, True
God
from True God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father. Through whom all things were
made,
both the things in heaven and the things upon the earth, Who for us men and for
our salvation,
descended
and became flesh and became man, suffered and arose on the third day, and
ascended into
the
heavens, and is coming to judge living and dead. We believe also in the Holy
Spirit". (Robert Baker,
"A
Summary of Christian History", Broadman,
Holy
Spirit in question. Subsequent
synods concluded that the Holy Spirit was consubstantial with the
Father
and with the Son. This position was
adopted in the Second General Council of 381 AD. Therefore
the
foundation for the definition of the Holy Trinity of Christianity was laid.
Probably one of the most influential Church fathers was Augustine of
Hippo. Augustine was
responsible
for making the concept of the Holy Trinity popular particularly in the
view
of the "Holy Trinity" is stated in his work entitled, "On The
Trinity". He summarized the
view of the
Trinity
as: "this doctrine, that the
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one
and
the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not
three Gods, but one
God:
although the Father hath begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not
the Son; and the Son
is
begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the
Holy Spirit is neither the
Father
nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also
co-equal with the Father
and
the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity". (Augustine, "On the Trinity",
chapter IV) This is, of
course,
very difficult to understand.
Obviously this doctrinal-type statement is aimed at answering the
pressing
theological debate of the fourth and fifth centuries and has little to do with
Biblical revelation.
This
statement of the "Holy Trinity" has been accepted since the time of
Augustine. It remains the test of
orthodoxy
to this day.
Note that the full definition of the Christian Holy Trinity occurred
gradually over a period of about
300
years. This resulted from a gradual
departure from the specific nomenclature of the New Testament
aided
by philosophical speculation. To
some degree this "defining" of the Christian God was a reaction to
unbiblical
teaching. This was true of the
Gnostics and of Arius. What is most important for us to see is
that
church leaders of the second, third, fourth and fifth centuries ignored the
most basic name of God
revealed
to Moses, "I will be that which I will be". Instead of maintaining a reverence for
the Name of
God
which is characteristic of Jewish thought, church leaders freely speculated
about every conceivable
aspect
of the Name of God. As church
leaders defined more and more precisely their concept of God;
they
violated this most basic and fundamental aspect of God's name and the
fundamental principle that
God
declared from the beginning -- that He cannot be defined. There would be nothing wrong with
stating
that in the New Testament era, God has been experienced as Father, as Son and
as Holy Spirit. We
believe
that the New Testament Scriptures would support such a position. But to declare the specific
make-up
of God and the detailed interrelations of God is simply unscriptural.
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity has become the most defining doctrine
of Christianity. Indeed, it is
the
ultimate test of orthodoxy.
Nevertheless, it must be rejected on the basis that it is unscriptural
even
though
it has been generally accepted for 1,500 years. It must be replaced with the
nomenclature
revealed
in the writings of the New Testament in order for believers to return to the
Hebraic roots and
function
of that early church.
The evolution of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity can be understood by
considering how men have
reacted
to the revealing of God throughout Biblical history. When
their
exodus from
lighting,
earthquakes, and the sound of a great trumpet.
speaking
the ten commandments to him. Most
would envision a booming voice coming from the cloud
as
portrayed in popular
19.11-13)
and recognized God speaking to him in a "still, small voice". I believe that God spoke in just
this
way to every Israeli at Mt.
Sinai. The Israelis were
terrified of the obvious intimacy with God. They
understood
the implications of their individual unholiness
contrasted with the holiness of God.
As a
result,
they petitioned Moses to hear from and to speak to God on their behalf. They would communicate
through
Moses. Moses actually ascended the
mountain and entered the cloud.
Moses in this way acted
as a
"Messiah" functioning between God and His people. At any rate, the people saw God and experi-
enced Him from a distance; they were more comfortable with
this arrangement.
God
remains so today, God is in their midst, keeping and guiding them, but on a
personal level, He is at a
distance
from them, on the mountain.
Now we come to the New Testament era. On the Day of Pentecost (Yom Hashavuot) the Holy Spirit
descended
on the disciples in the upper room.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit. From the description
of
the events of Mt. Sinai some 1,400
years earlier, the disciples entered the cloud as Moses had before
them. They experienced God in an intimate way
as they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Later, after Paul
had
experienced the same thing, he described the phenomena that I will call
"introspection of God".
Paul
wrote:
"For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches
all things, even the depths
of
God. For who among men knows the
thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him?
Even
so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit
of
the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely
given to us by God". (1
Corinthians
2.10-12) The writers of the New
Testament wrote from the perspective of the cloud. They had
been
born again (brought into a new spiritual perception by the Holy Spirit) so they
readily identified with
the
term so commonly used by Jesus for God -- Father. They experienced the being of Jesus whom
they
perceived
as the Messiah who they saw resurrected and glorified. They understood according to the ac-
counts
given concerning his conception that he had been begotten by God (hence the
terminology of
John,
the only begotten of the Father).
They referred to him as the Son.
They each experienced the
infilling
of the Holy Spirit, so they, of course, spoke of the Spirit. Yet, from the New Testament, it is
readily
discernable
that the expression "God" or "Heavenly Father" was
understood to mean that unique Being
revealed
throughout the Bible as the Holy One of Israel, the God of creation, the God of
Abraham, the
God
of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the One who declared, "I will be that which
I will be". The writers of
the
New Testament spoke in a very limited way of the relationship of the Father and
the Son, but not in
the
degree of detail that could be considered comprehensive. Details of that relationship remained a
mystery
open only to the believer who was filled with the Holy Spirit and, therefore,
given the capacity of
"introspection
of God" (1 Corinthians 2.10-12).
Many of the church leaders of the second through fifth centuries were
obviously more strongly
influenced
by Gentile philosophies than by Biblical revelation. Judging from their writings, little
evidence
is
demonstrated that they were "born again". If they were, their minds were so
captivated by philosophy
that
they would have little if any capacity for "introspection of
God". It appears as if they
and the Church
following
them resorted to worship of a god that could be seen at a distance (there is
little evidence of
the
intimate life common in the first century church). The church leaders defined this god
using the inti-
mate
terminology of the New Testament and subsequently defined his being. This god was seen as
"universal". The work of god was defined as saving a
people from all the earth. So the
Church of this
early
post-Biblical era embraced the new religion of Christianity, worshiping a god
defined for them by
Church
theologians, one who was a "universal" god defined with the
terminology used by the writers of
the
New Testament. This new god was
worshiped at a distance.
REPLACEMENT
THEOLOGY
Unlike the evolution of the definition of God which took almost three
centuries, the development
of a
theological position for the replacement of
in
complete disregard of the simple, straight-forward teachings of the
Scriptures. The covenant that God
made
with Abraham was eternal: "And I will establish My covenant between Me and
you and your descen-
dants after you throughout their generations for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your
descendants
after you. And I will give to you
and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourn-
ings, all the
covenant
that God cut with Abraham was restated and enhanced at Mt. Sinai. Here, God cut His
covenant
with the nation of
promise
in the days of Joshua ben Nun, but the history of the
first Kingdom era (1400 BC - 586 BC) was
turbulent,
filled with sin and judgment. The
ultimate judgment of God on His people was to expel them
from
the land. Contrary to the
assumption of the early Church fathers, rejection or divorce of His people
was
never an option considered by God.
Probably the most difficult period in the history of
era
as God prepared to eject His people from the land. Jeremiah was called to be the prophet of
record
that
would give witness to what God was doing, to stir hope in
"word
of faith" for the future. On
the basis of what the people observed as the Babylonians prevailed in
observed
what this people have spoken, saying, 'The two families which the Lord chose,
He has rejected
them'?
Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their
sight. Thus says the Lord, 'If
My
covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and
earth I have not
established,
then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking
from his
descendants
rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes
and
will have mercy on them'".
(Jeremiah 33.24-26) Two
observations are crucial concerning this
statement
of Jeremiah. First, God stated in a
most clear and definite way that He would never reject (cut-
off,
divorce) his people
concerns
God's statement relative to David.
David represents the house of anointing within
anointed
branch. Jesus became the
fulfillment of this branch as the uniquely anointed one. The Church
was
later joined to Jesus as a part of this phenomena. God declared that this branch would
never be cut
off
either. Note that these two houses
are
In the New Testament, Paul uses the strongest possible language to
confirm what had been stated
earlier
by Jeremiah. Paul says: "I say
then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be".
(Romans
11.1a) and, "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May
it never be!" (Romans
11.11a)
and, "From the standpoint of
the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint
of
God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and
the calling of God are
irrevocable". (Romans 11.28-29) Therefore, the Biblical position on the
eternal nature of God's covenant
with
His people is extremely clear.
Actually nothing has been left to interpretation concerning this matter.
Shortly after the life and ministry of Messiah Jesus,
foreign
army, the Romans, and the second
between
Romans
completely prevailed over
killed
or sold into slavery. Many fled the
land to join their brothers in the dispersion while only a tiny
remnant
managed to remain in the land.
From the standpoint of an outside observer, it would appear that
humiliation
was complete. It is from this
position, in total disregard to stated Biblical fact, that church
leaders
drew their conclusions concerning
absurd
to speak of Jesus Christ with the tongue, and to cherish in the mind a Judaism
which has now
come
to an end. For where there is
Christianity there cannot be Judaism.
For Christ is one, in whom
every
nation that believes, and every tongue that confesses, is gathered unto
God. And those that were
of a
stony heart have become the children of Abraham, the friend of God; and in his
seed all those have
been
blessed who were ordained to eternal life in Christ". (Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians)
Tertullian (~200 AD) stated that: "In former times the Jews
enjoyed much of God's favour, when the
fathers
of their race were noted for their righteousness and faith . .
. But how deeply they have
sinned,
puffed
up to their fall with a false trust in their noble ancestors, turning from
God's way into a way of
sheer
impiety, though they themselves should refuse to admit it, their present
national ruin would afford
sufficient
proof. Scattered abroad, a race of
wanderers, exiles from their own land and clime, they roam
over
the whole world without either a human or a heavenly king, not possessing even
the stranger's right
to
set so much as a simple footstep in their native country. The sacred writers withal, in giving
previous
warning
of these things, all with equal clearness ever declared that, in the last days
of the world, God
would,
out of every nation, and people, and country, choose for Himself more faithful
worshippers, upon
whom
He would bestow His grace, and that indeed in ampler measure, in keeping with
the enlarged
capacities
of a nobler dispensation". (Tertullian, "The Apology", chapter XXI)
Origin
(~200 AD) drew the same conclusion as Tertullian
based on the apparent judgment of
carried
out by the Romans. He declared:
"One fact, then which proves that Jesus was something divine
and
sacred, is this, that Jews should have suffered on His account now for a
lengthened time calamities of
such
severity. And we say with
confidence that they will never be restored to their former condition. For
they
committed a crime of the most unhallowed kind, in conspiring against the Saviour of the human race
in
that city where they offered up to God a worship containing the symbols of
mighty mysteries. It
accordingly
behooved that city where Jesus underwent these sufferings to perish utterly,
and the Jewish
nation
to be overthrown, and the invitation to happiness offered them by God to pass
to others, -- the
Christians". (Origen,
"Against Celsus", chapter XXII)
Cyprian,
Bishop of Carthage, (~250 AD) repeated the same position: "First of all, favour with God was
given
to the Jews. Thus they of old were
righteous . . .
But subsequently becoming neglectful of
discipline,
proud, and puffed up with confidence in their fathers, they despised the divine
precepts, and
lost
the favour conferred upon them" and, "God
would gather to Himself from every nation, and people,
and
place, worshippers much better in obedience and stronger in faith, who would
draw from the divine
gift
that mercy which the Jews had received and lost by despising their religious
ordinances". (Cyprian,
"The
Treaties of Cyprian, Treatise VI, chapters X-XXI)
Note that no Scriptural evidence was set forth in confidently declaring
that
and
replaced by the Church. Evidently
the humiliation suffered by
leaders
never seriously considered that there might be a different explanation for the
observed situation.
They
simply concluded that
the
Church was seen as replacing
openly
ridiculed the Jewish people and exhorted the Church to separate themselves
completely from
them.
the
agenda of the Council to insure that the Council's conclusion benefitted his goal.
Following the
Council,
Constantine wrote concerning its proceedings. Concerning the Jews, he said: "And
truly, in the
first
place, it seemed to every one a most unworthy thing that we should follow the
custom of the Jews in
the
celebration of this most holy solemnity, who, polluted wretches! having stained
their hands with a
nefarious
crime, are justly blinded in their minds.
It is fit, therefore, that rejecting the practice of this
people,
we should perpetuate to all future ages the celebration of this rite, in a more
legitimate order,
which
we have kept from the first day of our Lord's passion even to the present
times. Let us then have
nothing
in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews. We have received another method from the
Saviour. A more
lawful and proper course is open to our most holy religion. In pursuing this course with
a
unanimous consent, let us withdraw ourselves, my much honored brethren, from
that most odious
fellowship". (Boyle, "The Council of
Nice-Another Letter of
THE
LAW
One of the foundational characteristics of the Hebrew Scripture
revelation is the "Torah" or Law.
Revealed
through Moses at Mt. Sinai, the Law
became the constitution for
those
things necessary to maintain proper relationship with God and with man. The Law is the only code
which
has the stamp of divine approval.
Incorporated within the Law is the system for sacrifices.
Sacrifices
provide a means to overcome sin and, hence, are the mechanism for God's grace
to be shown
to
His people. Some aspects of the Law
deal specifically with God's people in God's Land; however, most
of
the Law is easily understood and generally applicable.
right
living. The Law confronts wrong
attitudes and behaviors in men. The
Law prescribes the manner of
life
that a righteous person should live.
Throughout the centuries, there developed within
the
Law to daily life. At the end of
the Second Temple Era, the "Oral Tradition" (The Oral Tradition in
written
form, the "Mishna", along with its
commentary, the "Gemora", became the
"Talmud") had been
developed
which gave detailed interpretation of how to apply the Law. Various schools of thought
developed
arguing how best to interpret and apply the Oral Tradition. Throughout the centuries there
have
been movements like the Karaites which advocated a
return to the simple interpretation of the Law
without
the Oral Tradition. Jesus
introduced and taught still another approach to the Law. He said, "Do
not
think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to
abolish, but to fulfill. For truly
I
say
to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke
shall pass away from the
Law,
until all is accomplished. Whoever
then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so
teaches
others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and
teaches them, he
shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven". (Matthew 5:17-19) Jesus' approach to the Law was to be
filled
with the Holy Spirit and, therefore, see as God sees, feel as God feels, assume
the same priorities as
God
Himself does. This Jesus called
fulfilling the Law. Later Paul
advocated an identical approach. He
exhorted
the Roman church: "in order that the requirement of the Law might be
fulfilled in us, who do
not
walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit". (Romans 8.4) Paul continued to demonstrate
that
he was observant of the Law throughout his life . (Acts 21.17-26) In spite of these stated
positions of
Paul
concerning his attitude on the Law, much misunderstanding has arisen over
Paul's statement "we are
not
under the Law". Paul meant
that it is impossible to justify ourselves by observing commandments,
i.e.,
God has provided a means for our justification through the atoning death of
Messiah Jesus. This is an
accomplished
fact to which we cannot add or take away anything. Paul also meant by this statement that
he
had discovered that he could not measure up to the requirements of the Law by
sheer determined
observance. Only by being filled with the Holy
Spirit and living in close communion with God in Messiah
Jesus
could he truly fulfill the Law.
This then was the attitude of Jesus and the New Testament church
concerning
the Law.
The Church of the second century quickly departed from this position
regarding the Law. Ignatius,
Bishop
of
we
have not received grace".
(Ignatius, "Epistle of the Magnesians,
chapter VIII) and, "Let us
therefore
no
longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of
idleness . . .
And, after the
observance
of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's Day as a festival,
the resurrection-day,
the
queen and chief of all the days (of the week)". (Ignatius, "Epistle of the Magnesians, chapter IX)
Justin
(~150 AD) wrote concerning Shabbat: "But Sunday is the day on which we all
hold our common
assembly,
because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the
darkness and matter,
made
the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same
day rose from the dead".
(Justin, "The
Apology",
chapter LXVII) and, in his dialogue with a Jewish philosopher, he argued:
"But we do not trust
through
Moses or through the law; for then we would do the same as yourselves. But now -- (for I have
read
that there shall be a final law, and a covenant, the chiefest
of all, which it is now incumbent on all
men
to observe, as many as are seeking after the inheritance of God. For the law promulgated on Horeb
is
now old, and belongs to yourselves alone; but this is for all universally. Now, law placed against law
has
abrogated that which is before it, and a covenant which comes after in like
manner has put an end to
the
previous one; and an eternal and final law -- namely, Christ -- has been given
to us, and the covenant
is
trustworthy, after which there shall be no law, no commandment, no
ordinance)". (Justin,
"Dialogue
with
Trypho", chapter XI) and, "For we too would observe the
fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and
in
short all the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined
you, -- namely, on account
of
your transgressions and the hardness of your hearts". (Justin, "Dialogue with Trypho", chapter XVIII)
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, wrote (~180 AD) concerning the Law:
"The laws of bondage, however, were
one
by one promulgated to the people by Moses, suited for their instruction or for
their punishment, as
Moses
himself declared: 'And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes
and judgments'.
These
things, therefore, which were given for bondage, and for a sign to them, He
cancelled by the new
covenant
of liberty". (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies", chapter XVI) Please note the attitude reflected by
Irenaeus compared to the view expressed by Jesus (quoted
earlier), "Do not think that I came to abolish
the
Law".
Tertullian (~200 AD) imagined that a "new"
law had been published by which Christians were to
live:
"In short, before the Law of Moses, written in stone-tables, I contend
that there was a law unwritten,
which
was habitually understood naturally, and by the fathers was habitually
kept." and, "so that we are
not
to give heed to Moses' Law as to the primitive law, but as to a subsequent,
which at a definite period
God
has set forth to the Gentiles too and, after repeatedly promising so to do
through the prophets, has
reformed
for the better; and has premonished that it should
come to pass that, just as 'the law was given
through
Moses' at a definite time, so it should be believed to have been temporarily
observed and kept".
(Tertullian, "An Answer to the Jews", chapter II)
and, "Who else, therefore, are
understood but we, who,
fully
taught by the new law, observe these practices, -- the old law being
obliterated, the coming of whose
abolition
the action itself demonstrates?" (Tertullian,
"Answer to the Jews", chapter II) God's festivals
(Shabbat,
Passover, Shavuot, Yom Kippur and Sukkot - Leviticus
The
Church devised new festivals to replace the "appointed times of the
Lord". We have already seen
that
the Shabbat was changed from the last day of the week to the first day of the
week. The celebration
of
the resurrection was changed from "First Fruits" to Easter. A controversy arose as early as 190 AD
concerning
the time when this festival was to be celebrated. The issue was dealt with at the first
General
Council
of the Church at Nicea (325 AD). Eusebius gives his account of the
proceedings: "The question
relating
to the observance of Easter, which was agitated in the time of Anicetus and Polycarp, and
afterwards
in that of Victor, was still undecided .
. . It appears that the churches of
the
moon whether falling on Sunday or not.
All the other churches observed that solemnity on Sunday
only
. . .
Easter day was fixed on the Sunday immediately following the new moon
which was nearest
after
the vernal equinox, because it is certain that our Saviour
rose from the dead on the Sunday which
next
succeeded the passover of the Jews". (Boyle, "Council of Nice",
pgs. 22-23) Concerning the festival
of
Christmas,
birth
and baptism of Jesus, 'Epiphany' referring to God's 'manifesting' Himself in
these events . . .
About
the
same time, the early fourth century, there developed in the West a distinctive
nativity festival on
December
25. The date was partly determined
by the idea that the birth of the world occurred on the
vernal
equinox (March 25) and correspondingly its new birth in the Saviour
would have been at the same
moment. This was understood as the conception by
the Virgin, and hence the actual birth would be nine
months
later, December 25. But perhaps
even more the date was influenced by the fact that December
25
was a great pagan festival, that of Sol Invictus,
which celebrated the victory of light over darkness and
the
lengthening of the sun's rays at the winter solstice". (
154-155)
Therefore we conclude that the Church of the second -- fourth centuries
embraced a "new law of
liberty"
which they envisioned had replaced the "old law of bondage", the
Torah. This "new law" has
no
Scriptural
basis whatsoever. Indeed, such a
law is not even hinted at in the writings of the first century
Church. Based on the words of Jesus and Paul,
quoted previously, their concern was very much for the
Torah. More striking is the fact that this
"new law" is undefined. Therefore,
the Church has evolved into
a
non-law position, again completely contrary to Scriptural revelation. Finally, the "appointed times of
the
Lord"
were changed to new festivals to suit the purposes of the Church. This, also, was done completely
contrary
to Scriptural revelation.
JUDGMENT
AND EXCLUSIVE CHURCH AUTHORITY
From the beginning of the Scriptural record, man is seen as having
fallen from his original position
of
blessing in the Garden of Eden. God
said to man, "But from the
tree of the knowledge of good and
evil
you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely
die". (Genesis 2.17) In the
following
chapter of the Bible, we see this death occurring; man was driven out of the
garden, out from
the
presence of God. Death meant,
evidently, separation from God's presence.
Adam was separated
from
the sustaining life which flows from the presence of God. From this, and Biblical revelation in
general,
we conclude that death always means separation. It never means cessation of being as is
accepted
in contemporary thought. Physical
death means separation from this physical universe. Paul
wrote, "we are of good courage, I say, and
prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home
with
the Lord". (2 Corinthians
5.8) John, furthermore, spoke of
the "second death". He
meant by this
expression:
the final separation that can occur to a person who, after physical death, is
separated eternally
from
God's New Creation following final judgment.
Very little is revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the concept
of final judgment. Ezekiel
spoke
briefly of personal accountability.
(Ezekiel 18 and 33) Malachi spoke of a "Book of Remembrance"
by
which God would "distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between
one who serves God
and
one who does not serve Him".
(Malachi 3.16-18) It was not until the ministry of Messiah Jesus that
the
subject was brought into full focus.
Jesus taught openly concerning the coming individual judgment
and
the universal applicability of it.
He said: "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which
all
who
are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the
good deeds to a
resurrection
of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of
judgment". (John 5.28-29)
Note
that this statement is universally (all who are in the tombs) applicable. Note also that the basis for
judgment
is the deeds of this life. From
this statement the assumption would have to be made that every
person,
Jewish as well as Gentile, would eventually stand before the God of Israel and
be judged. In
addition,
we must assume that some Jews, as well as Gentiles, would be accepted into life
and some
Jews,
as well as Gentiles, would be rejected unto death.
Paul treated the same subject of judgment. He stated that there was coming a day of
wrath and
revelation
of the righteous judgment of God: "who will render to every man according
to his deeds: to
those
who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality,
eternal life; but to
those
who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, wrath and
indignation. There will be tribulation and distress
for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and
also
of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the
Jew first and also
to
the Greek. For there is no
partiality with God. For all who
have sinned without the Law will also perish
without
the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for
not the hearers of
the
Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not
have
the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are
a law to themselves, in
that
they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing
witness, and their
thoughts
alternately accusing or else defending them on the day when, according to my
gospel, God will
judge
the secrets of men through Christ Jesus". (Romans 2.6-16) Again Paul's statement is universally
applicable --
God will render to every man.
The basis for judgment is those things done in this life. For
those
who are accepted by God (from either Jewish or Gentile backgrounds), God will
grant eternal life.
For
those who are rejected by God (from either Jewish or Gentile backgrounds), God
will grant wrath and
indignation. Paul boldly declares that those who have
not received specific revelation of God will be
judged
not on the standard of Torah but on the basis of natural revelation. Obviously, according to Paul's
gospel,
at least some of such people will be accepted by God into eternal life.
John saw a vision of a "great white throne" before which men
would be judged. He said, "And
I
saw
the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were
opened; and another
book
was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things
which were
written
in the books, according to their deeds.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death
and
Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of
them according to
their
deeds. And death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. This
is the second death, the lake of
fire. And if anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire".
(Revelation
20.12-15) John's vision clearly
includes all mankind from throughout the ages. The basis for
judgment
is the deeds done in this present life.
Some are granted acceptance, i.e., eternal life; some are
eternally
rejected, i.e., the lake of fire.
This is the stated vision of ultimate accountability of all men to
God. The early Church went forth
preaching
this message of accountability and proclaiming that: "God was in Christ
reconciling the world to
Himself
not counting their trespasses against them". (2 Corinthians 5.19) What was required of the
person
hearing this message? He simple turned from his former pagan lifestyle and
walked upright before
God. His former trespasses were forgiven;
therefore, he could begin anew.
The early Church saw itself as an elect community sanctified by the Holy
Spirit, specifically called to
worship
God, to train disciples (those brought into the elect community) and to
proclaim the message of
reconciliation
to the world. To believers they
proclaimed the message of the
nations
they proclaimed reconciliation to the God of the Scriptures.
We conclude from the Genesis account that Adam experienced death; he was
driven out from the
presence
of God and was prohibited from approaching God on his own terms. All subsequent
generations
were born into this same condition, i.e., not one was born having an inherent
relationship or
communion
with God. That had ended in the
fall. Note that even though man
could not approach God,
God
has approached man throughout the generations. This is the account given in the
Bible.
God could have judged man immediately and found him guilty and sentenced
him to the lake of
fire. Actually, this would have seemed logical
and just; however, God choose another way.
First, He
determined
that all would not be condemned for the sin of Adam. God proclaimed through the prophet
Ezekiel:
"'What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the
the
sour grapes, but the children's teeth are set on edge"? As I live',
declares the Lord God, 'you are surely
not
going to use this proverb in
as
the soul of the son is Mine. The
soul who sins will die'".
(Ezekiel 18. 2-4) Every person would live out
his
life, in adversity (which he inherited due to the sin of Adam), and would
demonstrate by his consistent
lifestyle
whether he loved God or not. One
would be rejected only if he individually demonstrated that he
was
selfishly ambitious and disobedient to the truth. Some might argue that this is divinely
unjust, yet,
this
is the manner chosen by God.
Ultimately, the price for this mercy was paid for through the atoning
death
of Messiah Jesus. (Romans 5.18)
This view of judgment changed slowly in the post-Biblical era. Gradually, the Church redefined its
mission
and its vision of itself.
Eventually the Church became seen as an "ark" in which God was
rescuing
some
souls. The mission of the Church
became the salvation of souls. We
will see in the writings of
Cyprian
the view of the Church as the ark.
Later, in the writings of Augustine, the argument is set forth
that
every soul must come into the Church or else it is eternally doomed (doctrine
of absolute depravity).
This
became the prevailing view of the Church and remains so today. As a result, the Church claimed
absolute
authority over every human soul; it had the power of life or death. Final judgment was
precluded
by the Church - if one was in the Church he was saved; if he were not in the
Church he was
doomed. This obviously is contrary to Biblical
revelation.
As with other subjects discussed in the section, we will trace the
developing thought concerning
judgment
through the writings of the Church fathers. Ignatius took a radical view for his day
(~110 AD).
He
declared: "Let no man deceive himself. Unless he believes that Christ Jesus has
lived in the flesh, and
shall
confess His cross and passion, and the blood which He shed for the salvation of
the world, he shall
not
obtain eternal life, whether he be a king, or a priest, or a ruler, or a
private person, a master or a
servant,
a man or a woman". (Ignatius,
"Epistle to the Smymaeans, chapter VI) Justin (~150 AD) assumed
a
more Biblical position. He wrote:
"We hold this view, that it is alike impossible for the wicked, the
covetous,
the conspirator, and for the virtuous, to escape the notice of God, and that
each man goes to
everlasting
punishment or salvation according to the value of his actions". (Justin, "The First Apology",
chapter
XII) and, "We believe that every man will suffer punishment in eternal
fire according to the merit
of
his deed, and will render account according to the power he has received from
God, as Christ intimated
when
He said, 'to whom God has given more, of him shall more be
required'". (Justin, "The
First
Apology",
chapter XVII)
Irenaeus (~180 AD) maintained a Biblical view, stating:
"He should execute just judgment towards all; that
He
may send 'spiritual wickednesses', and the angels who
transgressed and became apostates, together
with
the ungodly, and unrighteous, and wicked, and profane among men, into
everlasting fire; but may,
in
the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy, and
those who have kept His
commandments,
and have persevered in His love, some from the beginning [of their Christian
course],
and
others from [the date of] their repentance, and may surround them with
everlasting glory".
(Irenaeus, "Against Heresies", chapter X)
Origin
(~200 AD) continued this same theme: "Let them beware of doing ought which
is displeasing to
the
Creator of this universe, of the soul and its intelligent principle; and let
them rest assured that
punishment
shall be inflicted on the wicked, and rewards shall be bestowed upon the
righteous, by Him
who
deals with every one as he deserves, and who will proportion His rewards to the
good that each has
done,
and to the account of himself that he is able to give. And let all men know that the good shall
be
advanced
to a higher state, and that the wicked shall be delivered over to sufferings
and torments, in
punishment
of their licentiousness and depravity, their cowardice, timidity, and all their
follies". (Origin,
"Against
Celsus", chapter LI)
Tertullian (~220 AD) stated: "Again, we affirm that a
judgment has been ordained by God according to the
merits
of every man" and "By the award of the judgment, we say that the
wicked will have to spend an
eternity
in endless fire, the pious and innocent in a region of bliss". (Tertullian,
"AD Nationes", chapter
XIX)
Cyprian
(~250 AD) functioned at a time of great stress in the Church. The Church had suffered great
persecution
under the ruler Decius (249-251 AD). Many had fallen away and denied the
faith to avoid
persecution. After the persecution ended, many of
these wanted to return to the Church.
There was
much
controversy as to how this question should be handled. It is in this context that Cyprian
defined the
Church
as an "ark" in which alone salvation could be found. He said: "Whoever he may be, and
whatever
he
may be, he who is not in the
and, "there is no salvation out of the
Church". (Cyprian,
"Letters LI", chapter XXI)
Actually, Cyprian was
not
dealing directly with the judgment issue but his position and vision of the
Church as an "ark" was
embraced
by the Church. The Church assumed
great authority with these statements.
Finally, in the fifth century there was a doctrinal clash between
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo and
Pelagius. Pelagius argued that a human being was
born in the same position as Adam, hence, he denied
the
consequences of the fall. Augustine
argued the opposite position and, in response, developed a
position
that has been referred to as the "absolute depravity" of man. He argued that man was in such a
position
that without a unique saving experience he is doomed to the second death, i.e.,
eternal rejection
and
torment. Augustine argued that the
first resurrection spoken of by John in the book of Revelation,
(Revelation
20.4-6) actually pertains to being "born again" in this present life:
"As, then, there are two
regenerations,
of which I have already made mention, -- the one according to faith, and which
takes place
in
the present life by means of baptism; the other according to the flesh, and
which shall be
accomplished
in its incorruption and immortality by means of the great and final judgment,
-- so are there
also
two resurrections, -- the one the first and spiritual resurrection, which has
place in this life, and
preserves
us from coming into the second death; the other the second, which does not
occur now, but in
the
end of the world and which is of the body, not of the soul, and which by the
last judgment shall
dismiss
some into the second death, others into that life which has no
death". (Augustine, "The
City of
God",
Book XX, chapter VI)
According
to Augustine, the second resurrection spoken of by John, is a bodily
resurrection and will result
in
immediate confinement into the
arrives,
they shall come out of their graves, not to life, but to judgment, namely to
damnation, which is
called
the second death. For whosoever has
not lived until the thousand years be finished, i.e., during
this
whole time in which the first resurrection is going on, -- whosoever has not
heard the voice of the
Son
of God, and passed from death to life, --
that man shall certainly in the second resurrection, the
resurrection
of the flesh, pass with his flesh into the second death". (Augustine, "The City of
XX,
chapter X)
Obviously,
Augustine, with this interpretation, set forth the doctrine of
"Post-Millennialism" since he
spiritualized
the "1,000 year reign" of Messiah on the earth as if it were the
so-called "Church age".
He
confessed
that formerly he had been a "Pre-Millenialist"
but had changed his position.
Augustine prevailed in his confrontation with Pelagius and his position
has become the accepted
doctrine
of the Church. This position is
obviously much more extreme than that taught by Jesus and the
early
Church, yet, it is the position embraced by virtually the whole Church. Indeed, Augustine defined
"orthodoxy"
in the Christian sense.
6. THIS GOSPEL OF THE
KINGDOM
After considering the development of key Christian doctrines by the
early Church fathers, we must
now
consider a basic change of the most fundamental vision of the Church. The message of the Church
was
changed in order to facilitate its needs.
The message taught and preached by Jesus and the apostles
after
him was set aside and "another gospel" was emphasized. This "other gospel" is
universally received
today
as the orthodox Christian message.
The
The message of Jesus was the "
this
message, "But He said to
them, 'I must preach the
sent
for this purpose'". (Luke
4.43) As we consider the gospel
account and the Biblical foundation on
which
it is based, we can formulate some cardinal points of this message. These include the teaching
that:
(1) God is establishing His
direct rule or government in the
earth, and this government will be manifested through
Messiah; (Psalm 2)
(2) God will establish peace
and judge (rule) the earth in
righteousness; (Psalm 98.9)
(3) God will hold every man accountable for
the deeds of this
life; (Ezekiel 18.4)
(4) He will introduce a
period of "restitution of all things", (Acts
3.21)
that will ultimately result in the removal of the curse
on mankind; (Revelation 22.3) and finally,
(5) The Messiah will return
in the Glory of God. (Matthew
16.27)
As He does, God's Glory will reside in
way similar to the phenomenon which occurred in the
wilderness as
Some implications of these foundational points concerning the
establishing of God's kingdom
include:
(1)
Every form of human government (international, national, state and local) will
be abolished. Every
constitution
written will be voided because the government will "rest on His
shoulders". (Isaiah 9.6)
(2)
Human self-determination will end.
"Every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth,
and
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God
the
Father". (Philippians 2.10-11)
(3)
The false dreams and illusions of man will be extinguished completely. God is the God of reality.
(Jeremiah
10.10)
(4)
exalted
high above all the nations for praise, fame and glory. (Deuteronomy 26.19)
Jesus taught continually by parables to convey the basic message of the
Kingdom. Prior to the time
of
Jesus, the
the
first
through
His anointed prophets, priests and kings.
Jesus introduced a new perspective of the Kingdom of
God
and began to lay the foundation for the establishment of this Kingdom during
His earthly ministry. It
would
take millennia for its complete realization.
God would rule directly through the indwelling Holy Spirit in the hearts
of believers. This was the
fulfillment
of the prophecy spoken by Ezekiel that God would: "Moreover, I will give
you a new heart and
put
a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh
and give you a heart of
flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and
cause you to walk in My statues, and you will be careful to
observe
My ordinances." (Ezekiel 36.26-27)
Jesus also introduced the concept of the "
body
was the temple during His earthly ministry. After His ascension the Church would
function in this
capacity. Ultimately this "
been. As a "living stone" of this
temple the individual believer was positioned or seated in the presence
of
the Living God.
As Jesus taught the principles of the
sower" to illustrate that the
roadway,
some in thin soil, some in the midst of weeds and some on good ground. (Luke 8.4-15) He
compared
the conflict between the
wheat
and the tares". (Matthew
13.24-30) The gradual growth of the Kingdom was explained in the
"parable
of the mustard seed" and the "parable of the leaven". (Luke 13.18-21) The mysterious
development
was revealed in the "parable of growing grain". (Mark 4.26-29) The practical function of
the
means
of a parable, Jesus taught that leadership in the Kingdom would be taken away
from the natural
leaders
and would be given to those whose hearts were given to God. (Matthew 21.33-46) Indeed, those
least
expected would be invited to participate in the Kingdom. (Matthew 22.1-4) The opportunity for
individual
believers to function in the Kingdom was revealed in the "parable of the
talents". (Luke 19.11-
27)
The significance of the Kingdom to the individual believer was revealed in the
"parable of the hidden
treasure"
(Matthew 13.44) and the "parable of the fine pearl". (Matthew 13.45-46) Yet, vigilance would
be
required
by those participating. (Matthew
25.1-13) The Kingdom, God's direct rule, was not to be found
externally
established but would be accomplished by God's indwelling presence. (Luke 17.21) Finally, the
amazing
equality of reward, signifying eternal life in the presence of God, was shown
by Jesus in the
"parable
of the workers". (Matthew
20.1-16)
These aspects of the
the
early Church; they have continued to be fulfilled for almost 2,000 years. The vision outlined by these
parables
will not be fully realized until Jesus returns and reigns in
Another
Gospel
Now today, when we consider the basic message of the Church, we hear
something different from
Jesus'
message of the
to
God. Paul outlined this message in
his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 5.18-20). Indeed,
this
is a valid message for the Church to share in the midst of the nations. Nevertheless, as is obvious
from
our discussion of Jesus' message, the message of reconciliation in no way
encompasses the
Kingdom
message taught by Jesus. The Church
has basically spiritualized the Kingdom message and
focused
on the message or vision of reconciliation, which has been fairly faithfully
set forth in the nations.
Every
denominational group has emphasized different aspects of this message, yet it
is fundamental to all
branches
of the Church. (Please see Windall Willis, "The Kingdom of God in the 20th
Century
Interpretation",
Hendrickson Publishers,
Evidently, the Church determined to de-emphasize Jesus' message and
substituted the message of
reconciliation
in its place. There are a number of
reasons for this. The message of
reconciliation is a
"good,
positive" message causing little reproach to the one who proclaims
it. The Kingdom message, on
the
other hand, is like a sword causing a polarization in those who hear. (Matthew 10.34) The one
proclaiming
the Kingdom message must bear reproach.
A second reason why the Church de-emphasized the Kingdom message is that
God's Kingdom, as
preached
by Jesus, is intimately linked with
to
adopt a universal identity while rejecting identity with
awkward
for them. The message of
reconciliation, on the other hand, was easily adapted to the universal
identity.
A final reason why the message of reconciliation was emphasized so
strongly by the Church is that
it
was in the process of forming a new world religion -- Christianity -- distinct
from that which preceded it.
Like
all religions it mapped out a way to come to God. The message of reconciliation served
this purpose
very
well. The Kingdom message was
unprofitable in the formation of this new religion.
There are probably any number of other factors that influenced this
transition, but these three
should
be sufficient to outline for us why the message of reconciliation was
emphasized at the expense
of
the Kingdom message. Today, this
whole sequence is simplified in the minds of Christians by the
rationalization
that the message of Paul is the highest form of revelation available to
us. They proclaim
that
Jesus preached His message to
bring
forth this new universal message.
Hence, the Church vision is logically built on Paul's message or
letters
rather than on the message of Jesus.
Today, as God has re-established the people of
being
preached again with a fresh anointing.
With end time events rapidly being fulfilled, we are
beginning
to focus on the King and His message of the Kingdom. Indeed, this in itself is a sign of the
end. Jesus proclaimed, "This gospel of the Kingdom shall
be preached in the whole world for a witness
to
all nations, and then the end shall come". (Matthew 24.14) Jesus was not speaking of the
"gospel of
reconciliation",
which has been set forth by the Church for almost two millennia. He was speaking of the
message
of the
and
we would not necessarily be nearer the goal of seeing the kingdom
established. It is the message of
the
Kingdom that must be proclaimed.
7. A NATIONAL OR A
UNIVERSAL PEOPLE?
Previously, we have outlined the historical separation that occurred
between the Church and
We
considered a number of specific positions that were taken by the Church to
distinguish itself from
national
people separated from the world, or does He want a universal people without
specific national
identity?
To answer this question, we will consider the positions of
From the very beginning, God separated the people of
them
to be "a goy kadosh", a holy nation, and an
"am segulah" or a peculiar people,
"Now then, if you
will
indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession
among all the
peoples,
for all the earth is Mine: and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation". (Exodus
19.5-6a) He said that He would set Israel
"high above the nations", "And that He shall set you high above
all
nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a
consecrated people to
the
Lord your God, as He has spoken".
(Deuteronomy 26.19)
God gave this people a very specific land that further distinguished
them. He honored Israel by
dwelling
in their midst and struck fear in the hearts of the nations by doing so. Even the Gentile prophet,
Balaam,
called Israel a people that dwells apart, "As I see him from the top of
the rocks, and I look at him
from
the hills; behold, a people who dwells apart, and shall not be reckoned among
the nations".
(Numbers
23.9)
God dealt with Israel as a nation.
Israel had one anointed leader and one altar. They shared a
common
experience of worship at the place God chose to establish His name. Israel stood before God as
one
people to seek atonement for the nation on Yom Kippur. Moses related God's message of blessings
and
curses to the people and they experienced them together. Israel was dispersed as a nation (586
BC)
and
has in this century experienced a regathering as a
nation.
Israel was further distinguished by the Shabbat, which is a special
covenantal sign between God
and
His people, "So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath,
to celebrate the sabbath throughout their
generations
as a perpetual covenant. It is a
sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six
days
the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor,
and was refreshed".
(Exodus
31.16-17) Israel uniquely worshiped
God during the festivals of the Lord (Passover, Shavuot and
Sukkot). Israel
alone had the opportunity and responsibility of Torah. Even the name of God by which He
declared
that He would be known to all generations, "the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, the God of
Jacob"
(Exodus 3.14-15) points to the patriarchs and, hence, to the nation of
Israel. Therefore, we must
conclude
that God explicitly determined to sanctify (separate) His people Israel from
all other nations;
indeed,
He required them to maintain that separation. Israel would have to deny its covenant,
its Torah,
its
history and its future in order to be an ordinary nation like all other nations.
The
Church and Universal Identity
We have already documented the trend in the early Church toward a
universal identity. The Church
was
strongly motivated to distinguish itself from Israel. It changed its day of worship to the
first day of the
week
instead of the Biblical Shabbat. It
developed new festivals in place of the Biblical festivals. It
defined
God by extra-Biblical philosophy.
It established altars in each locality (in each church). It denied
responsibility
to the Torah, or Law, and redefined its primary vision from that of being a
dragnet that
draws
the nations into accountability before the Lord to being an Ark of Safety in
which people could
escape
the judgments of God.
The Church, in this way, denied its national character and became
universal. Walker in his
"History
of
the Christian Church" states that the Church saw itself as the "true
Israel" whose citizenship was in the
heavenly
Jerusalem. (Walker, "A History
of the Christian Church", pg.
38) Walker further states that the
conception
of the Church was "of a heavenly citizenship reaching down to the earth,
gathering into its
own
embrace the scattered Christian communities". Thus, today we hear people speaking of
the
universal,
invisible Church. Its realm is
heavenly and thereby encompasses all nations. It has no specific
national
character at all; it is truly catholic.
The
Church's Role in Israel
At Mt. Sinai, Israel asked
for an intermediary between themselves and God. Moses fulfilled that
role. Following Moses came a sequence of
judges and prophets. Each fulfilled
the specific role of being
the
vessel of spontaneous anointing within Israel. After the era of the prophets, we see
the complete
office
of Moses (prophet, priest and king) fulfilled in Messiah Jesus. Specifically, we see the vessel of
God's
spontaneous anointing in Him. After
Jesus' ascension, that same anointing came upon the early
Church. The role of the Church is identical to
that of Messiah Jesus Himself. John
proclaimed, "As He is,
so
also are we in this world". (1
John 4.17b) Paraphrasing Paul's
message to the Romans he indicated
that
the role of Messiah was to confirm to Israel that every Biblical promise to her
would be completely
fulfilled. (Romans 15.8)
In order for the Church to function in this capacity and fulfill this
ministry, it must be grafted into
the
national life of Israel. Paul
contrasted believers before and after their life in Messiah including
participation
in the commonwealth (national life) of Israel, "Remember that you were at
that time
separate
from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the
covenants of
promise,
having no hope and without God in the world". (Ephesians 2.12) The clear implication of Paul's
statement
is that believers should now be considered to be included in the national life
of Israel. Paul
exhorted
the Romans to remember that they had been grafted into the rich olive
tree. (Romans 11) In
other
words, the Church must be identified with the nation of Israel if it is to
serve Israel as a vessel of
anointing. Obviously, at some point in the history
of the Church, it faced the choice of maintaining a
Biblical
position of identity with Israel and the resulting national identity that goes
with that position or
adopting
a universal (catholic) identity and message without a specific national
identity. It is evident that
by
the second century the latter choice was made.
Challenge
Today Israel is being regathered into the
Land. At the same time, we see the
nations moving into
positions
alarmingly like those predicted in the books of Daniel and Revelation. We are entering a time
which
demands that we search the Scriptures and our souls to ensure that we
understand the will of God.
As
we do this, we discover that the Church has isolated itself from fruitfulness
alongside of Israel through
its
universal identity. No ministry to
Israel is possible as long as that universal identity is maintained. Just
at
the time when it appears that all the nations are being aroused to come up
against Judah and
Jerusalem,
just when ministry could be most effective, the Church, in general, is not in a
ministry position.
In
fact, it is completely isolated from Israel and is, therefore, incapable of
effective ministry to Israel.
What
will the Church have to do in order to accomplish God's will in this day? It
must humble itself,
renounce
universal identity and embrace the fact that it is a sub-group of Israel. The Church must realize
that
it is a special unit called and equipped to provide a unique and very special
ministry to Israel in this
day. This is especially true as Israel takes
a more Biblical position and , hence, becomes more and more
isolated
in the midst of hostile nations.
God is raising up a church today that is identified with Israel. The Church is beginning to assume its
true
Biblical (national) identity within Israel, and to function in its true
God-given capacity. Contrasted to
this
are many who rigidly maintain their catholic identity, refusing any identity
with Israel. In the end,
these
will be open to identify with the great beast of the book of Revelation which
will also be universal
(catholic)
in character. Today is the day to
repent and come back to the "Hebraic roots" of our faith.
8. REDEMPTIVE
ACTIVITIES AT THE
CLIMAX OF THE AGE
In order to understand the role of God's people in His purpose today, we
will consider the focus of
His
outworking throughout the ages.
History can be divided into four distinct ages:
(1) the Patriarchal
Age
> 1400 BC
(2) the Early Kingdom
Age 1400 BC -
586 BC
(3) the Age of the
Gentiles
586 BC - 1967 AD
(4) the New Kingdom
Age
1967 AD >
The
focus of God's outworking is somewhat different in each period. During the Patriarchal Age, God laid
the
foundation of redemption through the covenants and the revelation to the
patriarchs. God's
interaction
with the nation Israel and His revelation through the prophets characterized
the Early Kingdom
Age. Throughout this period, God's attention
was almost exclusively focused on the people of Israel.
During
the Age of the Gentiles, God's focus turned outward toward the nations. He dispersed Israel
throughout
the nations where they took a message of God's wrath, "A clamor has come to the end of
the
earth,
because the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He is entering into judgment with all
flesh; as
for
the wicked, He has given them to the sword, declares the Lord". (Jeremiah 25.31) Later, He dispersed
the
Church into the nations also. The
Church conveyed the message of individual redemption, "Now all
these
things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us
the ministry of
reconciliation,
namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting
their
trespasses
against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation". (2 Corinthians 5.18-19)
So,
during the Age of the Gentiles, Israel was used to bring a solemn warning of
coming judgment to the
national
entities, while the Church preached individual reconciliation to the people of
these same nations.
Finally,
during the New Kingdom Age, we expect God to prepare the way for and, indeed,
establish His
Kingdom
through His Messiah.
The
Beginning of a New Era
According to the ancient Hebrew prophets, we would expect that God would
regather His people,
Israel,
to their land and that the focus of His attention would return to them in
preparation for a new
"Kingdom"
age. Many believe this has been
happening in the twentieth century.
The Psalmist declared
that
God's attention and favor would return to Zion, "For the Lord has built up Zion, He
has appeared in
His
glory". (Psalms 102.16) Certainly, we can see that Zion is being
built up today.
In addition, the prophets point to another activity of the Lord
associated with the regathering of
Israel;
this is the judgment of the nations.
Joel proclaimed that God would call the nations down into the
valley
of judgment when He restored the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, "I will
gather all the nations,
and
bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with
them there on
behalf
of my people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the
nations; and they
have
divided up My land". (Joel
3.2) Zechariah foresaw the same
thing happening in the last days,
"Behold,
I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples
around; and when the
siege
is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. And it will come about in that day that
I will make
Jerusalem
a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely
injured. And all the nations of
the
earth will be gathered against it".
(Zechariah 12.2-3) So we
conclude that the regathering of the
Jewish
people and the establishment of the state of Israel initiated the promised
judgment of the nations
by
God.
The
Dragnet
Believers need to understand how to function in this new move of
God. Jesus taught the message
of
the Kingdom of God. The explicit
impact of the Kingdom is revealed in the parable of the dragnet,
"Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish
of every kind; and
when
it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered
the good fish into
containers,
but the bad they threw away. So it
will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth,
and
take out the wicked from among the righteous. And will cast them into the furnace of
fire; there
shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth".
(Matthew 13.47-50) Here, the
Kingdom is seen as a dragnet
bringing
the whole world down into judgment.
There are two components of God's dragnet. The first is the nation of Israel. Ezekiel proclaimed
that
the Lord would be sanctified in the midst of Israel in such a way that the
nations would recognize His
awesomeness
and His identity, "And I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make
Myself known in
the
sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord". (Ezekiel 38.23) For this to take place,
Israel
must be regathered in the midst of the family of
nations. This has occurred
throughout the
twentieth
century culminating with Israel becoming strong enough to declare itself an
independent
nation
in 1948. Then God revealed Himself
acting on behalf of Israel. At no
time in modern history has
this
been more apparent than in the Six-Day War of June 1967. God openly demonstrated that He is
uniquely
committed to His people Israel and that He is determined to preserve, favor and
exalt Israel
above
every nation. (Deuteronomy 26.19)
Today, the attention of the nations is focused on God's people
Israel
in the land of Israel.
The second component of God's dragnet is the Church. When we speak of the Church we are
expressly
speaking of those local bodies of believers that are obedient to Messiah Jesus
and are fully
grafted
into Israel. (We are not speaking
of church denominations because each denomination in its own
way
attempts to rival the physical manifestation of Israel itself. In this way each has become a
counterfeit. Only the local church can be grafted
into Israel.) God has established bodies of believers in
every
tribe, tongue, people and nation.
(Revelation 5.9)
Paul declared that one very important function of the Church is to wage
"spiritual warfare",
"For
our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
powers, against the world
forces
of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places". (Ephesians
6.12) He further indicated that the local
church should impress the wisdom of God upon the rulers and
authorities
in the heavenly places, "In
order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known
through
the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places". (Ephesians 3.10) These
rulers
and authorities are understood to be demonic powers manifested through the
nations. God's
wisdom
is impressed upon these demonic powers as the local church proclaims God's
purpose in the
community. In this way, truth is manifested
throughout the world. A clear
interpretation of what God is
doing
in Israel and throughout the world should be continually proclaimed in the
local community. The
nature
of the demonic powers functioning in the nations should likewise be set
forth. When this is done,
the
demonic host have no place to hide; their power of deception is greatly limited
because of the light
of
the Lord shining through the local church.
Thus, Israel and a grid of local churches scattered across the
world
form a network or dragnet which, on the one hand, proclaims God's sovereignty
over the nations
and,
on the other hand, continuously reveals the nature of the spiritual forces
which are driving the
nations
to destruction.
Church
Identity
Now in order for this dragnet to function, the local church must be
clearly identified with Israel or,
in
the words of Paul, it must be grafted into the rich olive tree. The dragnet cannot function if the
Church
is
seen as a separate entity from Israel.
There are a number of things that the local church must do if it is to
be grafted into Israel. First,
Israel
is a national entity, so to be grafted in, the Church must see itself in a
national sense. Thus the
Church
must repent from an independent universal identity. Secondly, the local church must return
to a
Bible
oriented faith. The Bible must
replace Church tradition in defining practice. Shabbat must be
honored
as the Biblical day of rest.
Biblical festivals must be implemented in the place of Christian
festivals. A thorough study of God's law must be
made and the Church must confess responsibility for
those
aspects of the Law that are applicable to it. The Church must use explicit Biblical
terms to address
God
and His Messiah in the place of terms based on Greek philosophical
thought. Finally, the Church
must
openly confess its identity with Israel.
The Scriptures give us a beautiful prophetic view of this
identity
in the book of Ruth. Ruth's
interactions with Naomi foreshadows the Church's ministry to Israel in
the
last days, "But Ruth said, 'Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from
following you; for where you
go,
I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your
God, my God.
Where
you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse,
if anything
but
death parts you and me'".
(Ruth 1.16-17) When these
Biblical practices are implemented, the Church
is
prepared to become functional in God's great dragnet.
Prophetic
Fulfillment in the Twentieth Century
The twentieth century is unlike any time in preceding history. Truly we believe that we live in the
end
time. Some of the factors that
distinguish the twentieth century and also constitute fulfillment of
Bible
prophecy include:
(1) the rapid population
growth,
(2) advances in
transportation, communication and data
management,
(3) the emergence of a
one-world government and religion and
(4) the regathering
of Israel.
POPULATION
The twentieth century has presented population problems unlike anything
that has ever occurred
previously. At the close of the twentieth century,
the population of the world will be near 6 billion.
Currently,
the doubling time for world population is estimated to be 30 to 40 years. If the function of
population
is integrated relative to time over all of human history, the number arrived at
is about 20
billion. Hence, of all the people who have every
lived, somewhere between one-fourth to one-third are
alive
today. In 30 years that fraction
will be approaching one-half. It
took at least six millennia to reach a
population
of 1 billion; now a billion is being added every five to ten years.
The consequence of such population growth is that mankind is beginning
to severely stress the
ability
of the earth to sustain him; this problem will intensify in the twenty-first
century. Famines are
common
in many areas now and they will only increase. The impact of natural disasters is
magnified
simply
because of the increasing density of human population. These problems will drive the nations of
the
world into joint efforts in attempting to deal with these problems. Therefore, we can expect
something
like a global governmental effort to save the environment and to control and
distribute food in
the
near future.
TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCES
Perhaps the greatest observable changes in the twentieth century have
occurred in the areas of
transportation,
communication and data management.
Up until near the beginning of this century, man
traveled
much the same way as Abraham did four thousand years ago. Today, travel to any part of the
world
is almost instantaneous.
Transportation is inexpensive enough so that the masses freely travel
about
the globe; whereas, in the past only the elite traveled extensively. Easy, abundant transport has
also
made it possible, for the first time, to place a large army anywhere in the
world in a very short period
of
time. A few years ago, the
U.S. placed half a million troops
halfway around the world in a matter of a
few
months. They were readily supplied
with everything they needed to pursue their objective.
Communications have also radically changed in the twentieth
century. In previous centuries,
communications
were carried by couriers from one point to the other. This often required weeks or
months
for delivery. Today, we enjoy
virtually instantaneous communication to any point on the globe.
We
can direct dial an acquaintance in any country. We send and receive FAXES or e-mail
messages
instantly. We read news on the Internet from every
major capital as it occurs.
The advent of the computer has likewise revolutionized data
management. In previous
generations
accounting was accomplished by hand ledgers. Today, we can deal instantly with an
almost
infinite
amount of data by the use of computers.
Indeed, detailed files are kept on every person. There
seems
to be no end to the quantity of data that can be dealt with or the speed by
which it is done.
All of these factors have prepared the way for a single global
government in the earth. Again,
these
advances in the twentieth century have made the prospect of a single global
government possible
for
the first time since Alexander the Great.
Today a one-world government that encompasses every
nation
is entirely possible due to advances that have been realized in transportation,
communication and
data
management during the twentieth century.
GLOBALISM
The twentieth century has witnessed the growing concept of a global
village and the vision of a
one-world
government. Following World War I,
the League of Nations was formed.
This constituted a
global
government in a limited sense.
Following World War II, the United Nations was formed. The plans
for
the U.N. were much more ambitious
than those for the League of Nations, although those ambitions
were
delayed due to the forty year struggle between East and West. Now in the last decade of the
twentieth
century, there remains only one "super-power" to dominate
policy. We expect to see the
potency
of the U.N. to increase at the
expense of national sovereignty in the next century. This emerging
global
government is prophesied to rule over every nation, "And authority over
every tribe and people
and
tongue and nation was given to him".
(Revelation 13.7b) We believe
this will be the "Anti-Christ"
government
which ultimately will make war against Israel and all true believers in Messiah
Jesus.
The prophecies of the book of Revelation also point to the arising of a
global religious order. This
organization
is seen as being molded in the image of the "secular" beast
government. This, most likely,
refers
to a united religious order formed as a representative body with delegates from
all major religious
sects. If this organization is patterned after
the U.N., then we would expect to see a "General Assembly"
made
up of representatives from all participating religious groups which would
discuss policies for and
admit
new members to the organization. In
addition we would anticipate an executive committee (like
the
Security Council)which would maintain the real decision making power of the
organization.
According
to prophecy, this organization will exercise the power to include or exclude
individuals from
participation
in the whole "Anti-Christ" system.
Efforts to establish a "United Religions" organization
patterned after the United Nations is already
underway. This effort has not, to date, received
much publicity; however, it is sure to in the near future.
INGATHERING
OF THE EXILES
Now
the only other thing that is necessary for the end-times is the regathering of the people of
Israel
to the land of Israel. This, of
course, has also occurred in the twentieth century. The First Zionist
Conference
was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897.
Following this conference, there was a steady flow of
"Aliyah" to the land of Israel. The Jewish population in the land grew
steadily throughout the century. By
1948
Jewish strength was sufficient to declare the existence of an independent
state. In 1967, Israelis
were
able to take the heartland of Israel including Jerusalem. The ingathering continues.
================================
Estimates
of Jewish
Population
at Various Times
1920
84,000
1948
750,000
1967
2,400,000
1980
3,200,000
Present 4,700,000
================================
Summary
We stand today at a strategic point in history; every sign of the end
times is being fulfilled. It is in
this
day that believers are being called to function in an extraordinary way in
God's purpose. The great
polarization
of mankind is occurring. God's
dragnet is beginning to function.
Great light is shining in the
world. As more light shines forth, the
polarization will increase. God
will continue to sanctify Himself in
the
midst of Israel. As He does so,
local churches that are grafted into Israel will receive a fresh and
powerful
anointing which will be manifested as more power and light. People will either be drawn to this
light
or repelled from it (John 3.20-21).
The nations are being forged into a global union of the
government
of the "Anti-Christ". The
opposition to Israel is already apparent.
Soon God will bring all the
nations
into the "valley of decision ", "Let the nations be aroused and
come up to the valley of
Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding
nations. Put in the sickle, for the
harvest is
ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes,
multitudes
in the valley of decision. For the
day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision". (Joel 3.12-
14) In order to be effective in this crucial
hour, believers in local congregations must be thoroughly
grafted
into Israel. They must embrace
"Hebraic roots".
Part Two:
ESTABLISHING HEBRAIC
ROOTS
IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
1. Introduction
In the preceding section of this text, we discussed several concepts
dealing with the history of the
Church
and Israel. We also considered a
prophetic analysis of the situation that we find ourselves in
today. In this final section we will discuss
practical ways for a local congregation to begin establishing
Hebraic
roots.
We may begin by attempting to envision what the first century Church was
like. We will discover
that
it is practically impossible to recapture the exact structure and atmosphere of
that period. We can,
however,
build local churches which share the same fundamental characteristics with that
early Church.
Some
of those foundational characteristics include, (1) knowing God and His Messiah,
(2) body faith, (3)
Biblically
sound vision and doctrine, (4) spiritual worship and (5) Hebraic identity. Hebraic roots are not
achieved
by superficially embracing Jewish symbolism such as the wearing of kippot and talliot, reciting
Hebraic
liturgy and singing Hebrew songs.
These things may be meaningful in certain circumstances but
do
not by themselves constitute "Hebraic roots". In this section we will consider how to
build local
churches
with Hebraic roots.
It is the local church upon which we must focus our attention. An individual may embrace Hebraic
roots
to the point of formal conversion but he will not accomplish the goals set
forth in this work. On the
other
hand, denominations due to their nature cannot adopt Hebraic roots. In fact, denominations are
organized
entities comprised of many local churches with a distinct physical
manifestation in the world.
These
visible organizations invariably rival Israel. It is the local church that has the
unique capacity to be
the
physical manifestation of Messiah Jesus in the world and, therefore, it is the
local church which may
properly
adopt "Hebraic roots".
The Greek word for church is "Ekklesia". It means simply "a calling
out" or a group of people called
out
to a special assembly. The Hebrew
word is "Knesset". The
twelve disciples of Jesus made up the first
Church. (Matthew 16.17) After Jesus' ascension
the Holy Spirit came upon these same disciples and
others
like them forming a unique body of people in Jerusalem who were set aside by
revelation
knowledge
of Messiah Jesus. These believers
began to function as the Church.
This church was centered
in
Jerusalem. It was made up of people
from Jewish backgrounds. It
functioned in the midst of Israel and
was
a part of Israel. It had Hebraic
roots.
2. The Ben-David Covenant
The Biblical foundation for the Church is found in the
"Ben-David" covenant. (2
Samuel 7.8-17) God
made
a covenant with the "son" of David promising Him a kingdom, a throne
and a house forever. There
was a
short term fulfillment of this covenant in Solomon. The long term fulfillment came through
Messiah
Jesus. The angel announcing the conception of
Jesus said, "And behold you will conceive in your womb,
and
bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most
High;
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father David; and He will
reign over the house of
Jacob
forever; and His kingdom will have no end". (Luke 1.31-33) Jesus introduced the concept of the
"Kingdom
of God" during His earthly ministry.
That kingdom was initiated in the early Church and will be
fully
and visibly manifested at His coming.
This is the promised kingdom.
After His resurrection, Jesus
ascended
into heaven and took His position at the right hand of the Father. (Colossians 3.1) When He
descends
again His throne will be established in Jerusalem. This is the throne of David. Finally, Jesus
referred
to His physical body as the "Temple". (John 2.21) After the Holy Spirit fell
upon the Church, the
Church
was referred to as the Temple.
This, then, is the house God is building for David. Therefore, we
see
a complete fulfillment of the "Ben-David" covenant (kingdom, throne
and house) through Messiah
Jesus.
3. Functions of the Local Church
There are various functions of the Church. It has a primary responsibility to the
house of Israel.
Paul
wrote that, "Messiah has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of
the truth of God to
confirm
the promises given to the fathers".
(Romans 15.8) Paul used the
term "circumcision" in order to
avoid
any possible confusion. He, of
course, is referring to the physical seed of Israel; those still
distinguished
by the circumcision. He recognized
that the physical seed of Israel would continue
throughout
the generations and that all aspects of the covenants and all promises
envisioned by the
prophets
would be fulfilled through them. He
clearly stated that those called out in the Church bear a
special
responsibility to the people of the circumcision to confirm the truth of
God. Most churches today
deny
this responsibility altogether.
Many even hold the unscriptural position that Israel is no longer a
legitimate
covenant body in God's sight.
A second focus of ministry is to the nations. Again Paul wrote, "He has committed to us the word
of
reconciliation". (2
Corinthians 5.19) The Church has a
responsibility to convey to the people of the
nations
that God, the Holy One of Israel, has provided a blood covering for their sins
and that they have
been
made acceptable in His presence.
Therefore, men of all nations are called to repent from heathen
lifestyles
and to walk in uprightness according to the revelation of the one true God.
A third function of the local church is to serve the individual who has
come to know Jesus as savior
and
lord. Jesus specifically charged
His disciples to go into the nations and make disciples, "And Jesus
came
up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth. Go
therefore
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and
the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to
the
end of the age'". (Matthew
28.18-20) The Church should serve
as a place of development so the
individual
can grow in all aspects of godliness and righteousness. As one grows, the local church
becomes
a suitable vessel within which a sacrifice of service may be presented to the
Lord on a daily
basis. (Romans 12.1)
Finally, the local church is an instrument of spiritual warfare. Paul wrote, "For our struggle is
not
against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world
forces of this
darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places". (Ephesians 6.12) Here Paul
outlined
the arena of struggle that the Church has been commissioned for. The specific function of the
Church
is to speak truth under authority, "In order that the manifold wisdom of
God might now be made
known
through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly
places". (Ephesians 3.10) So
the
Lord has convened local churches in every locality across the world and through
them He challenges
every
principality. He will make known
through the Church "the manifold wisdom [multifaceted
purposes]
of God" to the authorities in the heavenly places. These authorities are understood to mean
demonic
powers. In this present age the
nature of this warfare is shining divine light on the activities of
these
authorities. Jesus will exercise a
more forceful program at His coming.
4. The Formation of
the Local Church
It seems that two things are needed to form a new local church. First, a called minister, usually one
functioning
as an apostle, is sent forth with authority from Jesus to establish a new local
church. Second,
in
the local community, other believers, in obedience to the Holy Spirit, are
called together to form a local
body
with the called minister. This is a
fulfillment of the words of Jesus, "Where two or three have
gathered
in my name, there I am in their midst". (Matthew 18.20)
The tense of the Greek verb "gathered" is passive indicating
that those gathered are convened by
an
outside agency. That agency, of
course, is Jesus, Himself. Thus we
may conclude that local churches
should
never be established by organizations but uniquely by called ministers who can
boldly proclaim
that
they have been set aside by Jesus, Himself, to initiate such a work. This must be confirmed by a
minimum
of two or three others who confess by faith revelation that they are being
called to form such a
body. In such a setting, Jesus promises to be
present.
Each local congregation ("ekklesia")
so formed has the unique capacity to manifest the very
essence
of the Messiah. A reproduction of
the ministry of Messiah is effected in every locality in which it
pleases
God to establish a witness. We know
from Scripture that such groups have been or will be
established
in every nation before God brings in the next phase of redemption. "And
this gospel of the
kingdom
shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then
the end shall
come". (Matthew 24.14)
Role
of the Pastor
The role of the pastor in the Church is to insure that Jesus is Lord of
the congregation. He must not
be
lord himself, and must insure that no one else is. Obviously there are many other functions
of the
pastor
in the local church. We want to
concentrate on those duties which are necessary in establishing
body
faith.
Jesus becomes Lord by faith.
There must be an interaction between Jesus and the Church resulting
in
specific direction for the congregation.
The congregation must believe and obey. This constitutes
body
faith. Church government must be
structured in such a way to implement and guard the process
necessary
for body faith.
In the past, church elders commanded enough respect that body faith
could perhaps be based on
their
word. This is not true today. There seems to be little possibility
today of body faith occurring based
on
anything less than full participation of the whole local body. Perhaps this has always been the case.
Only the pastor can establish and guard this type of procedure. He must carefully guide the
congregation
to consider any relevant issue under consideration. He must help define issues until
everyone
clearly understands what is being considered. Then he must lead the congregation in
fasting
and
praying concerning the issue until the body arrives at the position of belief
that they have (1)
humbled
themselves before the Lord, (2) interacted with the Lord concerning the given
issue and have
understood
His direction and (3) believed and implemented His command. This is a tedious process. The
pastor
must work hard to insure that all are included; yet, at the same time, guard
against manipulating
the
congregation into the position that he believes they ought to be. Any pastoral manipulation is deadly
to
the process of making Jesus Lord of the body. The typical political process employed
in man's
governmental
efforts must be avoided. The
Kingdom of God is a theocracy and Jesus is Lord. The entire
government
of the Church must "rest on His shoulders" (Isaiah 9.6). Body faith is simply the means of
making
Jesus Lord of the Church.
Throughout history, Church leaders have employed all kinds of techniques
in establishing church
government. Constantine was probably most
influential in establishing church councils as a means of
governing
all the churches across the empire.
Since then, some leaders have led by intimidation. In
other
churches bodies of elders have made decision in back rooms and then exerted
typical worldly,
leadership
techniques to implement their plans.
Whatever the technique, the Church has operated on
everything
but body faith. Today body faith on
the local church level is absolutely necessary for the
congregation
to establish "Hebraic roots".
Role
of the Individual Member in Body Faith
We have discussed the role of the pastor in body faith; now we will
consider the role of the
individual
church member in this process. The
first essential step for the individual is to insure that he,
personally,
is supposed to be a part of the local body in question. This is a matter of individual faith not
body
faith. We maintain that every
believer should be a part of a local church in order to serve the Lord in
an
orderly manner under God-established authority. However, the individual must determine
which body
he
is supposed to be a part of.
Pastors may invite believers to consider what a given church is doing
but
they
should never attempt to get an individual or individuals to join the specific
church that they are
leading. It is Jesus' responsibility to assign
individuals to the local church.
Once an individual determines that he is supposed to be a part of a
given local church, he then is
in a
position to wholeheartedly join in the function of the body. It is the responsibility of the
individual to
seriously
study issues that are under consideration by the body. He must honestly open himself before
the
Lord and seek understanding of the purpose of the Lord in the matter. He must join with others in
fasting,
praying and, therefore, participating in the process. When the body is called together to deal
with
the
issue under consideration, he must participate with an open and expectant
spirit and willingly join
others
in this process. Finally, as the
body stands before the Lord, he must flow with the whole body in
forming
a consensus relative to the issue in question. Each must freely express what he or she
believes
the
Lord is saying to them personally, yet, flow with the corresponding expressions
of others. Usually, a
consensus
is gradually formed which integrates the wisdom of all. The important issue is that the whole
body
comes out of the experience with the belief that they have made Jesus Lord.
Faith
Righteousness and the Local Church
There is a great deal of confusion concerning what constitutes the
"righteousness of God".
Many
busy
themselves today with what is accepted socially as righteousness. Some build churches, others
engage
in social ministries, while still others do prison ministries thinking that
this is the work of God. In
reality,
the righteousness of God is initiated by revelation. Paul declared, "the righteousness
of God is
revealed
from faith to faith". (Romans
1.17a) We can never determine the
righteousness of God through
philosophical
deduction. Again, note the emphasis
Paul gave to the fact that it is revealed.
Jesus said
that
He only did what He saw His Father doing.
(John 5.19-20) Again righteousness followed revelation as
it
always must. So for a local church
or an individual disciple to accomplish God's righteousness, they
must
receive the direct revelation of what God wants to do and when He wants to do
it.
Paul wrote, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone who believes".
(Romans
10.4) The Greek word translated
"end" in this statement is "telos". This word means "the goal or end
attained". So Paul stated that Messiah Jesus was
the goal for attaining righteousness.
In other words, we
as
disciples should do exactly as He did.
He heard from the Father and carried out what He heard. We
should
do likewise.
Another way of viewing this phenomenon is to recognize that we must hear
and obey if we enter
God's
purpose. This is the faith
process. The writer of Hebrews
stated, "Now faith is the
assurance of
things
hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". (Hebrews 11.1) The things recorded in Scripture
that
reveal the plan and purpose of God are the basis of hope. The Holy Spirit adds assurance that God
is
working
these things in us now. This then
becomes faith. Therefore, hope is
based on what God has
done
in the past; while faith is based on what God is doing now directly in our
lives.
Faith
in the Ministry of Messiah Jesus
Messiah Jesus is our "telos" or
goal. The faith walk of Jesus is
clearly seen in the gospels. We
believe
that He received two primary faith assignments from the Father during His
earthly ministry. These
assignments
are particularly apparent in the gospel of Luke because Luke ordered the events
of Jesus'
ministry
in chronological order. The first
assignment was received during the period spent in the
wilderness
immediately following His baptism.
Immediately following His experience in the wilderness,
Jesus
declared, "I must preach the
kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this
purpose". (Luke 4.43) This is the dominant message preached by
Jesus throughout His ministry.
The second assignment was received by Jesus at the "Mount of
Transfiguration". Here Moses
and
Elijah
spoke, "Of His departure which
He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem". (Luke 9.31b) Jesus
came
down from the mountain and steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. Of course, this word of
faith
was completed as He died as the "Lamb of God" on the cross in
Jerusalem.
These two primary missions define the earthly mission of Jesus. In both cases there was a period
set
aside to hear from God. There was a
supernatural manifestation of God in both instances. Jesus
heard
a specific message which defined His mission. Therefore He could say, "I only do
what I see My
Father
doing". The disciple should
hear and obey in just this same way.
The body of believers, the local
church,
should do exactly the same thing if it wishes to achieve "the
righteousness of God'.
Faith
and Body Life
Every aspect of our life should be founded on faith. Paul cautioned the disciples at Rome
saying,
"Whatever
is not from faith is sin".
(Romans 14.23b) Obviously, a
complete transition cannot be
accomplished
overnight. In reality, we
"work out our salvation" little by little. As the Holy Spirit brings an
area
of our life under scrutiny, then we seek the Lord's will for it. In some areas the Lord will simply give
us the
freedom to decide for ourselves.
Even in these cases we know we have actively submitted this
particular
aspect of life to Him.
Body life should be governed in the same way. The body should fast and pray together
until they
have
a revelation sense of the Lord's will for them. The mission of the Church should be
determined in
this
way rather than following in the tradition of a given church or
denomination. The whole body enters
into
the "righteousness of God" in this way.
Ministries
to the Local Church
Jesus supplies certain specific ministries to each local church. These ministries were outlined by
Paul
as, "And He Himself gave some
to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors
and
teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the
edifying of the body of
Christ". (Ephesians 4.11-12) These are often called the
"five-fold ministry".
These ministries serve the
local
body of believers so they can grow up to the full maturity that is in Messiah
Jesus. A minister has the
responsibility
to nurture individual believers in the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit rather than
simply
exercise the gifts himself. The
very life of Messiah Jesus is manifested through the body of
believers
by the exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts have been listed by
Paul. (1
Corinthians
12.7-11) Jesus exercised all of these gifts with the possible exception of
"tongues and
interpretation
of tongues". Each member
should manifest at least one gift in order to function in the
body. Manifestation of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit can never be coerced but must be offered in faith by
the
individual believer.
Gifts
of the Holy Spirit
Paul outlined the operations of God the Father, Jesus the Messiah and
the Holy Spirit. He said,
"Now
there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries,
and the same
Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but
the same God who works all things in all persons". (1
Corinthians
12.4-6) We conclude that the Holy
Spirit works through individuals who make up the local
body
of believers bringing forth specific manifestations through them. Also, each local body constitutes a
distinct
ministry and Jesus is the Lord of each local ministry. Finally, God the Father is ultimately
responsible
for all as He works various effects throughout the whole human community to
accomplish His
will.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit serve to reproduce the ministry of Messiah
Jesus in a local setting. The
most
basic function of the local church is to be the vessel of manifestation of
Messiah Jesus. He is the
head
of the Church which is His body.
Since this is true, there must be an active functioning of the Holy
Spirit
in the body in order for Jesus to be seen.
This alone should answer the question concerning the
validity
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Church today. Each gift of the Holy Spirit brings
forth one
aspect
of ministry that we see manifested in Jesus' earthly ministry. No individual brings forth all the gifts
at
any one time; therefore, it is necessary for each member of the body to be
fruitful in the
manifestations
of the gifts.
Again, Paul lists the specific gifts as, "But to each one is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for
the
common good. For to one is given
the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of
knowledge
according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to
another gifts of
healing
by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another
prophecy, and to
another
the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to
another the
interpretation
of tongues. But one and the same
Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one
individually
just as He wills. (1 Corinthians
12.7-11) As we study the earthly
ministry of Messiah Jesus, we
see
the exact same manifestations through Him.
Therefore, we conclude that the purpose of the gifts are
to
bring forth this extended ministry of Messiah Jesus through local bodies
throughout the world.
Jesus exercised the gift of wisdom when He was confronted by the
religious leaders concerning
paying taxes to Rome.
(Matthew 22.15-22) His answer shows supernatural wisdom which
frustrated the schemes of the religious leaders who wanted to trick Him
in taking a position for
which they could make charges against Him.
He exercised the gift of knowledge when He was speaking to the woman at
the well in Samaria.
(John 4.7-19) She perceived that He was a prophet because He exhibited
supernatural
knowledge.
Jesus frequently exercised the gift of faith. He met Moses and Elijah on the Mount of
Transfiguration. They spoke
of His death which would occur in Jerusalem. He came down from
the mountain and steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9.28-36, 51)
Jesus repeatedly exercised the gift of healing. When He was passing through Jericho on
His way
to Jerusalem, he healed the blind man. (Mark 10.46-52)
Jesus accomplished miracles.
When the disciples were in a boat and rowing across the Sea of
Galilee, Jesus came to them walking on the water. (Mark 6.45-52)
Jesus exercised the gift of prophecy. Just before He was crucified He
prophesied concerning
Jerusalem and the tribulations that would come upon it. (Matthew 24.1-51)
Finally, Jesus was able to distinguish evil spirits and exercise
authority over them. He delivered a
man who was controlled by a evil spirit when He was in the synagogue in
Capernaum. (Luke
4.31-37) Many other examples could be cited from the ministry of Jesus.
The only gift of the Holy Spirit which does not appear to have been
exercised by Messiah Jesus is
the
gift of tongues. It is possible
that He worshiped God privately by the use of the gift of tongues;
however,
the Bible does not give us an account of it. The gift of tongues has both a private
and a body
function. Obviously, Jesus did not exercise this
gift in the latter manner because there was no body
(multi-member
congregation) during His earthly ministry.
The Church came into existence on "Yom
Hashavuot" (The Day of Pentecost).
Each member of the body of Messiah should exercise at least one gift of
the Holy Spirit. This is the
only
real way that the individual believer can be a functional part of the
body. Many people exercise a
number
of different gifts. Paul exhorts us
to seek spiritual gifts. (1
Corinthians 14.1)
Baptism
of the Holy Spirit
How does a person become a part of the Church? Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose
you". (John 15.16) So we would say that the first step in
entering the Kingdom of God is an invitation
from
the Lord. Assuming that by faith,
we believe we have such an invitation, we must be "born from
above"
(John 3.3) in order to gain perception in the Kingdom. So the initiating experience is being
"born
from
above" by the Holy Spirit or being baptized in and with the Holy
Spirit. Jesus, the Messiah, is the
one
who
"baptizes in the Holy Spirit".
(John 1.33)
The concept of baptism is based on the practice of cleansing in the
"Mikveh" practiced in Judaism.
The
Torah distinguishes between clean and unclean. Whenever someone became unclean, part of
the
process
of becoming clean again involved the use of the mikveh. A person entering the mikveh totally
immersed
himself in the water. He was
immersed, covered completely in the water.
Therefore, the
concept
of "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" means that a person is immersed,
covered or engulfed in the Holy
Spirit.
Another
way to consider the phenomena is that the Holy Spirit becomes an internal
source of
power
and inspiration in the believer.
God has loosed the Holy Spirit in the world today in a general
sense. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit, "When He comes, will convict the
world concerning sin, and
righteousness,
and judgment". (John
16.8) In contrast to the world,
when an individual is baptized in the
Holy
Spirit, the Spirit begins functioning from within the individual. Following the initial baptism the
believer
is exhorted to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. So the Spirit indwells the individual on
a
continual
basis and can, thereafter, be manifested through the individual. This is the means by which a
person
becomes potentially functional in the Church.
It is very important to understand that this baptism gives a person the
capacity to perceive or see in
the
heavenly realm. Jesus said
that, "Unless one is born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God".
(John
3.3b) Paul added, "No one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,'
except by the Holy Spirit". (1
Corinthians 12.3b)
Beyond
this, Paul taught that the Holy Spirit gives us the capacity to search out and
understand even the
depths
of God. So it is the Holy Spirit
that gives us the supernatural capacity to function in the Kingdom
of
God. There is no other way that a
person can truly function in the local church except by the Holy
Spirit.
What does a believer do to be "baptized" in the Holy Spirit?
The first thing is to ask the Lord for it.
We
must ask and do so believing. Jesus
said, "And I say to you, ask,
and it shall be given to you; seek,
and
you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he
who
seeks,
finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked
by his
son
for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he
is asked for an egg, he will
not
give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children,
how
much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
Him?". (Luke 11.9-13)
Secondly,
we must believe that God desires us to have the Holy Spirit and will not deny
our request. The
writer
of the book of Hebrews said,
"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes
to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder
of those who seek Him".
(Hebrews 11.6)
Finally,
we must be willing to act on our belief.
Without presumption, we must actively trust that God has
granted
our request. Many struggle
needlessly at this point. However,
God has granted that one specific
manifestation
of the Holy Spirit is given just to help us in this struggle. That gift is the "speaking in
tongues". Paul said, "So then tongues are for a sign,
not to those who believe [Those who believe are
those
already fuctional in the Church] but to
unbelievers". (1 Corinthians
14.22a) Tongues, or the use of
a
spiritual language, is a sign to us individually, as we are beginning to
believe that we have indeed been
baptized
in or received the Holy Spirit. As
we believe and exercise this gift, we are prepared to go on to
the
exercise of other gifts.
The most natural time to receive the Holy Spirit is in worship in the
local church. Yet some readily
believe
and receive the desired baptism individually as they worship privately. Others need the support
of
the body worship. Still others need
for the elders to lay hands on them in order to receive. It does not
matter
by which means we receive the Holy Spirit.
The important thing is that we receive the Spirit and
begin
functioning in the body of Messiah.
It is also important to understand that by the same pattern of
belief
by which we initially received the Holy Spirit, we are to be filled daily. We can never take for
granted
that we are filled. We ask daily,
we believe daily and we trust to be filled daily. The faithful
disciple
actively trusts God daily to continue to function in His purpose.
The
Importance of Assembling with the Local Church
Each time the local body assembles, there is a unique opportunity for
the resurrected Messiah to be
manifested
in great glory. Therefore, the
writer of the book of Hebrews exhorted his readers saying,
"Not
forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another, and
all
the more, as you see the day drawing near". (Hebrews 10.25) It is vitally important that every
member
of
the local body discipline himself to come together whenever the body is
assembled in open worship.
Obviously,
there are times when a person is occupied and simply cannot come, but this
should be the
exception
not the practice. Every effort
should be made to join together with brothers and sisters.
Whenever
someone is absent the Holy Spirit is quenched to some degree. The more boldly the individual
exercises
the gifts in the body the more strongly his absence will be felt. Even if the individual does not
boldly
exercise the gifts, his presence alone is an encouragement to the body. Therefore, it is very
important
that we heed the exhortation of the writer of Hebrews.
In summary, God chose the mechanism of the local church to implement the
ministry of the
Messiah. The Church body is the body of
Messiah. The Church should function
under the delegated
authority
established by Jesus. The glorified
Messiah is manifested through His body.
Each member of
the
local church has been given gifts of the Holy Spirit. As the body comes together in worship,
all the
gifts
added together reproduce the ministry of Messiah Jesus. In this manner, the ministry of Messiah
Jesus
is manifested in each society and in each age. It is important that each member has the
faith to
exercise
the gifts imparted to him by the Holy Spirit. Likewise, it is important that each
member come
together
with his brothers and sisters at each designated assembly. In this manner he becomes a source
of
encouragement to the whole body and the full vitality of the ministry of Jesus
can be manifested
through
the local church.
5. Worship and Hearing
The most natural time for hearing from God is during worship. Worship in this sense is understood
to
be those times when believers open their hearts before the Lord in praise and
adoration and allow the
Holy
Spirit to stir within bringing them to a real consciousness of standing in the
presence of God. This
can
happen as the congregation of believers enters into worship. It can also happen to the individual in
his
private devotion before the Lord.
In either case the living soul is supernaturally brought into the
presence
of God. It is at these times that the
believer should learn to pray or ask concerning a specific
mission
of righteousness. The heart
conviction that leads to faith flows out of the worship experience.
This
is one reason why Satan fights worship with such determination. If worship, whether body or
individual,
can be limited to ritual practice or intellectual thought, then no faith will
be initiated.
The most basic characteristic of the "New Covenant" is that
believers would all "know" God.
(Jeremiah
31.34) The root Hebrew word translated "know" is "yadah".
"Know" in this sense is as a man
"knows"
his wife, i.e., the term implies intimacy between the believer and God. The worship experience,
whether
individual or in the body, is therefore an experience of intimacy with God.
There are a number of conditions that must be met for a body of
believers to enter into the worship
experience. The local body of believers must be
committed to the Lord and to one another.
Unity based
on
love in Messiah is foundational to worship. In addition, the body must have attained
to a reasonably
holy
walk in the Lord. Unholy living
must be rooted out if the body is to worship. Beyond this, the body
must
humble itself before the Lord in order to be intimate with Him. Often today, congregations are
stirred
through music to a triumphant high devoid of humility. There is no true Biblical worship in
such
events. Humility and the corresponding
confession of dependance on the Being of God is a
necessary
prerequisite
for worship. Finally, praise leads
to true spiritual worship.
The local body of believers has a unique capacity to offer up spiritual
sacrifices to God in Messiah
Jesus. Peter declared, "You also, as
living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy
priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ". (1 Peter 2.5) The basic
vision
for worship is Jesus mystically arising in the body to offer up spiritual
sacrifices to God. Jesus
functions
in the body through the gifts, or manifestations, of the Holy Spirit. Worship, therefore, is
comprised
of Jesus being manifested through the body by the Holy Spirit and interacting
uniquely with
the
Holy One. In this way Jesus and His
body know the Father. This is the
significance of Jesus'
statement,
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father, but
through
Me'". (John 14.6)
The Bible maintains that God is enthroned on the praises of His
people. (Psalms 22.3) Praise,
therefore,
along with humility is necessary for worship. Generally, songs of praise expressly
directed to
our
Lord Jesus bring the body into a deepened unity and love as the Holy Spirit
stirs within each
individual. As praise continues, the reality of
Messiah Jesus' presence becomes more and more evident in
the
hearts of the believers. Jesus
said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ wh