Think It Thru: Is Christianity Jewish?

Dr. Michael Brown answers the question:


Think it Thru: Is Christianity Jewish? from RealMessiah.com on Vimeo.

Footsteps of The Messiah

I have started reading and highly recommend for anyone interested in eschatology, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum's book: Footsteps of The Messiah (updated edition is 2003, 2004). It is a verse by verse explanation of the Book of Revelation!

First of all Dr. Fruchtenbaum, a Messianic Jew, is the BEST there is out there in terms of explaining the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective. What other perspective SHOULD there be? Jesus was a Jew, lived and taught the Jews, etc. So a Jewish perspective to one's Bible study is imperative if one is to understand, for example, a Jewish wedding (nothing like a western wedding), or what they understood when Jesus said in John 10:7 Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. It's more than you have heard in Sunday school class!

But I digress....................

Footsteps of the Messiah makes Revelation and end times Scripture clear and understandable in every day language. Dr. F. thinks of everything.........so (and this is just icing on the cake!) he included in the back of the book a Scripture Index, so you can look up ANY other Scripture and go directly to the page on which he talks about it!!!! Dr. Fruchtenbaum's web site is Ariel.org.

Christian: Do You Celebrate EASTER or PASSOVER?

"Easter is the time when Christians commemorate the death of Jesus Christ, and celebrate his Resurrection. From a series of fraudulent trials, to a willing self-sacrifice that redeemed the whole of creation, Resurrection Day is full of meaning and significance." (source: http://www.khouse.org/topical_bible_study/easter/) - but do you know many of those traditions are pagan in origin? By no means does it mean we should not celebrate the sacrifice, death and resurrection of our Messiah, but rather that we should instead attempt to learn how He celebrated His last meal, the Pesech (Passover) meal the night before He was led to slaughter for our sins (yours and mine).

Testimony of a Christian's first Messianic Jewish Passover meal from www.ariel.org:
"A NON-JEWISH BELIEVER CELEBRATES PASSOVER
by R.C. Burris
(source: http://www.ariel.org/nps07spring.htm)

My first introduction to the Messianic Jewish Movement and the formation of new, lifelong friendships with Messianic Jewish believers was my first Passover seder at a local San Antonio Messianic congregation.

Over the years I have come to understand that traditional Christians tend to understand the Passover celebration only in terms of Communion and the Last Supper, while Jewish people understand Passover in terms of the traditional retelling of the Exodus story at a specially prepared meal called a seder. By celebrating the feast within the setting of Jewish believers, I have combined the traditional Christian and Jewish elements of the Passover to reach a deeper understanding of the Passover’s fulfillment in Jesus (Yeshua).

Since the first Passover in the land of Egypt, God has commanded the Feast to be celebrated annually. It is a time for all Jewish people to recall the great work the covenant-keeping God of Israel did to redeem them out of their bondage in the land of Egypt. In addition, Passover celebrations provide all believers in Messiah an opportunity to reflect on the greater Messianic significance spoken of in Isaiah 53 and fulfilled in Yeshua (Jesus) — the spotless Lamb of God (John 1:29) — our Passover sacrifice (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Like the unleavened bread (matzah) of Passover, Yeshua was without sin. And like the matzah bread, He was also striped (Isaiah 53:5) and pierced (Zechariah 12:10). The broken bread represents His broken body: His willing sacrifice and death on the cross. And like the afikomen (the matzah hidden then retrieved after the Passover meal), He was wrapped in linen and hidden away. The shed blood of Yeshua is also pictured in the Passover by the third cup of the meal, the Cup of Redemption. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb was to be applied to the doorposts of each home, we too must apply the shed blood of Yeshua, the Lamb of God, to the doorposts of our heart. Bread and wine are also the elements of communion that are symbols of God’s New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), the covenant of Grace for everyone, whether Jewish in heritage or not.

If in the future you are interested in celebrating Passover Messianic-style with your family, Ariel Ministries offers an illustrated Haggadah, which participants can use to lead them step-by-step through the ceremony. It gives a brief overview of the Passover celebration and basic instructions for how to prepare, including some traditional Jewish recipes.

Another resource from Ariel Ministries is The Unleavened Messiah - A Portrait of Christ in the Passover, a DVD that can be played during the seder meal to guide the Passover celebration. Steven Ger, who leads the celebration, is a Jewish believer. In his presentation, he bridges the cultural gap between modern Christianity and first-century Judaism. "

I was reading the latest Zola Levitt newsletter (www.levitt.com) and on pg.2 (there was an article about Easter). If you don't know about the pagan roots of what we call Easter (Passover), this is an enlightening short article, a good place to start. Then I recommend listening to Dr. Chuck Missler's in-depth study on The Easter Story (available in many formats). You can also hear or read it free online. Dr. Missler is a most thorough teacher, having taught the Bible for 50 or so years AND meeting with Jewish (non-Messianic) Rabbis for insights into the Jewish understanding of God's word, the Bible (The Torah to them).

The Levitt article mentioned the "Thirteen Articles of The Jewish Faith". I thought you might find this interesting, I did not know it existed or how it is applied. It was written (according to Dr. Jeffrey Seif) by the "medieval Jewish sage Rabbi Mosh Ben Maimon (also known as Maimonides). It serves as one of t the principal tenets of Orthodox Judaism."

I post this as it may be of interest to those who, like me, are edified both by learning the ways and customs in which our Lord Jesus Christ was raised, as well as having a love for God's people, the Jews.

Maimonides’ 13 Principles of Faith

1. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the Creator and Guide of everything that has been created; He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.”
2. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is One, and that there is no unity in any manner like His, and that He alone is our God, who was, and is, and will be.
3. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is not a body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever.
4. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is the first and the last.
5. I believe with perfect faith that to the Creator, blessed be His Name, and to Him alone, it is right to pray, and that it is not right to pray to any being besides Him.
6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.
7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him, was true, and that he was the chief of the prophets, both of those who preceded him and of those who followed him.
8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was given to Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him.
9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged, and that there will never be any other Torah from the Creator, blessed be His name.
10. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds of human beings, and all their thoughts, as it says: "Who fashioned the hearts of them all, Who comprehends all their actions." (Psalm 33:15)
11. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, rewards those that keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them.
12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless I wait every day for his coming.
13. I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.