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Hebrew Roots

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Xfileexpert (talk | contribs) at 07:06, 18 July 2011 (Tweeked the introductory statements; added new section called "Christian Hebrew Roots"; all prior existing material has been moved to the second section now called "Judaic Hebrew Roots." Additional edits will follow.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article refers to the modern religious movement. For the Hebrew language grammatical structure, see Hebrew root

Hebrew Roots is a contemporary global spiritual movement to return to the true faith revealed during the personal earthly ministry of Jesus, Yeshua Messiah.

Hebrew Roots Movement

The Hebrew Roots movement is popular enough to already have split into two main sects: 1) Christian Hebrew Roots; and, 2) Judaic Hebrew Roots.

Christian Hebrew Roots Movement

The Christian Hebrew Roots movement follows the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:3-17) and the feasts of the Lord (Lev 23:1-44).[1]

The importance of the Christian Hebrew Roots movement, which follows closely Jesus' life and teachings, is best illustrated by contrasting it with the practices of the Roman Catholic Church whose core doctrines have been adopted by most Protestant Christian churches.

The Roman Catholic papacy thought to change the seventh-day Sabbath to the first-day Sunday; and, invented the feasts of the Cult of Saints to quote "replace the feasts of the Lord."[2]

Mainstream Protestant Christianity, beginning with Martin Luther (an ex Roman Catholic priest), also observes the papal catechisms that teach a change to Sunday as the day of rest instead of the seventh-day Sabbath and keeps the feasts of the Cult of Saints unwittingly.

The Roman Catholic feasts of the Cult of Saints include: Christmas - St. Nicholas' feast; Easter instead of Passover; Halloween as the eve of All Saints Day; feast days for hundreds of "saints;" and, Mary's Octave on New Year's Day) and seven other feasts.[3]

Note: Luther's main objection to the Roman Catholic institution was the "transubtantiation" doctrine of the Catholic Mass which held that priests literally change the communion wafer into the body (flesh) of Jesus during the MYSTERY part of the Mass when the priest turns his back on the congregation.

The Christian Hebrew Roots movement instead follows the biblical teachings set forth in the New Testament regarding the nature of Communion as a symbol of Christ's body instead of the literal body and flesh of Jesus. This, they deduce from the words Jesus spoke to describe the amendment to the Passover service being symbolic and not literal (in accordance with definitions of the Greek words in the New Testament). [4]

The Christian sect of the Hebrew Roots movement does not teach a return to the Pharisaic Torah Law as dispensed by the scribes who Jesus rebuked as hypocrites. Instead, this sect of the movement follows the true worship pattern of Jesus who freed mankind from the yoke of the letter of the law; and, in fulfilling the Law, taught Christians to practice the Ten Commandments and feasts of the Lord which make up "the acceptable year of the Lord"[5] in Jesus' speech inaugurating his personal earthly ministry.

Some followers of the Hebrew Roots movement choose not to even use the English translations of common Hebrew and Greek terms, preferring instead to pronounce the anglicized versions of certain Hebrew words, notably, the names of God and the Messiah (Yah and Yeshua). Those who go beyond this in returning to ones Hebrew roots are discussed in the section below called "Judaic Hebrew Roots."

The main difference between the two types of Hebrew Roots movements is that Christian Hebrew Roots adherents follow the passionate teachings of the Apostle Paul regarding freedom from the letter of the Torah law, as did Jesus. In contrast, the Judaic Hebrew Roots follow the erroneous compromise of James, the Lord's brother, who was leader of the Christians in Jerusalem after the death of James the Apostle.

The orthodox Jews in Jerusalem persecuted Paul over this very issue (freedom from the letter of the Torah Law) stoning Him and dragging him out of town supposedly dead. In order to keep the Christian Church alive in Jerusalem, James, the Lord's brother, who became their leader after the murder of Peter, reached a compromise in which the Christian Church at Jerusalem recognized the Torah circumcision requirement and also acquiesced in the decree to not socially interact with Gentiles.[6]

In returning to the Torah, the Judaic Hebrew Roots movement, is more like the early Church at Jerusalem described by Dr. Scott; while the Christian Hebrew Roots movement is on the clear path taught by Jesus, His Apostles, Disciples, and Paul.


Judaic Hebrew Roots Movement

The primary thing that Hebrew Roots advocates is a return to Torah observance. Some Hebrew Roots congregations encourage the use of Hebrew-based forms of the sacred names but this is generally a minor emphasis. Also included is a greater understanding of the tribes of Israel. Herbert Armstrong felt that understanding about the tribes would help in understanding prophecy but his main focus was for Christians to observe the Torah, just like the apostles did. In addition, he taught, like Paul, that God's people should choose not to engage in "pagan" practices.

Some would state that this awakening is a sovereign act of Yahweh through His Spirit. It would be better stated that Yahweh is restoring His followers to the true path or ancient paths and that people are independently catching the inspiration to return to forgotten truths by various means.

The Hebrew Roots movement has accelerated in the last few years, mainly because of a turn within the Messianic Judaism community. The groups diverge on the issue of One Law theology[7] which Hebrew Roots subscribes to but which Messianic Judaism denies. One Hebrew Roots teacher, Tim Hegg, responded to this issue by defending what he believes to be the biblical teaching of "One Law" theology and its implications concerning the obligations of Torah obedience for new Messianic believers from the nations.[8]

Hebrew Roots also clearly differentiates itself from Protestant Christianity by examining the arguments against Torah observance and using the work of recent Protestant Christian scholars and early historical church records to establish alternate, and more accurate, interpretations. A good representative of this can be found at House of David Fellowship, a Hebrew Roots based religious educational fellowship with headquarters in Richmond Virginia. Here, one can find 12 distinct differences between Protestant Christianity and Hebrew Roots concerning Torah observance in their "Hebrew Roots of Christianity" section.

While both British Israelism as advocated by Herbert W. Armstrong and the Sacred Name Movement proposed by Clarence Orvil Dodd originated in the 1930s, the "Hebrew Roots" movement is more recent, emerging as a distinct phenomenon around 1997. In that year, Dean Cozzens of Open Church Ministries, Colorado Springs published a prophecy titled "The Hebrew Movement", which revealed that God had foreordained four major moves for the 20th century, viz. 1. Pentecostalism, 2. Faith-healing, 3. the Charismatic Movement, and finally 4. The "Hebrew Roots Movement". In this prophecy, the Hebrew Roots Movement is the "final stage of empowerment" before Christ returns.

Notable advocates include...

  • Brad Scott, of Wildbranch Ministries, whose focus is to restore the ways of our Creator to His people by teaching the Old and New Testaments from the language and culture of the people who penned them.
  • Eddie Chumney, of Hebraic Heritage Ministries International, is devoted to restoring the Hebraic Roots/Jewishness of Christianity.
  • Rico Cortes, of Wisdom in Torah Ministries, whose mission is to bring people back to the Torah of Yahweh.
  • William F. Dankenbring, former member of the Worldwide Church of God, founded Triumph Prophetic Ministries in 1987 and produces a newsletter called Prophecy Flash.
  • Bill Cloud, of Shoreshim Ministries, who teaches on our lost Hebraic heritage.
  • Tim Kelley, of Ami Yisrael Hebraic Fellowship, who teaches that it is difficult to understand the Bible, especially the Apostolic scriptures, without a good understanding of the Torah as well as the culture of the first century Jewish people.
  • Sid Roth, Messianic Jewish host of Messianic Vision, a nationally syndicated radio, TV and publishing ministry, advocates "Hebrew Roots" topics to non-Jewish Christians.
  • Season of our Joy, a Feast of Tabernacles site located at the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri, features over 2 dozen teachers teaching topics on Hebrew Roots and the role of the festivals in our Christian walk.
  • Dean & Susan Wheelock, who have the HebrewRoots.net website, which is a teaching ministry dedicated to exploring the Hebraic roots of the Christian Faith.
  • Lee Miller, congregational leader of the House of David Fellowship in Richmond Virginia, who teaches the Hebraic perspective of The Holy Scriptures and works to clearly define the line of demarcation between Protestant Christianity and Hebrew Roots.
  • Tony Robinson, of Restoration of Torah, who uses thematic analysis to develop his teachings on Torah.
  • Tim Hegg, of Torah Resource, who provides resources that are Biblical based, honoring Yeshua, and upholding the Torah.
  • Monte Judah, Lion and Lamb Ministries www.lionlamb.net

The movement emphasizes the completion of the unified "House of Israel" in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), made up of both Jews and non-Jews alike. Followers believe that they have become a co-heir and equal member of the chosen people of the God of Israel through the blood of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah and that returning to the mindset of the 1st-century church will provide deeper and more authentic insights into Hebrew idioms[clarification needed][9] and 1st-century cultural understandings presented in Scripture.[10]

Hebrew Roots teachers emphasize the adoption of all believers of Yeshua the Messiah into the faith of Abraham,[11] often called in the Bible the "Unified House of Israel;" (Leviticus 10:6), (Jeremiah 37:11), (Ezekiel 39:25), (Romans 11:13–26), (Ephesians 2:10–14), made up of Jews and Non-Jews who maintain faith in Yeshua the Messiah while maintaining a Spirit-led adherence to the Torah, God's Teaching and Instruction, as a lifestyle of faith and love.[12] Hebrew Roots followers believe that Christians have the testimony of the Messiah, Yeshua, but are often found innocently to be living lawlessly (1John 1:9) according to the idea that Yeshua died to do away with the Torah by abolishing it.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.christianhebrewroots.org/02_Feasts_old_v_new_1p_snp.pdf
  2. ^ A Still Small Voice: The Vatican, the USA, and Israel in Bible Prophecy, 2006, ISBN: 9780978947002, p. 153, endote 59, citing: "Abbott, Walter M., S.J., Gen. Ed., The Message and Meaning of the Ecumenical Council, The Documents of Vatican II, With Notes and Comments by Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Authorities [hereafter ‘Vatican II’]; therein, The Liturgical Year, Art. 108, p. 169."
  3. ^ See page 4, a chart comparing Christian Hebrew Roots practices against the more popular but erroneous Roman Catholic feasts at http://www.christianhebrewroots.org/Antichrist_Feasts_2_snp.pdf
  4. ^ A Still Small Voice, op. cit., pp. 160-161.
  5. ^ http://www.christianhebrewroots.org/03_Acceptable%20Year%20of%20the%20Lord_5_snp.pdf
  6. ^ A History of the Early Christian Church by William Scott, Th.D., Cokesbury Press, Nashville, 1936, p. 236-237.
  7. ^ One Law Movements; a Challenge to the Messianic Jewish Community January 28, 2005
  8. ^ [http://www.torahresource.com/EnglishArticles/OLMResponse.pdf One Law Movements A Response to Russ Resnik & Daniel Juster
  9. ^ [1] Bivin, David; Blizzard, Roy B.; Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus; Treasure House, 1994, ISBN 1-56043-550-X.
  10. ^ a b [2] Richardson, Rick; Origins of Our Faith: The Hebrew Roots of Christianity; Trafford Publishing Company, 2003, ISBN 1-4120-0824-7.
  11. ^ [3] Wilson, Dr. Marvin R.; Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989, ISBN 0-8028-0423-3.
  12. ^ RabbiYeshua.com

[4] Moseley, Ron; Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church; Messianic Jewish Resources International, 1998, ISBN 1-880226-68-5.

20:55, 1 March 2011 (UTC)20:55, 1 March 2011 (UTC)~~

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