Are All Believers Called Into a Messianic Lifestyle? – February 2023 Outreach Israel News

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John McKee delivers the February 2023 Outreach Israel News update.

In the Calendar Year 2023, if you were to attend a majority of today’s Messianic Jewish congregations, you would see that the majority of people in attendance and membership are not Jewish. When our family first got involved in the Messianic movement in 1995, this was not the case—but the demographics and the landscape have undeniably shifted. In no uncertain terms, many questions and discussions have arisen regarding the presence of non-Jewish Believers—as well as many debates and accusations. Many sincerely want Jewish and non-Jewish Believers, in mixed assemblies, to be representative of the Ephesians 2:15 “one new man/humanity” in some way. Others exhibit various degrees of skepticism, and then yet others exhibit various degrees of hostility.

So what is actually happening? In the case of our own family’s testimony, because of my father’s death in 1992 and my mother remarrying in 1994—the new blended family of Mark and Margaret Huey was directed on a new spiritual path. This path involved them being supernaturally impressed on a tour to Israel in 1994 to keep the feasts of the Lord, and resulted in our family entering into a Messianic Jewish congregation in 1995. Through a series of more events and various moves, our family was called by the Lord into full time Messianic ministry in 2002, we have directly interacted with all of the different sectors and spin-offs within the orbit of things “Messianic,” and then in 2012 we returned to North Texas where we got our original start—finding ourselves reintegrating into the Messianic Jewish movement, although now with a huge amount of experience.

Within the past decade, our family has had even new experiences, and opportunities open up to us. We have also seen some of the negative influence of religious politics, as well as the steadily devolution of the various non-Jewish Torah movements. Some theological or group definitions have been inappropriately altered at times, yet we ourselves have found various points of our theology, where we have had to make various alterations, modifications, and clarifications. One of the biggest areas involves the rather pressing question: Are all Believers called into a Messianic lifestyle?

How did our family become Messianic?

There are many different reasons, some more legitimate than others, as to why various non-Jewish Believers get drawn into the orbit of things “Messianic.” For some of you reading this, have you ever traced your own path, of what led you into the Messianic movement? It is an important exercise, as each of us can hopefully see the hand and orchestration of God on the events of the our lives. Coming into a sphere of influence, where things like the seventh-day Sabbath/Shabbat, the appointed times or moedim, and a kosher-style of diet, among many other things—are practiced by many people—is a huge shift for many. A Messianic lifestyle, involving participation in things which have historically been followed almost exclusively by the Jewish people, does involve a significant degree of change. There are doubtlessly positive blessings which come from a Messianic lifestyle, but frequently overlooked can be the question of motive. Why am I/are we doing this? What are we doing it for?

From what I can tell, now having served in full time Messianic ministry for almost twenty years, is that there tend to be four main avenues through which non-Jewish people enter into the Messianic sphere of influence:

Jewish Roots
Principled Conviction
Sensationalism
Dogmatism

Many of the evangelical Protestant Believers, who find themselves joining into a Messianic congregation, were often drawn there through worthwhile investigations into understanding the prophetic fulfillment of Jesus in the Biblical feasts. From, perhaps, attending a Messianic Passover seder, they wanted further enrichment in studying the weekly Torah portions, and sought out the spiritual insights of Messianic Jewish Believers and more of a Jewish approach to the Bible. And, this frequently develops into not just being enriched by one’s faith heritage in the Scriptures of Israel, but by having a genuine concern for the salvation of the Jewish people. It is fair to say that our own family was originally drawn into the Messianic movement, through the Jewish Roots avenue.

Another frequent avenue, of being drawn into Messianic things, can take place because of Principled Conviction. Many sincere evangelical people are absolutely distraught over the controversies facing the contemporary Church. The debates raging over homosexuality and transgenderism, being “Woke,” affirming, and a whole range of other unholy activities—have come as a direct result of many stressing that Christian people need to de-hitch from the Old Testament. As many of these people have prayed to the Lord to give them an answer, the Holy Spirit will frequently direct them to a passage such as Matthew 5:17-19 about the Torah or Law of Moses not passing away, or Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 about the New Covenant consciously involving God’s commandments written onto the heart by His Spirit. Very quickly, being directed by Him into a Messianic congregation will shortly follow: a place where the Torah of Moses is upheld as valid and relevant instruction, which can doubtlessly aid Believers in living holy and upstanding lives.

The most frequent way that many enter into the orbit of Messianic things today—although more often than not, it will be one of the different sub-movements which has broken off of the Messianic movement—is through some form of Sensationalism. Rather than trying to emphasize Biblical continuity from Genesis to Revelation, those who focus on sensationalism will instead deliberately overplay the origins of Christmas and Easter and Sunday Church as “pagan,” and any other teachings of traditional Christianity as “pagan” as well. Much of this can be involved with a Sacred Name Only bent, declaring that the English name Jesus is pagan, and that true Believers must use the Tetragrammaton (YHWH/YHVH) to be saved. A number of other traditional Christian doctrines such as the tri-unity of the Godhead and Divinity of the Messiah, and even redeemed Believers going to Heaven to be with the Lord, prior to the resurrection, are also labeled “pagan.” While every one of these matters deserves to be theologically discussed and analyzed, with Biblical, extra-Biblical, and non-Biblical factors to all be considered—in the 2020s it has become quite difficult and stressful, for many Messianic congregational leaders and teachers, to deal with a great deal of the “paganoia” out there. Fortunately, many of the people who fall into the Sensationalism category, do not consider themselves to be “Messianic” but instead “Hebrew Roots”—because being “Messianic” would necessarily mean some association with Judaism—which those sensationalized would probably also broadly consider to be “pagan.”

One of the final avenues, by which many enter into the orbit of things Messianic, is through some form of Dogmatism. This can give the impression of being similar to Principled Conviction, but rather than originating in a true, Spirit-urged desire to want to keep God’s commandments as one grows in holiness—some form of inflexible legalism, and works righteousness, are more likely the cause, with judgmentalism being much of the fruit. The ongoing debate, regarding the influence of One Law/One Torah theology, is especially at the heart of much of the dogmatism witnessed among various non-Jewish Believers who have taken a hold of many outward things of Torah. While we agree with supporters of a One Law/One Torah theology that God’s Torah is relevant instruction for the education of His people, it is to be understood in light of the sacrifice and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. Many who espouse a One Law/One Torah theology, deny in various degrees, that we live in a post-resurrection era with some new spiritual realities (i.e., that Yeshua absorbed the capital penalties of the Torah onto Himself [Colossians 2:14]).

What trajectory did the Jerusalem Council truly emphasize?

Looking back on many of the theological discussions and debates that I have witnessed in all of my time in the Messianic movement, it is fair to say that a verse like Acts 15:21 has been quoted and (over-)analyzed, at the expense of some other statements which bear much greater importance. It is legitimately recognized that the new, non-Jewish Believers coming to faith in the First Century, did not need to be ordered to be circumcised as Jewish proselytes, and keep the Torah, to be saved (Acts 15:1, 5). The Apostle Peter made it clear that Jewish and non-Jewish Believers were saved equally by the grace of the Lord Yeshua (Acts 15:11), and that no yoke of legalism was to be placed onto anyone (Acts 15:10). Continuing, James the Just, half-brother of Yeshua and leader of the Jerusalem assembly, issued “no greater burden than the following essentials” (Acts 15:28, NASU), stating,

“Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (Acts 15:19-21, NASU).

There is no doubting the fact that the four prohibitions themselves (Acts 15:20, 29) were actually going to be a hard burden for many of the new Greek and Roman Believers to implement, entering into the Body of Messiah from pagan backgrounds. Given the scope of the debates witnessed over the Apostolic Decree, over the years, many have concluded that the statement of Acts 15:21, “For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those proclaiming him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath [Shabbat]” (author’s rendering), means that the new, non-Jewish Believers were told, after following these four prohibitions, to go and attend a local Jewish synagogue every Sabbath (a frequent view present in One Law/One Torah theology). The textual fact is, the account of the letter written in Acts 15:23-29, does not include any mention of the new Greek and Roman Believers being told to go a local Jewish synagogue every Sabbath.

A far more organic reading of Acts 15:19-21 recognizes that when the four prohibitions were actually followed, that the new Greek and Roman Believers would be effectively cut off from their spheres of social and religious influence: the temple/shrine, the brothel, and the butcher shop. This would practically result in their new sphere of social and religious influence being a community where the One God of Israel was acknowledged, and Moses’ Teaching was read every Shabbat. There is no evidence from the Book of Acts or Pauline letters, however, that the four prohibitions of the Apostolic Decree were always followed (simply consider the complicated circumstances in 1 Corinthians). And it is also true that in many cases, when the good news hit a Jewish synagogue (such as in a place like Corinth), that rather than changing into a Messianic synagogue, that the new Jewish Believers and non-Jewish Believers would find themselves ejected from it.

Far too many of us have failed to more consciously grasp hold of how Acts 15:21 is a temporal verse to the 40s-50s C.E. Far too many of us also need to recognize how we may have been caught up in some under-developed theological discussions, caused by the dogmatism of others, which placed more significance on Acts 15:21 than was appropriate.

James the Just gave a very profound answer to the claim that the new Greek and Roman Believers had to be circumcised as Jewish proselytes and ordered to keep the Torah, to be saved (Acts 15:1, 5). In confronting a forced work of the flesh, he advocated that the plan of God was instead at work, in his clear words appealing to the Tabernacle of David being restored in Acts 15:15-18. In Amos 9:11-12, one witnesses a restored Twelve Tribes of Israel at the center of the Kingdom, and then enlarged Kingdom borders to welcome in the righteous from the nations:

“With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’ SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO [Amos 9:11-12, LXX]” (Acts 15:15-18, NASU).

It is astounding to me, how frequently the most important verse of the entire Jerusalem Council is just glossed over—and perhaps it has taken a decade of Acts 15:21 being overly quoted over and over again, particularly in Internet memes—for me to finally realize how important it is that we all shift the Acts 15 debate. The most important verse of Acts 15 is Acts 15:15: “The words of the Prophets agree.” The specific prophecy referenced in Acts 15:15-18 is Amos 9:11-12, but with “words” and “Prophets” in the plural, it hardly means that this was the only Tanach prophecy which could have been in the mind of James. Indeed, many commentators on the Book of Acts have proposed various other Tanach prophecies, not specifically quoted by James in Acts 15:15-18, as being among “the words of the Prophets” (Acts 15:15). In his commentary, Eckhard J. Schnabel[1] specifically proposes Isaiah 2:2; 45:20-23; Jeremiah 12:15-16; Zechariah 8:22 as being among the specific prophecies one can consider:

“Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; they have no knowledge, who carry about their wooden idol and pray to a god who cannot save. ‘Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance” (Isaiah 45:20-23, NASU).

“And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people” (Jeremiah 12:15-16, NASU).

“So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD’” (Zechariah 8:22, NASU).

There are doubtlessly more Tanach prophecies, regarding the place and participation of the nations within the restoration of Israel. It should be obvious enough, that not enough attention has been given to Acts 15:15 and its reference to “the words of the Prophets” in many of our deliberations over the Jerusalem Council and Acts 15. Acts 15:15 has long term significance, whereas anything one may conclude from Acts 15:21, had a short term effect on the Believers in the 40s-50s C.E. Rather than see the new non-Jewish Believers ordered to keep the Torah to be saved (Acts 15:1, 5), James instead stressed that the organic fulfillment of Tanach prophecy should be allowed to take place. There were four matters where there could be no forbearance or tolerance on the part of the Jewish Believers (Acts 15:20, 29), but everything else could be left open-ended, as they participated in God’s sovereign, prophetic plan for Israel and the nations.

How much has the future been breaking into the present?

Over the past ten years, I have more consciously come to the conclusion that the Messianic movement is the end-time move of God—because unlike any other spiritual movement, it places the salvation historical trajectory of Romans 11:26, “all Israel will be saved,” at the forefront of what it does. This is something which is ultimately going to culminate in the return of Israel’s Messiah. While controversial for some, it should not be difficult to recognize that as we get closer and closer to the return of the Messiah, that future prophecies have already begun to break into the present. A mainstay of Second Temple Judaism was the idea that God had created two ages, the present evil age and the age to come (4 Ezra 7:50). Yet, a mainstay of Apostolic theology was that the age to come had already broken into the present evil age, by virtue of the resurrection of the Messiah (Galatians 1:4; cf. Romans 1:4). So, what are some of the possible prophecies, specifically concerning the nations and various aspects of God’s Torah, which might really be breaking into the present and more consciously being realized—as we get closer and closer to Yeshua’s return?

“Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Isaiah 2:2-4, NASU; also Micah 4:1-3).

“‘And it will come to pass, that from one New Moon to another, and from one Shabbat to another, all flesh will come to bow down before Me,’ says ADONAI” (Isaiah 66:23, TLV).

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 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. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezekiel 26:25-27, NASU; referenced in Titus 2:14; also Jeremiah 31:31-34).

“Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them” (Zechariah 14:16-17, NASU).

Today, within a great deal (if not the majority), of the Messianic community—you do indeed have many non-Jewish Believers who have been superintended by the Lord into this movement, believing themselves to be fulfilling many of these prophecies. Many non-Jewish Believers, such as myself and my own family, were led by the Lord into this movement, to pay attention to important things such as a Torah foundation, Shabbat, and the festivals. We regard ourselves as a part of the Commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-13) along with our Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters. Our adoption of a Messianic lifestyle was a part of our spiritual growth in faith, especially given the New Covenant promises of God to write His commandments onto the heart and mind. Our testimony, as non-Jewish Believers being led into the Messianic movement is not unique only to us, but can be witnessed from the example of many others as well.

Many Messianic Jewish Believers recognize how some future Kingdom realities have been breaking into the present, before the return of the Messiah. A few others, however, are negatively disposed—and are seen to specifically claim that by remembering Shabbat in fulfillment of Isaiah 66:23 or Sukkot in fulfillment of Zechariah 14:16-17, various non-Jewish Believers are holding to an “overly-realized eschatology.”[2] Future realties should, apparently, be entirely reserved for the future. This claim is often made on the basis of how in the resurrection, people will be living like the angels of Heaven, in a different state of being (Matthew 22:30), without the institution of marriage—but no one has stopped marrying at the present time. It is a fair point to say that various realities, which can only be enacted by the work of God Himself (1 Thessalonians 4:14), such as the future resurrection state—and with it the reanimation of deceased human remains—have to wait until the future. Yet there are things, which can be easily performed today, because they are initiated by human activity.

Furthermore, it cannot be overlooked how the essential reality of the New Covenant, of a new heart and mind, has definitely been present among the redeemed since the work of Yeshua on the tree. We still, however, wait for the full completion of the oracles of Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 regarding the great return of all Israel to the Promised Land and the Messiah taking up His throne from Jerusalem. The New Covenant is already an active force to be reckoned with now, although more is to come in the future. We understand it as being active, widely because of the theological principle of realized eschatology. The principle of realized eschatology, future prophecy beginning to manifest now in the present experience of God’s own, can hardly be compartmentalized.

Even though a few Messianic Jewish teachers would be seen to criticize non-Jewish Believers—who have started to do various things of Torah, with future realities in mind—criticizing anyone holding to an “overly-realized eschatology” can be applied to one of the most important aspects of today’s Messianic Jewish experience. This is something which originated directly from the ministry of the Apostle Paul in the First Century. Paul went out collecting specific offerings for the Jewish Believers in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-26; 2 Corinthians 8:13-14), which itself was rooted in expectations seen in the Tanach, Apocrypha, and Dead Sea Scrolls, regarding the wealth of the nations streaming to Zion in the end-times. This would not only be an offering of gratitude to Israel, but also one of restitution for wrongs and atrocities committed:

“Thus says the LORD, ‘The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will walk behind you, they will come over in chains and will bow down to you; they will make supplication to you: “Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, no other God”’” (Isaiah 45:14, NASU).

“Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba will come; they will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news of the praises of the LORD. All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; they will go up with acceptance on My altar, and I shall glorify My glorious house. Who are these who fly like a cloud and like the doves to their lattices? Surely the coastlands will wait for Me; and the ships of Tarshish will come first, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you. Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you; for in My wrath I struck you, and in My favor I have had compassion on you. Your gates will be open continually; they will not be closed day or night, so that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession. For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined. The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the box tree and the cypress together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I shall make the place of My feet glorious. The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, and all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; and they will call you the city of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated with no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, a joy from generation to generation. You will also suck the milk of nations and suck the breast of kings; then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver, and instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your administrators and righteousness your overseers” (Isaiah 60:5-17, NASU).

“But you will be called the priests of the LORD; you will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast” (Isaiah 61:6, NASU).

“Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for your horn I will make iron and your hoofs I will make bronze, that you may pulverize many peoples, that you may devote to the Lord their unjust gain and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth” (Micah 4:13, NASU).

“Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God, bearing gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven. Generations of generations will give you joyful praise” (Tobit 13:11, RSV).

“O Zion, rejoice greatly, and shine with joyful songs, O Jerusalem. Rejoice, all you cities of Judah, open your gate[s] forever that the wealth of the nations might be brought to you, and their kings shall serve you. All they that oppressed you shall bow down to you, and the rest [of your feet they shall lick. O daughter]s of my people, shout out with a voice of joy, adorn yourselves with ornaments of glory. Rule over the ki[ngdom of the…]” (1QM 12.13-15).[3]

If there are a few Messianic Jewish teachers seen to criticize non-Jewish Believers for keeping Shabbat with Isaiah 66:23 and future prophecy in view, they need to be consistent. The prophecies quoted above concern the wealth of the nations streaming to Zion in the Last Days. To be candid, without the wealth of the nations today—the offerings, donations, and significant monies of non-Jewish Believers—there would be no Messianic Jewish movement. Behind almost every Messianic Jewish organization and congregation, is probably some major non-Jewish financial donor. And I have definitely heard the Tanach prophecies about the wealth of the nations streaming to Zion in the Last Days, employed as a means to get non-Jewish Believers to give generously to the Messianic movement! I honestly do not think that any Messianic Jewish rabbi or leader is going to tear up or burn a $5 million dollar check, if a non-Jewish Believer says that he or she was directed by the Lord to fulfill the words of a future prophecy like Isaiah 60:5-17!

If, as some have claimed, that a number of non-Jewish Believers have inappropriately held to an overly-realized eschatology—and that they need to stop doing things reserved entirely for the future—then at worst, perhaps these people have just misused some of their time. If, however, future realities regarding the nations and God’s Torah have indeed been breaking in, here and there, at least in part, in the lives of non-Jewish Believers like my family in today’s Messianic movement—then have some possibly been critical toward God’s plan of salvation history taking shape? If a person like me was led into the Messianic movement because of future prophecy decreed by God being genuinely fulfilled—and someone is caught saying “No” to this—that is a very dangerous position in which to find oneself.

Are you truly called into a Messianic lifestyle?

I think it is obvious enough, when you look at today’s Messianic movement and many non-Jewish Believers embracing outward things of Torah, that prophecies like Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:2-4 are occurring to some noticeable and important degree. The words of these prophecies are invoked, after all, in the traditional Synagogue liturgy, when the Torah scroll is brought forth from the Ark during the morning Shabbat service! So how can we ignore the reality that God has superintended many non-Jewish people, such as my own family, into the Messianic movement—prompting them to do things such as Shabbat in fulfillment of Isaiah 66:23, or Sukkot in fulfillment of Zechariah 14:16-17? It is difficult to ignore or dismiss these things.

Yet, if future Tanach prophecies have started to take place—it cannot at all be avoided or denied how one entity in this universe, understands Bible prophecy more than any of us do: Satan. The independent Hebrew/Hebraic Roots movement—perhaps more than fifty times the size of the Messianic Jewish movement—can be easily said today, in 2023, to be far more of a move of the enemy, than an actual move of the Spirit. The late Rob Skiba, who took on the mantle of Hebrew Roots, and had hundreds of thousands of followers, was not just a Flat Earth proponent—but was a strong anti-Zionist. I do not know whether or not he was a Holocaust denier, but he was no friend of the Jewish people. Yet many people just had to listen to him… Perhaps this is an extreme example. But a few of today’s Messianic Jewish teachers want to keep future prophecies, regarding the nations and Torah, solely to the Millennium, because of the challenges present from the Hebrew Roots movement. Let’s leave it to a time in the future when the Messiah Himself is among us… I cannot blame them for thinking this.

A number of my Messianic Jewish colleagues and friends, are somewhat ambivalent when having to reason through future prophecies regarding the nations and Torah, manifesting today in the time steadily approaching the Messiah’s return. I know some do recognize these expectations as occurring. I think there are others who do not quite know what to do. This is why, in a great deal of contemporary Messianic Judaism, it is commonly stressed that non-Jewish Believers have to be specially called by God into the Messianic movement, in this present phase of development. It is, admittedly, a theologized buffer or benchmark to be met—but it is one I have openly supported for a number of years. Are you really called into the Messianic movement? Are you really called into a Messianic lifestyle?

A significant prophecy regarding the Last Days is also Zechariah 8:23: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you”’” (NASU). Joining with Jewish Believers is a definite part of what is taking place in today’s Messianic movement, but not the Hebrew Roots movement. Being called into the Messianic movement, is contingent on non-Jewish Believers having a burden for the salvation of the Jewish people, and being involved in the Messianic Jewish mission of Jewish outreach and evangelism. Being a part of the Messianic movement is a great privilege, as you are participating in something which will culminate in the return of Israel’s Messiah. It is also something I believe to be very exciting.

Certainly, there are many non-Jewish Believers I have encountered, who have entered into things of Torah through a Hebrew Roots door, who have had no choice but to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Messianic Jewish mission. It is the burden of Paul in Romans 9:1: “I tell the truth in Messiah—I do not lie, my conscience assuring me in the Ruach ha-Kodesh—that my sorrow is great and the anguish in my heart unending” (TLV). And as he taught, “in like manner these also have now been disobedient with the result that, because of the mercy shown to you, they also may receive mercy” (Romans 11:31, TLV). Non-Jewish Believers from the nations, have a mandate to be vessels of grace and mercy to the Jewish people, that they might come to faith in Messiah Yeshua! They need to be concerned about standing against acts of anti-Semitism in the world, and in support of the State of Israel. They need to humbly recognize that without the Jewish people, there would be no Messiah to the world (Romans 9:5). Many non-Jewish Believers I know have made changes, as they have incorporated the Messianic mission into their walk.

As a non-Jewish Believer, who has been involved in the Messianic community since he was a freshman in high school (1995), and who has written many books and commentaries defending a post-resurrection era validity of God’s Torah, I genuinely wish that many evangelical people from backgrounds like my own would consider the value of the Messianic lifestyle. But I myself have been challenged with those questions, and had to work through them: Am I really called into the Messianic movement? Am I willing to co-labor with Jewish Believers in the salvation of Israel? (I have even had to work through the possible personal cost, to my being involved in the Messianic movement, at 42, especially as it concerns my non-marital status as a confirmed bachelor.) These are appropriate buffers or benchmarks, when one might think that he or she has been tapped by the Lord to begin fulfilling future prophecies of the nations doing things of Torah. What other necessary things must also be accomplished? Many non-Jewish people I know, who do things of Torah, completely balk at or dismiss the importance of being involved in Jewish outreach or evangelism. A number of them are even hostile to the idea. Could it actually be because of unresolved anti-Semitism in their hearts, or even demonic possession?

We are going to encounter millions of Christian people in the Kingdom of Heaven who did not walk in a Messianic lifestyle of doing things like Shabbat, the appointed times, or kosher. They did love God and neighbor, though. And, they probably kept many of the Torah’s ethical and moral principles. Likewise, there are many sincere and born again Christian people today who do exactly the same. But because of the work and purposes that the Lord has for them in other venues, their involvement with Messianic things might be limited to solely praying for the salvation of the Jewish people, and praying for God’s blessings and protection upon the Messianic community. The considerable majority of today’s evangelicalism is not being called to participate directly in the Messianic lifestyle or Messianic experience.

Looking to the future, as the salvation of the Jewish people and restoration of the Kingdom to Israel takes center stage—not only will the Apostles’ question in Acts 1:6 finally be answered, but many future prophecies are going to be taking shape in full force. That day is not today. And a wide number of the people in the Hebrew Roots movement, who think they might be fulfilling such prophecies, have, most lamentably, actually been raised up by the Adversary as a distraction and deterrent we all must outflank.

NOTES

[1] Eckhard J. Schnabel, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Acts (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 638 fn#35.

[2] Consult some of the opinions detectable in David Rudolph. (2021). One New Man, Hebrew Roots, Replacement Theology. Available online via <http://tku.edu>; Two Messianic Jews, “Should Christians Celebrate Sukkot? A Messianic Jewish Response to Hebrew Roots.” (15 September, 2021). Available online via <youtube.com/@TwoMessianicJews>.

[3] Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook, trans., The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996), 162.