Addressing the Theological and Spiritual Issues of the Broad Messianic Movement
The following volume is a paperback compilation of all of the significant Frequently Asked Questions that we have featured on our website from 2000-2018. We trust that this reference source will serve as a welcome edition to your home or congregational library!
Messianic Apologetics editor J.K. McKee has developed the workbook The Messianic Walk to specifically aid in acclimating people to today’s Messianic movement. This resource is a primer, divided into six units, covering: (1) The Messianic Experience, (2) Shabbat, the Appointed Times, Jewish Holidays, (3) Kosher and Torah-Based “Means of Grace,” (4) The Contours of Jewish Evangelism, (5) Our Place in the Congregation, and (6) A Survey of Messianic Theology. The Messianic Walk has been written in an as user-friendly and easy-to-read style as possible, as it introduces students to the Messianic congregational experience as it has developed by the third decade of the Twenty-First Century. It is a resource intended to be used in the new members classes of today’s Messianic congregations, either on its own or in concert with other materials.
One of the biggest, divisive issues in contemporary theology, involves women in ministry. There are denominations which support females serving alongside of males as co-leaders of the assembly, ordained as pastors, and there are other denominations which strongly oppose females serving in such a capacity. When it comes to marital relationships, there are those who believe that a husband leads the family while the wife follows behind him, and there are others who support partnership marriages where husband and wife are co-leaders of the family. How should today’s Messianic movement best approach this?
Is the ekklēsia an actual separate entity known as “the Church”? Or, is ekklēsia no different than the assembly of Israel itself—which takes Bible readers back to the mixed multitude of physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the welcomed persons from the nations, who received His Ten Words and Instruction at the base of Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 12:38)? Did Yeshua the Messiah come to found a separate group of elect called “the Church,” or did He come to rebuild and restore His Father’s assembly of righteous ones (cf. Matthew 16:18; Jeremiah 33:7, LXX), restoring the Kingdom to Israel (cf. Acts 1:6)?
This volume of Messianic Apologetics’ Confronting Issues series, Why Hell Must Be Eternal, necessarily takes up some of the uncomfortable discussion that has gone on in evangelical Christian theology regarding eternal punishment, and how it affects our contemporary Messianic faith community. Annihilationism is not a viable form of eternal punishment, as it constitutes the same basic belief of any atheist or agnostic, who thinks that after death he or she will enter into total nothingness. At the same time, there have undoubtedly been exaggerations and over-exaggerations of hyper-literal models of eternal punishment that exclusively focus on descriptions of it being fire and smoke, as opposed to outer darkness or banishment from God’s presence.
This installment of the Confronting Issues series by Messianic Apologetics, To Be Absent From the Body, has brought together some important information and critical FAQ entries from the Messianic Apologetics website. There are definite questions of human dignity and worth to be evaluated regarding the intermediate state. This volume addresses this subject quite well. If you have a relative, a friend, or another loved one who has passed away knowing the Lord—you can be assured that he or she is consciously in His presence right now—but is also quite eager to return to the Earth to see His Kingdom restored!
Confronting Yeshua’s Divinity and Messiahship has compiled a number of key articles, which are intended to directly combat errant ideas that circulate here and there within sectors of the Messianic community. Common claims that are issued against Yeshua being the Divine Savior, and Yeshua being the Messiah, are directly responded to with poignant observations and exegetical detail. If you have been in a situation where a rogue individual you have encountered makes a statement or two against who Yeshua is, as communicated to us in the Holy Scriptures, then this publication should serve as some useful ammunition against those claims. The most frequent statements that one will hear, which are made against Yeshua’s Divinity and Messiahship, are directly confronted and responded to.
Confronting Critical Issues is an important compilation book of some of Messianic Apologetics’ key Confronting Issues booklets, as well as some major articles of substance. These are bound to answer some significant questions and controversies that all of today’s Messianic Believers have encountered within their fellowships, congregations, and personal Bible studies. This publication is also bound to stir some of its own controversy, as it inquires how we can be a mature, growing Messianic movement which is able to accomplish all that our Heavenly Father wants us to achieve—or whether those among us are going to disregard our spiritual potential to make a difference.
Israel in Future Prophecy: Is There a Larger Restoration of the Kingdom to Israel? addresses some of the controversies and problems that have been caused, by what is commonly known as the Two-House movement/sub-movement. This book attempts to sort through much of the religious politics and abuse that one commonly encounters when poignant questions are asked about what is happening in today’s Messianic community. It intends to provide some preliminary resolution to the issues which are Biblically-rooted, and are engaged with contemporary Jewish and Christian scholarship, providing some viable alternatives to the posturing more likely to be encountered.
This report is an expanded edition of one of our most controversial articles. It answers the top reasons why people believe in the pre-tribulation rapture from a Messianic post-tribulational perspective. It considers whether or not various pre-tribulationists have employed tactics of fear and faithlessness, and whether or not their ideology of escapism can be supported by a fair reading of the Holy Scriptures.
