Tag: isis

What Makes a Jew a Jew?

5 Comments

This is the eternal question: is a Jew someone who was born of Jewish parents? Is a Jew someone who follows the traditions and practices of the Jewish religion? Is a Jew anyone from Israel? Is a Jew….well, you get the idea.

One of the websites I use for information I can depend on regarding Judaism is the (Orthodox) Judaism 101 website, and this is their definition of a Jew:

A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism. It is important to note that being a Jew has nothing to do with what you believe or what you do. A person born to non-Jewish parents who has not undergone the formal process of conversion but who believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom of Judaism is still a non-Jew, even in the eyes of the most liberal movements of Judaism, and a person born to a Jewish mother who is an atheist and never practices the Jewish religion is still a Jew, even in the eyes of the ultra-Orthodox. In this sense, Judaism is more like a nationality than like other religions, and being Jewish is like a citizenship

So, a Jew would be anyone born of Jewish parents, without any regard to what they believe. Supposedly.

Now for my real-life experience: I have been told, more than once, by Conservative, Reconstructionist and Orthodox Jews, that because I believe Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah, I am a Christian and no longer a Jew. Period!

My mother and father were Jewish, our family history is that my mothers Zaydeh (Grandfather) was a Cantor at some synagogue in Kiev (her father came over here just before the Pogroms made it to their town.) So, according to the Jewish 101 site (and most of what I have heard growing up Jewish, in my Reform synagogue) I am a Jew, and no matter what I believe or how I worship, my Jewish heritage cannot be taken away from me.

The really ironic part is that since I accepted Yeshua as my Messiah (disqualifying me as a Jew), I have been more “Jewish” than I ever was growing up! I worship the festivals of the Lord (Leviticus 23) and I celebrate Shabbat every Friday night and Saturday (although I am not as strict about the Talmudic regulations regarding travel and spending money); I also have been very active in my place of worship, whether it was a messianic synagogue or my current place, which is a Hebraic Roots church. I was on the Council at Temple Beth Emanuel in Philadelphia, acting as Rabbi for about 18 months while we were looking for a new Rabbi, and I am currently an officer on the Council for my church, the Zionist Revival Center (that is the name of our website: it is a dot ORG.) I have only worshiped in two places for the past 20 years- when I find a place that I feel is correct, I stay. I don’t play the field, as many Christians do.

I also have taken correspondence classes and have a Certificate of Messianic Studies (equivalent to an Associate degree); have written and published two books on God’s word and Prayer, and I teach, help lead liturgy and give the message when the Senior Pastor is unavailable.

I am not telling you all this to brag, but simply as a resume, so to speak, to demonstrate that I have been living a very, very Jewish lifestyle. In fact, for over 15 years Donna and I have hosted a Passover Seder for people who have never been to one, to introduce them to the Last Supper as it really happened.

Yet, despite all this, when I was talking with a woman who is an Israeli, an Orthodox Jew and a Director with a Christian based organization that supports Jews living in the heartland of Israel, when I asked if Israel might ever open it’s doors to Messianic Jews (we are not welcomed there), her answer was not what I was hoping for. I expected a compassionate, “I don’t think they are ready for that yet”, or a simple, “Probably not for a while”, or even a “I doubt it.” What I got was an immediate and definitive, “NO!”  Not only that, but she went on to tell me that I was a Christian, not a Jew. I told her she cannot say that, but she asked if I believed Jesus is the son of God (an immediate disqualification for any Jew, because Judaism totally rejects the Trinity) and that if I believe in Jesus (another term for which Jews really have no idea what it means) then I am a Christian! Period!! End of job; bye-bye; don’t let the door hit your tuchas on the way out.

You see, for a Messianic Jew, it is like being between a rock and a hard place: Christians tell us we can’t be saved if we are still obedient to Torah (because that means we are legalistic), and Jews tell us we aren’t Jewish if we believe in Jesus (no matter what our birthright or how we worship.)

Why is this? The answer is simple: bigotry fostered through ignorance.

Christians are taught the Torah is for Jews, and to justify not having to obey Torah they have decided that obedience is legalism, which disqualifies someone from really having “the Spirit” and being Born Again- to most Christians, being Born Again means not having to worry about rules, and if you have decided that the Torah is God’s commandments for everyone, you aren’t really “saved.”

On the Jewish side of the fence, Jesus is a traitor to Judaism and anyone who follows Him is a traitor, also. The Gentiles worship Jesus as God and they worship the Holy Spirit, so they are not obedient to the Shema (one God). That is immediate disqualification for being Jewish. Another is bowing to idols (check out any Catholic church), and ignoring Torah (as stated above), so they don’t care who your parents were and what lifestyle you live: to Jews, believing in Jesus is the definitive definition of a Non-Jew.

I wonder if that means that everyone who rejects Jesus is a Jew? I mean, if accepting Jesus means I am not a Jew, no matter what, then rejecting Jesus should, at least, allow me to be considered a non-Gentile, which is pretty much not-every other religion, so I would then be, by default, a Jew, right?

Wrong. Jews are Jews by birthright. The way one worships God, if at all, is an indicator of how “good” a Jew that person is, but if you are born from Jewish parents, you are a Jew: now and always.

It will be a very unpleasant surprise when these bigoted people (on both sides) learn the truth at Judgment Day. Actually, having believed as they do for 2/3 of my life, I feel bad for them. They’ve been poisoned since the moment they were a child. We see the horrible way the Palestinians, ISIS and other Mideast terrorist organizations indoctrinate their children with hatred, and not only authorize, but encourage, murdering Jews, and they start this as early as when they are still in kindergarten. It’s disgusting to us.

Yet, we do the same thing between Christianity and Judaism: Jews teach their young that Christians worship Jesus (and they have good reason to say that, too) and hate Jews, and that Jesus was a Jew but that He created and converted to Christianity. Totally wrong, but what does a 5 year old know about it? And their parents, grandparents, friends, and Rabbi all tell them the same thing. And from the Gentile religions, it is the same thing for their kids; they teach Jews killed their Lord, Jews have Torah as their salvation and not Christ, and in some cases they teach God has rejected Jews and they aren’t the Chosen people anymore, but they Christians are.

Both of these teachings are lies from the pit of Sheol.

So what do we do about this? The only thing we can do: suffer through, persevere, try to preach and show the truth in how we live that all are one in Messiah, that the “Jesus” most Jews think they know is not the real Yeshua, and that the Torah is valid and necessary for all people, Jew and Gentile, because God has no religion and the commandments He gave the Jews are really for everyone.

The last thing to add is: good luck to us! We will need it.

Parashah V’Yechi (and he lived) Genesis 47:28 – 50:26

Leave a comment

We come to the end of Genesis, when Jacob blesses the two sons of Joseph, essentially adopting them into his family, and then blessing all his sons. He is carried back to the burial cave of his fathers and buried there. Then Joseph also dies and is embalmed.

The biblical account of the burial place for the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is in Hebron.  This is an Arab-controlled area, with a very small, completely surrounded Jewish section. Many Orthodox Jews will have Shabbat services in the cave at Machpelah (Hebron) that is accepted as the actual burial place for the Patriarchs.

However, Joseph is supposedly buried in Shechem. In fact, there is a Tomb of Joseph building in Shechem, which is totally off-limits to anyone Jewish.

Here is the “welcome” sign as you enter Shechem:

warning sign outside Schechem Valley entrance

So, two of the most important and holy of all Jewish locations in the land of Israel are off-limits to Jews. Yes, they can go to Hebron, but it is a dangerous route to travel, in both directions.

This is not a political blog, it is a ministry, but part of what ministry is, at least to me, is to tell the truth about the world and the spiritual battles that are occurring, every day, within it. One of these battles is that the Church is supposed to be grafted into the state (both spiritual and political) of Israel. It does NOT replace it!!  Believers are supposed to be supportive of Israel and the Jewish people because they are God’s chosen Priests, and you don’t double-cross your priest.

The Arab world has stated, over and over, that it’s only desire for the Jewish nation is that it be totally destroyed- not a very friendly “How do you do” campaign slogan. They have lied about their “rights” to the land they have occupied (yes, they occupied these lands  AFTER the nation of Israel made the land economically desirable); they have planted trees because that gives them ownership, even though the trees they planted are the only thing on the mountainsides they planted them on. There are thousands of trees, olive trees (which only need to be reaped once a year, otherwise there is nothing you need to do to them with regards to care-taking) all over the “disputed” West Bank, which is the Jordan Valley Rift area. The shanty towns that Israel is accused of causing are actually Arab creations because the Arabs have nowhere else to go- their own country will not allow them back in.

In Shechem there are bare, cinder-block buildings we would call “Projects” that house Arabs wanting to enter Israel but are not allowed- by the Arabs- to do so. And- they are not allowed back into Syria, either. In truth, none of them really want to go back to Syria…I mean, would you? So, Jewish people are kept out of Shechem, and the Arab people in Shechem are kept in there.

Truth be told, those Arabs that do live and work in Israel have no problem with  the Jewish people, and the Jewish people, the Israelites, have no problem with any Arab who wants to live and work with them, so long as you don’t try to kill me. The Arabs that work in Israel have the same pay, same benefits, and same opportunities as the Israelites- can we say that in America when it comes to minorities?

The Jewish people only want to live in peace, and be left alone. The Arab political powers want them destroyed. This is an age-old, sibling rivalry that goes back to Abraham. God tells Hagar that Ishmael with be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against his brothers and his brothers hands against him (Genesis 16:12), and we can see that has been true since then. History shows us that the Arab world has been nothing more than one political assassination after another, with family against family and people against people. The “Palestinian People” have nothing to do with Palestine- they are North Syrians, nomads, who used to take their herds and feed them on the hills of the Jordan Rift, then go back to Syria when the grass was gone. If you travel along that road you can still see the Arab shepherds along the way with their goats and sheep. It wasn’t until Israel became a nation and started to clear out the mosquito infested swamps, irrigate the land and make it a viable farming community that suddenly now, this is “historically” land that these “Palestinian” peoples owned, and Israel was invading their territory!

Horse-apples!

The only “Palestinians” that have “historically” lived there were the Jews. The North Syrians were dubbed with that title as a propaganda program by Yasser Arafat; and it was as good as anything that Joseph Goebbels could have come up with. Both Arafat and Goebbels had the same goal- to bring the world against, and ultimately destroy, the Jewish people, whose only “crime” was wanting to live peaceably on their own land.

One day we will have complete access, safe and open to all, to the burial places of our Patriarchs. This will come about because, when you read the bible, you know how it will all end. It would be nice if the Arabs would just get off their hate wagon. Isn’t it about time that ISIS and ISIL and all the other terrorists in the world leave Israel alone and concentrate on taking care of their own people; you know, not abuse and rape their own women, not kill themselves, not attack innocent men, women and children in countries that take them in only to try and help them?

The world has never really been a nice place for people- Adam and Eve had it made, but they blew it, and not just for themselves but for everyone. Now we live in a world that is cursed and fallen, and it is only going to get worse. It seems all this week I have been on an apocalyptic bent, but with all that is happening, natural and man-made disasters everywhere, how can I not see the end coming? How can anyone not see the end coming?

Keep reading the bible, keep praying to God for peace in our time- we know how things will end, we just don’t know when, so praying for the peace of Jerusalem and peace in our time is fine. It isn’t against God’s plan, it is just asking for a reprieve for the time being.

If you call yourself a “Believer”, say you have been “Born Again” and profess to worship God- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- then you MUST support and help the Jewish people. There’s no real choice about it: God said that is what you are to do, and Shaul (Paul) also says that we need to be one new man (Ephesians 2:15), meaning that the Jewish people and Christians need to worship the one Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus) and work together. Christians are grafted in, and when you graft a branch onto the tree the branch now belongs to that tree, not the other way around.

So draw from the root of the tree to which you have been grafted in, do not denounce it, do not ignore it and do not work against it- you will only be killing yourself.

 

 

 

Judgement isn’t Coming- It’s Here

Leave a comment

Paris, Paris, Paris- that’s all the rage now. People change their FaceBook page to reflect the Parisian flag, they post requests to pray for Paris, it’s the top story in all the papers.

I remember Paris back in the day when it was the safe house for all terrorists. The Parisian government allowed known terrorists to go there and would not extradite them. Now the ones who were protected are biting the hand that fed them, because these terrorists have no honor, no concern for anyone, and no morals.

Sounds like the ancient Babylonians, or the Assyrians, doesn’t it? And didn’t God use those people, as horrible as they were, to exact His judgement?

I am not against sympathizing with those who lost loved ones in Paris. I am fed up with the superficial sympathy we feel. We are all so “damaged” today, but by Tuesday the top story will be about some dog found stuck in a ditch, or some cutesy kid who is collecting for the homeless. And those people in France who are attending funerals and recovering in hospitals will be totally forgotten.

In one day hundreds were killed or hurt in Paris, that’s true. On the other hand, in 2013 the number of American deaths, PER DAY, was almost 90 people. From automobile accidents. You can’t really stop someone from setting off a bomb, but you can drive more carefully, you can drive without texting, you can drive only when you’re sober. We can prevent more automobile accidents, but you can’t really prevent someone who is determined to hurt other people. Oh, maybe now and then, with good intel and a very liberal attitude about privacy, you might. Still, over a hundred died  that one day in Paris, in an attack that is totally unique in current Parisian history. The Paris deaths were from one day of terror, and only the one day- it started, it’s over.

Ninety Americans die every-single-day!  From something that is preventable.

We need to keep things in perspective- murder is murder, whether terrorists do it to us in public places or we do it to each other in cars. The difference, to me, is that there is so much violence of humans against humans that we can’t always see when it is human based or if it is an act of God.

Yes, I am saying that I believe these terrorist groups, groups like ISIS, Al-Queda, or whoever they are, are being used by God as His weapon of judgement. He has done this throughout the past, using powerful enemies that are ruthless, destructive, immoral and unrighteous to render His totally righteous judgement on those that have earned His wrath. America has rejected God, France and God, well, what’s to say about that? And the other countries of the world being attacked are just as worthy of judgement as the ones who have been attacked.

“Yeah, well, then why is Israel being attacked, huh?  If Israel is being regathered and they have already been judged, which you have said before, Steve, then why is Israel being attacked? Huh? Why? Yeah, Answer that one. Huh?”

Good question, here’s the answer- because they are God’s’ people. They are being attacked by the forces of the enemy: they are not being judged by God. That’s the difference- Israel is being attacked, as they always have been, by the forces of the enemy, especially now as they draw closer to God and are starting to acknowledge the truth about His Messiah. Israel is under demonic attack, whereas (I believe) the nations of the world are now coming under judgement.

Remember that the Prophets told us eventually the entire world will come against Israel- that is part of the plan, and it has not happened yet. It is still in the future (and, I believe, not the distant future.)  The judgement against the Goyim (the nations) is already happening.

We should prepare ourselves for the real battle, which isn’t of governments or nations, but of the spiritual world. The way to defeat terrorism is not to be terrorized. That can’t happen without God, without accepting His Grace and knowing that whatever a person does against you, you are secure in the future because you have been saved from the second death- that is the one to be afraid of. The first death comes to all, it is natural, it is transitory. It is the second death, the eternal death that results with either being in God’s presence or in the Lake of Fire, which is what we should be terrorized of!

Terrorists are nothing- they are a bunch of murderers who use their god as an excuse to kill others so they feel better about themselves. Their judgement will come, too- just as it has happened in the past. If they read the bible that counts, they would think twice about what they are doing because no one who has come against Israel has survived. No one. They are doing God’s work against the Nations now, but their time will come, and their judgement will be terrible. Just ask the Assyrians (oh, wait- they’re totally destroyed); well, then, ask any Babylonian about….oh, no, you can’t . They’re gone, too.  The Romans? Nah- all their military are Swiss. Maybe the Egyptians? They’re still here, but not much of a military power anymore.

Mark my words, it won’t be God who will stop these terrorists- the enemy will be the one to overpower these terrorists! They are nothing more than the warm-up act for the big show, when the enemy of God creates the one-world rule. He will do so by eliminating these groups to secure his position as a man of peace. He will seem to save the world, to bring peace and order, and to be the one we should worship since he did what God could not. This will be his demonstration of power, and it will fool many, even many of the righteous will turn to the enemy, because they expect God to stop the terror so when the enemy does this they will mistake him for Messiah.

I believe this is what will happen in the very near future, maybe even in our lifetimes. I did not gain this “knowledge” from a dream, or a vision. In fact, I think it is just common sense . It’s the logical conclusion that one should come to when one reads the word of God, looks at what He has done in the past, and understands He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. Think about that- if God is the same, always and forever, then doesn’t it just make sense that what he has done in the past he will do in the present, and continue to do in the future, in the same way?

Terrorism is terrible- duh! That’s why they call it, “Terrorism”. And it is not new- it may have a new name but it is the same as it has always been; at it’s roots it is bad people doing bad things to innocent people. It started with Cain and hasn’t changed since then.

We can’t stop terrorism- it is a part of civilization, it is the way humans are, and it can be the rod of judgement that God uses. It will never go away, it will only change it’s shape, it’s name and it’s targets. But what we sow, we shall reap, and God will judge those He is using to bring judgement upon the Nations. Be assured, be comforted in the midst of the terror, that vengeance will be taken and judgement will be done to those who are performing these terrible acts of murder.

In the meantime, don’t get confused by those pushing for less gun control or those blaming President Obama, or any other policy reform stemming from these events. This isn’t about any of them, and it’s certainly not about Paris. This is about the truth of God’s word, the prophecies of the bible, the arrival of the Acharit HaYamim (End Days) and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on Earth.

The time to think spiritual is upon you- get your head out of the Earth and into the Clouds.