Lately I've been having conversations with a local Seventh Day Adventist pastor and a few Adventist contacts online. The main topic of our conversations has been the Jews and how they are viewed in the SDA Church and the Bible.

I've known the basic views of Ms. White, the SDA Prophet, for years however after a few conversations with an Adventist friend I thought the denomination had possibly changed its teachings. There is a lot about this denomination I like and so I was hopeful. My friend, who is a devout Adventist, was surprisingly unaware of his denomination's teachings on this matter. Alas as I learned the teachings have not changed.

In this study I will present the main Adventist proof texts I have been given along with a few quotes from Ms. White and contrast these beliefs with the biblical teachings.

As always your thoughts, agree or not, are invited. I would be especially interested in replies from Adventists.

First, the Adventist view in brief:

"Satan rejoiced that the Jews were safe in his snare. They still continued their useless forms, their sacrifices and ordinances." Ellen White: The Great Controversy (1858) chapter 16.

"The long-suffering of God toward Jerusalem, only confirmed the Jews in their stubborn impenitence. In their hatred and cruelty toward the disciples of Jesus, they rejected the last offer of mercy. Then God withdrew His protection from them, and removed His restraining power from Satan and his angels, and the nation was left to the control of the leader she had chosen." Ellen White: The Great Controversy (1858)

But has God really abandoned the people he chose as His Elect (Isa 42:1)? As the apple of His eye (Deut 32:10)?

Paul says:

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew....

The following is based on conversations with a local Adventist pastor, especially with a study he penned and shared with me. His words have not been edited in any way. This is NOT intended as an attack of this doubtless sincere pastor. This format merely provides a good vehicle for this study. However due to the teachings I will share below there is no way I would join this denomination nor encourage others to.

Adventist Pastor: What did Paul have in mind when he wrote: "They are not all Israel who are of Israel" [ Rom. 9:6]? Why does the NT refer to 2 Israels — "Israel after the flesh" [1 Cor 10:18], and the Israel of God" [Gal 6:14-16]?

My reply:

Paul answers these questions in chapter 11 of Romans. The Gentile followers of Master Y'shua (Jesus) were "grafted" on to the Tree of Israel. Just as my stepson has become a member of my family due to my love for his mother -- and him -- so too the followers of Y'shua were "adopted" into the family of God due to God's love for Y'shua and all humanity:

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

As Paul explains at Romans 8:15, by our adoption into God's family we Gentiles can also cry Abba (a personal crying out of a child for its father) along with the natural children, the Jews.

At Romans 11:1 and elsewhere Paul (and others elsewhere) make it clear that this adoption did not replace the firstborn.

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

This was written at least thirty or forty years AFTER Y'shua's death. The Jews were still then and still are today the Elect of God.

Understand that God accepts all who come to Him in faith, Jew or Gentile (Gal 3:28), however this in no way compromises the position of the firstborn, because HaShem's callings and gifts "are without repentance" (Rom 11:29). My son by blood was not replaced or in any way diminished by the adoption of my step son. This is the biblical relationship between Jews and the followers of Master Y'shua. All are children of God and all are greatly beloved of the Father.

To the natural, firstborn son (Isaac -- Israel -- the Jews) goes the inheritance promised to and through Abraham and his descendants (both Semitic and non-Semitic Jewish descendants of Abraham and Sarah). Through the first born, by virtue of his inheritance and his calling, God will (and always has) bless all mankind (Gen 12:1-3).

No single people have so blessed the human race as the Jews and yet no people have been so despised.

This is not a coincidence. We are all embroiled in spiritual warfare. We stand with the People of God or we stand against them. The Adventists have chosen to stand against them.

The Adventist Pastor wrote in his study:

To begin with, the promises of the covenant to Israel in Ex 19:3-6 is conditional, based upon obedience. This principle is restated elsewhere in the OT.

My reply:

The Covenant with the Jews is not said to be conditional, only its blessings. These verses show that God would hold His people accountable for their actions. The same is said of the followers of Y'shua. Compare the example of Ananias and Sapphira, I Cor 11:29, 30 and so on. God's grace and mercy are not a license to sin (Rom 6:1).

GOD chose the Jews and He -- knowing all things past, present and future -- said the covenant was "without end." This is what Paul means when he says: "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew." Nothing anyone ever does surprises God but He loves and stands with us anyway.

Hence:

Heb 13:20: Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant...

THE (single) everlasting covenant with the Jews and through them with all mankind.

This can not be referring to the New Covenant with the followers of Master Y'shua because it was not in effect prior to his death and resurrection. This can only be referring to the continuance of the Covenant with the Jews. Jewish Y'shua was raised from the dead by the same God, the God of Israel.

The resurrection of Y'shua is due to the same Covenant declared by God to Abraham and his descendants through Sarah (and hence Isaac), that continued through the Jewish maiden Mary and her son Y'shua and still flows today among Jews.

Through Y'shua the Church was temporarily (Rev. 3:14-19) "grafted" on to this covenant by the same God who chose Israel as His eternal servants (Heb 9:15).

Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

"Not cast thee away" is translated from the Hebrew word "ma'ac" which tells us that HaShem will not:

• Reject, refuse
• Despise
• Cause or allow to be rejected
• Abhor
• Become loathsome towards
• Or melt away from
  The Jewish people.

It did not happen before Y'shua, it did not happen after Y'shua and it will not happen today or ever.

The Jews are the apple of God's eye.

Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

It is not that the Jews (nor the followers of Master Y'shua) chose God.

It is that God chose the Jews and allowed the Noahide Nazarenes to be grafted on. This was allowed in part to make the Jews jealous that the God of Israel would use others to fulfill His purposes (Rom 11:11, Matt 3:9). The "root" of the Tree God planted in the earth remains eternally Jewish and Paul and John warn that many of the Gentile "branches" will be severed in the End of Days. These days.

The Adventist Pastor wrote:

Dan. 9:24-27 says that the Messiah would confirm the covenant with "many" of the Jews—who the "many" are is illuminated by the words of the Messiah Himself.

As I said at the outset, I discussed these things with a few Adventists and this verse was cited by all but one of them. For instance:

Another Adventist Pastor wrote:

... God chose the Jewish nation as a special people to spread the truth throughout the world. Instead of sharing this treasure, the Jews hoarded these truths became self righteous and put a wall around themselves considering all other nations as unworthy. God bore long with the Jews. In Daniel there is the prophecy giving the Jews "time to make and end of their transgressions."

This error needs to be corrected!

Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Adventists believe the Messiah will do this?

They believe the Messiah will commit the abomination of desolation?

Master Y'shua referenced this coming event:

Matt 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

This is the Messiah's doing? God forbid!

This is an unbridled yet future attack on the Jews! This attack and those that will follow it are so severe that without direct divine intervene NO ONE would survive! But "to save the Elect," the Jews, God will send Moshiach (Messiah) to save the Jewish people and establish the Kingdom! And they equate this unprecedented evil with God's Anointed Moshiach!!!

Dan. 9:24-27 says the Antichrist not the Messiah will confirm a covenant with many for "one week." This "week" is clearly referring to the final seven years of the Times of the Gentiles -- the Tribulation Period -- the time of the "abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet as referenced by Y'shua himself in his Matthew 24 prophecy."

Of this event Paul warns:

I Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

The reference is to the peace treaties the Rex Mundi or Antichrist will sign as he solidifies his global power. When he signs the treaty with restored Israel the final seven years will begin. Midway through this seven year treaty period -- I Thes. chapter 5 -- he will betray their confidence, declare his own divinity and "... then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." The Jews are warned by Master Y'shua that when this abomination occurs they are to flee to Petra for the final three and half years: the Great Tribulation, "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be [again]."

This is the point at which Y'shua says in Matthew 24 that the Jews should -- praying this does not happen on the Sabbath -- flee their homes and head into the wilderness (where God has a place prepared for them -- Rev. 12:6).

Dan 9:24-27 has nothing to do with the eternal Covenant between God and His people.

The Adventist Pastor wrote in his study:

Jesus depicted a divine divorce of His relationship to them, saying their house was left to them desolate.

That is out of context and not what he said:

Matthew 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

What was the Master talking about? Remember the Bible was not writen with chapters and verses. They were added later. The scene continues in the next chapter:

Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

He was accurately prophesying the coming destruction of the Holy Jerusalem Temple, the House of God. It was indeed lost to the Jews to this day. God did not forsake the Jewish people but His Spirit did leave the Temple and it was and for now remains "trodden underfoot by the Gentiles (Luke 21:24).

Isaiah 64:4 says:

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

The same is said of the followers of Master Y'shua. ALL sin, none seek God, ALL are gone out of the Way etc. (Rom 3:12).

Understand that God's faithfulness is not dependent upon our purity and obedience but upon His Will.

NO ONE deserves divine grace and mercy. Not Jews and not Gentiles. We ALL deserve judgment BUT God chose the Jews as His special vessels and through them -- despite their lack of belief, obedience, etc -- God promises to bless the world entire as He planned from the very beginning (Gen 12:1-3). Why? Because we are so good? The history of the Church demonstrates far more disobedience to God and His Covenants than Jewish history does. No! God IS going to bring in the kingdom and through the Jews bless the world entire because this is His Will and His promise (Gen 12:1-3).

The Adventist Pastor wrote in his study:

Romans 11:1 does ask if God has cast away his people?—& answers "God forbid?" But who are his people? The context refers to God's remnant in Elijah's time, and Paul explicitly states that God has a remnant now—it is the remnant who are not cast away.

No, Paul tells us directly in the same sentence who His people are: ...God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin....

God's people are the Jews, the Israelites.

The Adventist pastor wrote:

Romans 11:26 does speak about the calling of God as being irrevocable and that all Israel will be saved. But again, this is in the context of a remnant who only stands by faith.

With respect, this is not correct. Paul says very clearly: And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written... not a remnant. And what is written? That a remnant will be saved? No, that all Israel will be saved. Why? "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" and God called and chose the Jews as His eternal servants.

ALL Israel will be saved because God said they will.

The Adventist pastor wrote in his study: .... Furthermore, Paul himself did not expect all of Israel according to the flesh to be saved because in the Rom 11: 14 he refers to his hope to save "some of them." This only makes sense in the context of a remnant—all of the true Israel—the remnant—will be saved.

First, this makes no grammatical sense: "all of the true Israel—the remnant—will be saved."

All some of them will be saved?

Secondly, the conception of salvation as used today by Christians did not exist then. HaShem deals with people Israel in His covenants. Jews do not do "alter calls."

There is however a difference between people Israel to whom the eternal Covenant was granted and individual Jews. Paul understandably hoped that he could reach some of his hearers with his message however ALL Israel will be saved he concludes. Paul hoped that many Jews would come into communion with the Living God of Israel as revealed by Y'shua rather than, in his view, remaining locked into the unthinking traditions of the Talmud etc. The Covenant nonetheless is with "People Israel" as God's collective Servant (Isa 43:10 etc.). The message of Y'shua (and Paul) is that individuals, Jews and Gentiles, can and should enter into a personal relationship with the Living God of Israel and thereby be made free: Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

The pastor's study continued:

This will happen when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

We probably disagree here as well. The Times of the Gentiles began when God allowed Israel to fall to the Babylonians. At that point the Tree of Israel was "banded"

Daniel 4:14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him: and let seven times pass over him.

Gentile kingdoms would rule the earth until at last the bands were removed and the Kingdom of God reigns supreme or, as Master Y'shua said, until God's Kingdom comes... on earth as it is in Heaven. Much could be said here but I will refrain. Daniel understood and many prophets confirmed that one day God would order the bands removed (this happened in 1948 when Israel began 'putting forth its leaves' (Matt 24:32). Since the days of Daniel, the Gentiles have ruled in the absence of Israel. Of the generation that witnesses the "un-banding" or return of Israel Master Y'shua (Jesus) says:

Matt 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Remember that when Master Y'shua was physically present Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel) was a Roman province (Judea) not an independent country.

These Gentile Times will continue until Israel is reborn. Some feel this means 1948 (or 1967 when Jerusalem was restored to the Jews). I do not believe this is correct.

I believe we are still living in the Times of the Gentiles (albeit in a sort of interim period) and will until the New World Order of the coming Antichrist is destroyed by Moshiach (Messiah), the Jews as a people return to God in faith, and the Kingdom of God is finally established "on earth as it is in Heaven." Until Moshiach sits on his throne in Jerusalem the Gentile Times will continue and Lucifer will remain the "god of this world."

II Cor. 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not...

Prophets Daniel, Y'shua, John, Paul and others describe how the Kingdom will finally be restored in some detail and the events they foretold are happening today for the first time in human history right before our eyes if we will but look. Unfortunately, as foretold, most Christians have become Laodecian (Rev 3:14-19) and will not see.

John 5:43 I [Master Y'shua] am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

Hence the Church is, even now, being severed from the Tree of Israel (Rom 11) and being vomited out of God's mouth (Rev. 3:14-19). One day soon the Church -- born in Rome at Constantine's teet -- will embrace (as Babylon the Great) the Rex Mundi, the Antichrist, and his False Prophet. But there will also be a Great Multitude of all nations and tongues and people who remain true to the God of Israel. They will Stand.

The pastor's study continues:

In Rom 9, Paul says that Abraham's seed comes through Isaac: Isaac was born when Abraham had faith in God. Isaac stands for all Jews and Gentiles who choose a faith relationship with Christ. Not all of Israel is truly Israel, but only those who are of faith as Isaac. It is in the context of a faithful remnant that God's promises to Israel will not fail!!

Forgive me, but this does not even make sense. Nonetheless several of the Adventists I spoke with said this. It must be in Ms. White's writings.

What's wrong with this view?

For a start, ALL Jews came through Isaac as he was the only son of Abraham and Sarah. The reference is to show that the Promise would pass through the seed of Abraham and Sarah rather than the seed of Abraham and Hagar: i.e. through the Jews rather than the Muslims and/or other Ishmaelites.

The Adventist pastor's study continues:

Natural Israel was broken off because of unbelief, and grafted Israel only stands by faith

Not according to the Bible.

According to Prophets Daniel, Y'shua, John and Paul the "Tree of Israel" was to be "pruned." Paul explains this in more detail. The Gentile followers of Master Y'shua (renamed Jesus by the Vatican -- see Here for more on this), were temporarily "grafted" on to the still living Tree of Israel (Rom 11). In time the "bands" will be removed from the Tree and Israel will once again put forth leaves as described by Master Y'shua (Matt 24:32) and Daniel (Dan 4:15,23). Then, due to growing hypocrisy and unbelief the Church will be "vomited from God's mouth" (Rev. 3:14-19) and severed from the Tree of Israel (Rom 11). THEN Israel will flourish as God originally intended and all the world, "...shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you" -- Zech 8:23 and as God promises at Genesis 12:3 "...and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

The Bible is quite clear on this and this is what is happening in our world today as we witness the decline of Christianity and the rise of global Islam. God is even now separating the sheep from the goats and Christianity is numerically fading as a result. The dwindling numbers are not necessarily a bad thing when looked at this way. There is a core of Christians, a remnant if you will, found in most all denominations, doubtless including the Adventists, who will stand when the time comes. They will join the Great Multitude in service to Moshiach and enter into perfect Light.

The pastor's study continues:

Therefore, to be part of Israel is conditional upon a faith relationship with God, whether we be Jew or Gentile.

To have an active, personal relationship with God, a life in which God's Spirit is an active blessing and guiding factor, requires faith and spiritual obedience on ones part, whether Jew or Gentile. However God's Covenant with Israel is in effect regardless. Just see how HaShem used the early Zionists, many of whom were Atheists, to restore the nation! As Paul explains at I Cor 11:30 cited above for Christians and at Micah 6:6 and elsewhere for Jews (and Christians) personal devotion is vital for those who would walk in the Spirit with living God however even this can not thwart God's plans! He will use, if it serve his purposes, the jawbone of an ass or cause the rocks themselves to cry out!

We understatement the God of Israel to our peril!

The Jews are the Chosen People because GOD called them, not because of their qualifications or righteousness.

NONE are worthy of the callings and gifts of God but He is faithful and just to forgive.

The pastor continues: In Christ, Gentiles are no longer "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise" Eph. 2:11-16 but they are "fellow heirs, of the same body." Eph. 3:4-6

Yes, and this is because they have been grafted onto the Tree of Israel for the duration of the Gentile Times (Rom 11). This position in NO WAY implies they have replaced the First Born! They have merely joined them in service to HaShem. If Israel has been abandoned by God then there is no "commonwealth of Israel" for them to be included in!

Continuing on:

In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek

This verse in Galatians 3 is explained in its context.

Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The Jews were given the Written Torah and Tanack (the so-called "Old Testament") to guide them into a vibrant relationship with the Living God. As many of the Jewish prophets including Y'shua frequently and in diverse ways said, rather than achieving spiritual freedom the Jews as a people became prisoners to "the letter of the law" rather than to its author. Master Y'shua lamented that the leaders of the people added the Oral Torah (Talmud etc) to further their own spiritual imprisonment. Like the Karaite Jews and others, Y'shua rejected the Oral Torah as scripture. He viewed it as commentary only.

This view was harmonious with Micah who wrote:

6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

And as the Master said:

Matt 8:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

This is what the Jews failed to understand according to Y'shua and Paul. Y'shua was seeking to restore Judaism, to establish a reform movement within Judaism as people like Maimonides did later. Paul realized that the God of Israel was calling him to bring Y'shua's message to the Diaspora Jews and the Gentiles among whom they lived.

For many years, as recorded in the Tanack, the Jews sought to return to idol worship. They finally overcame this temptation but instead of worshiping graven images they in a sense made idols of books and knowledge. This is probably preferable in that they established their absolute devotion to the One God of Israel, but they still failed, in general terms, to come into a strong personal relationship with God. This is where the Protestant sects of Christianity once excelled as they stressed developing a personal Christian walk.

Whether one is a Jew or Gentile, "... what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?'

Y'shua makes the same point when he says the entire Torah is based on two commands: Love the Lord thy God completely and love your neighbor as yourself'.

The pastor wrote: John the Baptist taught natural lineage to Abraham didn't guarantee a thing. In God's eyes, to be a true Israelite is based on spiritual relationship, not mere blood relationship.

The promises of Abraham are not only to Semitic Jews but to all Jews who enter into the Covenant through natural birth of a Jewish mother or through conversion.

At Matthew 3:7 John the Baptist is speaking of the religious hypocrisy of certain rabbis (pharisees) and John the Apostle makes it clear in his description of the Seven Churches (Rev. 2,3) that this trait is universal. The failings of these rabbis no more disqualified the Jewish people than the sexual abuses of certain prominent Christian leaders makes all Christians pedophiles. This comment is not fair. Both John the Baptist and Jesus rebuked certain leaders of the Jewish people for their unbalanced dependence on the Oral Torah and their failure to recognize the living God in a truly meaningful way. However there were others, such as Nicodemus who sincerely wanted to know God more fully. The message was not that God had abandoned His people but that "The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath..."

Again, God called the Jews. God declares them holy and chosen. It is the Will of God not their qualification that matters when it comes to the Covenant, the Election. Else, what follower of Y'shua could be considered worthy?

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

And again the pastor wrote:

In contrast, Christ called Nathaniel an "Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile [deceit]. John 1:47. In his spiritual life, he had gained the victory over deceit

Is the implication here that he won victory over Judaism? Indeed, a true follower of God will be like Nathaniel. This does not speak to the eternal Covenant between God and His people but merely gives an example of the type of faith God is looking for in everyone.

The pastor's study continues:

Again in Rom 2, Paul teaches that to be a true Jew, your circumcision has to be of the heart, in the Spirit. You cannot live as a lawbreaker and expect circumcision to save you. The sign of the covenant without the substance just doesn’t impress God in the least.

With due respect, in much of this you are confusing the Covenants of God with personal responsibility and failures to live up to the ideals. Throughout the Torah and Tanack the Jews are encouraged with this message. As individuals they needed to submit to God more fully.... as do we all.

Some Jews submit to God, many do not. Just like with Christians.

He continues:

In OT times, God calls Israel "my elect." Repeatedly in the NT, the church is called the elect.

Y'shua refers to the Jews as the Elect in Matthew 24:22. Y'shua, all of his direct disciples and apostles and most of the first century Way community were Jewish. Hence they remained the Elect.

With almost no exceptions (three or four) Y'shua (Jesus) did not even speak to Gentiles nor did he teach them. He avoided them (Matt 7:6 for instance). Master Y'shua only preached to Jews: the Elect. He did not begin a Gentile religion, he sought to reform Judaism.

Roman Emperor Constantine and the counsels he convened created what we today know as Christianity. This is why there are so many non-Jewish elements to it.

This is NOT said to condemn Christianity. Devout and faithful Christians are seeking to serve the God of Israel in accordance with their knowledge and God looks at the heart that yearns. It is merely to acknowledge that fundamental changes, both doctrinally and culturally, were implemented by Rome and its successors. Master Y'shua and his followers were Jewish and they taught a reformed version of Judaism not a Gentile religion. Again, God looks at the heart and there are still millions of devout and faithful Christians worshiping and serving the God of Israel.

As is evident from the debates recorded in Acts it took some time for the Jewish disciples of the Jewish Master Y'shua to decide how the Noahide Nazarenes should be added into their Jewish reform sect. Did they have to formally convert to Judaism? Be circumcised? Abstain from foods offered in sacrifice to other gods (this was a huge deal economically)? It would be difficult for these Noahides to convert since the Jewish leaders considered the followers of the Way to be heretics.

Eventually it was Paul who determined that the Gentiles would be considered "grafted" on to the Tree of Israel (as he explains in more detail at Romans 11) and be accepted as what we today might think of as adjunct members of people Israel (sort of like the way Sufis fit into Islam, distinct but united). Constantine however had other plans.

Followers of "the Way," Jewish or Christian, are also the elect because they are (or are supposed to be) part of the overall "Tree of Israel" as "adopted children" (Rom 9:4 etc). Unfortunately many of these adopted children have historically sought to replace and at times even destroy the natural born children. To accomplish this the established Church has at times passed laws against "Judaizing," it replaced the biblical Sabbath with the holy day of Sol Invicktus, Constantine's Sun God and so on. But the gifts and calling of God are without repentance and the Jews have persevered by the grace and protection of HaShem and millions of Christians have and do join them in worship and submission to the God of Israel according to their understandings.

While it is always preferable to come into agreement and to enjoy spiritual fellowship, there are times when this simply is not possible due to irreconcilable differences in beliefs. These differences are nowhere more critical than when they are regarding the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His Chosen people Israel.

At such times we must say in love, as did Master Y'shua:

...we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews -- John 4:22

Shalom and Maranatha

~ Yochanan ben Avraham

~ John of AllFaith

If you have questions about this or other topics feel free to write back any time or join me on my blogs.

~ Yochanan ben Avraham
~ John of AllFaith

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