Messianic Jews Are Not Jews

by Rabbi Jonathan Waxman

What's in a Name

Hebrew Christian, Jewish Christian, Jew for Jesus, Messianic Jew, Fulfilled Jew. The name may have changed over the course of time, but all of the names reflect the same phenomenon: one who asserts that s/he is straddling the theological fence between Judaism and Christianity, but in truth is firmly on the Christian side.

Theological Divide

Over the centuries, Jews who converted to Christianity left behind their Jewish heritage. Some returned to the community to attempt to convert other Jews to their form of Christianity, but the Christianity they offered was devoid of Jewish content, of Jewish imagery, and of Jewish connections. Beginning, however, a few decades ago, a new phenomenon emerged: Jews who meta-physically wanted to have their cake and to eat it, too. They adopted Christianity but brought along Jewish trappings, perhaps to make the abandonment of their natal religion more palatable. Hence they conduct their services on Shabbat instead of Sunday, they hold sederim, albeit with a few significant changes (i.e., the three Matzot symbolize the Trinity); they wear kippot and tallitot; they pray and chant in Hebrew and more. These converts to Christianity (and that is what they are) pose both an enigma and a serious challenge to the Jewish community. Though they may argue that they are reviving the pattern of the early Jewish Christians, a great theological divide separates them from their so-called theological ancestors and most importantly from those of us still firmly in the Jewish community.

What are we to make of these people? They often appear to be more observant of Jewish ritual than many other Jews, including members of our own congregation. Shouldn't we welcome them? There is a rabbinic declaration to the effect that a Jew remains a Jew though he sins. (Sanhedrin 44a) Although this is true, nevertheless, we must affirm as did the Israeli Supreme Court in the well-known Brother Daniel case that to adopt Christianity is to have crossed the line out of the Jewish community.

What follows are highlights of the points in contention; demonstrating how Messianic Jews have indeed crossed the line out of the Jewish community.

Mistaken Jewish Notions of the Messiah

Don't we Jews believe in the coming of the Messiah? Yes, we do. At our seder we make arrangements for Elijah, the fore-runner of the Messiah. Similarly, in Havdalah we sing about Eliyahu HaNavi coming to us as a foreshadowing of the messianic era. Several prayers refer to the Messiah. For example, in the weekday Amidah we find the following passage: "Bring to flower the shoot of your servant David. Hasten the advent of Messianic redemption.".

Historically, of course, Jews have labeled various men as the Mashiach (the Hebrew term). In the second century, many Jews believed that Simeon Bar Kosiba, better known by his messianic name Bar Kokhba, to have been the awaited redeemer. Similarly, countless Jews believed that the 17th century pretender Shabbtai Tsvi was the Mashiach. Some of the great rabbis of these and other ages were beguiled and seduced by the prospect of having the messiah in their midst. Ultimately, they, and those who believed in these men and the many other claimants were wrong. Though the messianic era did not dawn, that did not make these messianic believers any less Jewish.

How is it different then with people who believe in Y'shua (their designation for Jesus)? Why should the assertion that Jesus was the messiah place a Jew outside of the community, any more than other mistaken messianic beliefs?

Christian Conclusions

First is the assertion that Jesus remains the messiah, though dead for over 19 centuries. Judaism has held that the Mashiach will come and usher in a new era; not that he will proclaim his arrival, die and wait centuries to finish his task. To continue to assert that Jesus was the Mashiach goes against the belief that the Mashiach will transform the world when he does come, not merely hint at a future transformation at some undefined time to come. One should note that a substantial part of Christian Bible scholarship recognizes that the claims for Jesus' return were of a very temporal nature. For example, Luke 9:27 declares that the kingdom of God will arrive while some of those whom Jesus is addressing are still alive. This is one example that underlying the Christian Bible is a sense of imminent messianism, not one deferred for two millennia. For this reason alone, one must look askance at the claims of current Messianic Jews that Jesus is the Mashiach. We would admit that the claim by some in Lubavitch that the late Rebbe was the Mashiach and continues to be active in that role, though deceased since Tammuz 5754/June, 1994, undermines this argumentation. Therefore, it is no wonder that many in the Jewish community including many within Lubavitch itself are sorely disturbed by these beliefs. This false belief, however, has not impelled its believers to abandon their fidelity to Jewish praxis.

Secondly, it is acting upon those beliefs. When some Jews continued to believe that despite his conversion to Islam that Shabbtai Tsvi was the Mashiach, the rabbis of that era made an effort to suppress them. The religious leadership was adamant because the believers asserted that with Shabbtai Tsvi a new era had begun. For his followers things previously forbidden were not permitted, in particular forbidden sexual acts.

Christianity has made the bolder assertion, that Jesus ushered in a new era, one in which Halakhah, Jewish law, is no longer of significance. What matters is but faith and belief in Jesus, as Romans 10:11 asserts: "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." Belief in Jesus as the divine messiah and son of God is all that is necessary. Messianic Jews accept this belief but recognize that some Jewish observances are permissible if it makes the "product" more palatable. Judaism rejects the claim that a new covenant was created with Jesus and asserts instead that the chain of Tradition reaching back to Moshe continues to make valid claims on our lives, and serve as more than mere window dressing.

The use of Hebrew. "Y'shua makes me more Jewish" is one of their assertions. We would argue that giving Jesus a Hebrew name does not make their beliefs any more Jewish than before. More problematic in terms of appeal, but none the less still "unkosher" as an approach in Judaism. Similarly, reciting prayers in Hebrew doesn't ensure membership in the Jewish community. If Israeli Christians recite their prayers in Hebrew, that does not make them Jewish.

The use of Jewish objects and ceremonies. They may pray with tallit and kippah, they may designate their religious leaders as "rabbis", they may light Hanukah candles, etc.; none of that vouchsafes their acceptability. They have taken the externals of Judaism and altered them. Their prayers include mention of Jesus and/or of the Holy Spirit. Ceremonies are given Christological spins. As previously noted, the three matzot of the Seder have come to symbolize the Trinity and the Seder itself is seen as a recollection of the Last Supper.

The use of Biblical citations by Messianic Jews as prooftexts. This practice goes back to the Christian Bible which used texts from the Tanakh in a midrashic fashion, wrenching verses and fragments of sentences out of context and applying them to the mission of Jesus. For our purposes here it is enough to know that Biblical verses are frequently misused as proof texts by midrashically minded authors.

Messianic Jews Misuse, Misinterpret, and "Mis-Midrash" Texts

Example #1. We begin with the classic, "A virgin shall conceive" cited in Matthew 1:23. In our text from Isaiah 7:14, the Hebrew word translated as virgin is "Almah", which means young woman not virgin. There is a perfectly good Hebrew word for virgin: "Betulah". It is conceivable that behind that Greek text there was an alternative textual tradition which in fact had "Betulah", but that foray into textual analysis takes us astray and is not even the essence of the argument. We would hasten to note that the child born is given the name Jesus not Emanuel as per Isaiah. Beyond the issue of language is the issue of the message. Isaiah offered his prophecy as one of hope to King Ahaz in the late eighth century B.C.E. What kind of hope would have been implicit in a message whose fulfillment would be 700 years in the making? "How could Ahaz receive consolation from prophecy, the fulfillment of which he was not to live to see?" (Isaac of Troki, Faith Strengthened, p.231) By and large, if one reviews the words of the prophets, the visions are not for some far distant time, but for the proximate future.

Example #2. A few verses earlier in the same gospel, Matthew 1:14 and 15, we find a description of the "flight into Egypt", where Jesus and his family remained until the time of Herod's death "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying 'out of Egypt have I called my son.'" The quotation from the prophet Hosea is clearly a distortion of the original text. The full verse in Hosea 11:1 proclaims: "When Israel was young I did love it; and out of Egypt I called my son." It is obvious that for the prophet Hosea the son is none other than the people of Israel mentioned in the first half of the verse.

Example #3. In speaking of Jesus' resurrection, Luke 24:46 cites as prooftext Hosea 6:2 "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead." The first issue is that of chronology: Sunday, the day of the resurrection, was only the second day. (In Matthew 12:40, Jonah 1:17 is cited as proof of Jesus's forthcoming three day and night burial before resurrection. Clearly, this citation is even more problematic in terms of matching elapsed time with predicted time and even less relevant to Jesus' mission as it speaks of being "in the belly of the fish", not of death.) Secondly, it is clear that the reference point of Hosea is not to the revival of the messiah (Christ is simply the Greek word for messiah capitalized), but rather to the revival of the people of Israel as is clear from the previous verse (Hosea 6:1): "Come, let us return to God, Although he tore us apart he will heal us. Although he smashed us, he will bandage us."

Example #4. Isaiah 53, often referred to as the chapter about the suffering servant, has been applied to Jesus, beginning with the Christian Bible Epistles and the Gospels. (So, for example, I Peter 2: 24-25 and Matthew 8:17.) Modern scholarship is sharply divided as to the identity of the servant but we would cite John L. McKenzie who wrote in his Anchor Bible: Second Isaiah commentary: "The Servant is not the same figure as the Messiah, but a parallel figure which as it stands, cannot be reconciled with the messianic king. A higher synthesis of the two figures, such as Christians believe was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, was not within the vision of the prophets of the Jewish Bible. Each figure, it seems, reflects the period of Israelite history in which it arose..." (pp. il-l)

Warning

Note. Unless you are very familiar with Biblical texts, do not attempt to debate. We have offered but a few of the many Biblical citations found in Christian Scripture (New Testament) literature and used by those who wish to mislead Jews unfamiliar with the entire corpus of Biblical literature. There are many more!

Differences Between Judaism and Messianic Jews

* Adoption of Christian Testament as part of their scriptural tradition. Messianic Jews may still refer to the Tanakh by that name or by Hebrew Scripture, but that does not disguise the fact they have grafted onto their canon the Christian Scripture (New Testament). Whether they read it in Hebrew or in English is irrelevant. The Christian Scripture (New Testament) has never been part of the Jewish Biblical tradition.

* The adoption of the Christian concept of original sin. In brief form the concept is that we are all sinful from birth because of the sin of the first couple and only the sacrificial cleansing blood of Jesus can remove this stain. This is contrary to Jewish belief which asserts that we are born with free will and each of is the author of our own life. Adam and Eve sinned and they were punished by exile from Eden. The taint of their sin has not been transmitted through the genes.

* The Pascal (Passover) sacrifice was not a sin offering. The association in the Gospel of John of Jesus with the pascal sacrifice is faulty. For example, John 19:36 cites "Not a bone of him shall be broken". This is a reference to the protocol for the pascal lamb found in Exodus 12:46. (The idea of Jesus as pascal sacrifice appears also in the Pauline epistle, I Corinthians 5:7.) One should also know that the other three Gospels place the crucifixion a day later, on the first day of Passover, posing a problem for Christian Biblical exegesis in terms of reconciling the divergent traditions.

* Jesus/Y'shua as part of the Trinity. When we proclaim the opening words of the Sh'ma, we assert God's unity as the heart of our faith. No theological fudging of three-in-one will allow for the transformation of the One God into three distinct personalities of God. It is true that we speak of different characteristics of God: God as compassionate; God as just. Furthermore it is true that the mystics speak of various forms of Godhead. No part of the Jewish tradition ever allowed for a trisecting of God, and that is what Christianity has done and what Messianic Jews accept.

Conclusion

One is reluctant to preclude from membership anybody, especially those who seem to be more spiritual, perhaps more observant. However, because a line has clearly been crossed, as we have demonstrated above, there is no place for so-called Messianic Jews or Hebrew-Christians within our congregations and within the Jewish community.



by United Synagogue of Conservative Jews

Jewish-Christian Relations

By Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

What is the Most Important Thing Christians Should Know About Jews and Jews About Christians?

I am frequently asked, "What are some of the common stereotypes and misconceptions Jews have of Christians and Christians have of Jews?" At times the question is posed differently such as, "What is the single most important item Christians should know about Jews and Jews should know about Christians?" In either case, my response is the same.

For the most prevalent misconception Christians and Jews have of one another, and the single most important thing they should learn is how members of the other community define themselves. The fact is that Jews tend to define the term "Christian" in an entirely different manner than Christians themselves do. Likewise, the Christian conception of who is a Jew is often at variance with the way Jews, themselves, characterize their identities.

Christians and Jews are so far apart in their understanding of one another that they misjudge the very core of each other's identities. It is only reasonable, therefore, to suggest that the starting point for both communities is to learn the other's self definition. For if we skip this initial step, Christians and Jews will continue to talk past each other without ever understanding where the other is coming from.

Incidents in which they will accuse one another of intolerance and insensitivity will, no doubt, increase when, in fact, the root of the problem may not have been a deliberate provocation or intentional slight, but a distorted view of who is a Christian and what is a Jew. Instead of stopping and learning how the other group defines itself, we tend to transpose our definitions of ourselves and the categories of experience we are most familiar with, unto others. We assume that what is true of ourselves, Particularly the way we define our identities, must be true of others, as well.

It may come as a surprise for Christians to learn, for example, that Jews tend to view most non-Jews as Christians (except, of course, those who are Moslems, Buddhists, or members of another specific religion). Jews are by and large unaware that Christianity is not something you are born into but a faith one personally and consciously accepts. Moreover, they are not familiar with the differences among the various Protestant denominations and, to a lesser extent, those between Catholics and Protestants. It is much easier for them and, indeed, for all outsiders, to simply lump American gentiles together as "Christians", without distinguishing among them.

How Do Jews Define Themselves? — Part I
We saw that Christians and Jews are largely ignorant of each other's true identities and that they can, as a result, be led to distortions and stereotypes. In the process of generalizing due to ignorance, they transpose their own categories of belief and view of their identity, unto others. While Christianity is a faith a person accepts, being Jewish is something we are born into.

Every child born of a Jewish mother is, willy nilly, Jewish, a member of the Jewish community. There are black Jews and white Jews, Orthodox and Reform, Hassidic and even secular and agnostic Jews. There are good Jews and bad Jews, indeed, all types of Jews; all sharing a common history, peoplehood, and even destiny. And so, when a person is born into this Jewish community, even if he strays from it, he remains a member of that group. Being Jewish, therefore, is not so much accepting a faith system as is true with Christians, but being part of a covenanted community and peoplehood that one enters into at birth.

To be sure, being Jewish hopefully includes a commitment to the Jewish faith which is at the core of our system and community. But, much like people born in America, who are American citizens, even though they may not profess strong nationalist fervor, so, too, Jews born into this covenantal community, whatever their beliefs and despite their differences, they remain part of the Jewish peoplehood.

Of course, it is possible for a person to not only turn his back on his faith and community, but to actively work against its best interests, much like the American who commits treason against his nation. In such circumstances, we might say of such people that they are renegades or "bad Jews" but they remain Jews nonetheless. I should point out that there are Rabbinic and secular Jewish authorities who make one exception to this view, that is in the case of a Jew who not only abandons Judaism but actually accepts another religion upon himself. In such a situation, these authorities maintain, the individual forfeits his Jewish identity and membership in the community in favor of his having joined another faith and community.

How Do Jews Define Themselves? — Part II
We learned that Jews define themselves as such by being born to a Jewish mother. Despite this concept, however, Jews are not a race. For anyone who accepts the Jewish faith and goes through a conversion process can become Jewish, part of the Jewish peoplehood. However, as we will see, this is not something Judaism strives for, and we, therefore, do not have any missionary outreaches toward non-Jews. For Judaism affirms that one need not adopt the Jewish faith or become Jewish to achieve salvation.

The Christian can achieve salvation or, as we Jews prefer to call it, redemption, through their Christian faith itself. For Judaism, unlike classical Christianity, is what is called a non-exclusivist religion, meaning that it is the redemptive faith system for Jews. However, Judaism maintains that ethical monotheistic systems like Christianity and Islam can also bring salvation for gentiles.

Be this as it may, I should point out that the liberal Jewish Reform movement, representing approximately 25% of the Jewish community, and which we will share more about in the future, recently adopted the novel concept of "patrilineal descent," meaning that if either the mother or the father is Jewish, the child is Jewish, as well. Furthermore, the conversion process under Reform auspices is a much more lenient one than that required by the Orthodox or Conservative denominations and which, in most instances, would not be viewed as acceptable by them.

We have also seen that Jews view themselves not only as members of a faith system, but as part of a peoplehood, culture, civilization, nation and more. This self definition, however, is quite different from the way Christians define themselves—namely, as individuals who accepted a faith system for their lives. It should come as no surprise, therefore, to learn that Jews will likely transpose their definitions of themselves unto Christians, and the reverse, so that when Christians search out the Jew, they seek the Jew of faith only, and when Jews look for the Christian, they see him as every non-Jew who is not a member of another faith.

What Are Some Of The Distorted Views Jews and Christians Have Of Each Other's Identities?
I have often heard Christians remark about Jews who may be secular or agnostic, that such people are not "really Jews." Such comments reflect their own transposed Christian definitions unto Jews and a great ignorance as to how we Jews define ourselves, as well. For in our system, these people may not be religiously faithful or observant, and I am not condoning that, but they remain members of the Jewish community. They may not represent the "ideal", but they are full-fledged Jews, nonetheless.

Similar kinds of distortions arise in the reverse, namely, in the Jewish misconceptions of Christians. Jews will often accuse Christians of anti-Semitism, when perhaps only one group or denomination may have been guilty. Indeed, given that Jews regard all non-Jews as Christians, even atheists and "cultural Christians" similar to the way they regard all Jews as Jews, they may even accuse "Christians" of anti-Semitism because of the deeds or views of people who are actually non-Christians.

Jews are totally unaware that some conservative Christians define the term "Christian" so narrowly as to actually exclude their Catholic and liberal Protestant coreligionists. Jews would have a difficult time accepting this—it would come as a real shock that they might not easily or readily grasp. For in the Jewish system, those whom we feel do not correctly represent our views we might call bad Jews or irreligious Jews. But they are Jews nonetheless, because we are all part of the same peoplehood.

So, too, when the Jew views the Pentecostal, the Baptist and the Roman Catholic, he sees them all calling out and praying to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. The cross, for them all, is the central symbol of faith and Jesus' death and resurrection is their shared cardinal belief. To the Jew, who certainly is an outsider, all Christians are part of what we Jews call a peoplehood and what Christians refer to as, "The body of Christ."

Christian Zionism

Christian Zionism can be defined as Christian support for the Zionist cause — the return of the Jewish people to its biblical homeland in Israel. It is a belief among some Christians that the return of Jews to Israel is in line with a biblical prophecy, and is necessary for Jesus to return to Earth as its king. These Christians are partly motivated by the writings of the Bible and the words of the prophets. However, they are also driven to support Israel because they wish to “repay the debt of gratitude to the Jewish people for providing Christ and the other fundamentals of their faith,” and to support a political ally, according to David Brog, author Standing With Israel: Why Christians Support the Jewish State.

Christian Zionists interpret both the Torah and the New Testament as prophetic texts that describe future events of how the world will one day end with the return of Jesus from Heaven to rule on Earth. Israel and its people are central to their vision. They interpret passages from the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Isaiah as foreshadowing the coming Christian era. The New Testament Book of Revelation is read by many Christians as a prophetic text of how the world will be in the End Times.

Christian support for Israel is not a recent development. Its politcal roots reach as far back to the 1880s, when a man named William Hechler formed a committee of Christian Zionists to help move Russian Jewish refugees to Palestine after a series of pogroms. In 1884, Hechler wrote a pamphlet called “The Restoration of Jews to Palestine According to the Prophets.” A few years later, he befriended Theodor Herzl after reading Herzl’s book The Jewish State, and joined Herzl to drum up support for Zionism. Hechler even arranged a meeting between Herzl and Kaiser Wilhelm II to discuss Herzl’s proposal to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. The two men remained close friends up until Herzl’s death in 1904.

An important milestone in the history of Christian Zionism occurred in 1979, almost a century after William Hechler approached Herzl and offered to mobilize Christian support for a Jewish state: the founding of the Moral Majority. Founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Moral Majority was an organization made up of conservative Christian political action committees that succeeded in mobilizing like-minded individuals to register and vote for conservative candidates. With nearly six million members, it became a powerful voting bloc during the 1980s and was credited for giving Ronald Reagan the winning edge in the 1980 elections. One of the Moral Majority’s four founding principles was “support for Israel and Jewish people everywhere.”

In 1980, Falwell, who ran a television ministry that reached millions of viewers, said of Israel: “I firmly believe God has blessed America because America has blessed the Jew. If this nation wants her fields to remain white with grain, her scientific achievements to remain notable, and her freedom to remain intact, America must continue to stand with Israel.” Falwell disbanded the Moral Majority in 1989, but conservative Christians have remained vocal supporters of Israel though they lacked a strong formal structure for pro-Israel political action.

Christian Zionists, through their volunteer work, political support, and financial assistance to Israel and Jewish causes, have shown that they are stalwart friends of Israel. They have donated large sums of money to support Israel, including to charities that pay the costs of bringing Jews from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia to Israel. For example, Pastor John Hagee has raised more than $4.7 million for the United Jewish Communities. Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help poor Jews across the world move to Israel.

When Israel’s tourism industry was at a low point between 2000 and 2003 due to the Palestinian War and terrorism, Christian tourists visited Israel in numbers that were sometimes greater than that of the Jewish community. Televangelists such as Pat Robertson and Benny Hinn visited Israel during this period and used their broadcasts to tell their millions of viewers it was safe to visit Israel. Another pro-Israel group, the Christians’ Israel Public Action Campaign, sponsored four missions to Israel. Christians also helped the Israeli tourism industry and economy from home by attending “Shop Israel” days where Israeli merchants would come to America and sell their products.

Despite their support for Israel, many Jews however, are uncomfortable with Christian Zionists. This discomfort is fed by Christian anti-Semitism, Christian replacement theology, evangelical proselytizing, and and disagreements over domestic and political issues.

Dispensationalist Christianity, an interpretive or narrative framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible, teaches that Christianity did not replace Judaism, but that it restored lost elements of it. The dispensationalist view of the Bible is that the Old Testament is foreshadowing for what will occur in the New Testament and, at the end, Jesus returns to reign on Earth after an epic battle between good and evil. Israel plays a central role in the dispensationalist view of the end of the world. The establishment of Israel in 1948 was seen as a milestone to many dispensationalists on the path toward Jesus’ return. In their minds, now that the Jews again had regained their homeland, all Jews were able to return to Israel, just as had been prophesied in the Bible. As described in the Book of Revelation, there is an epic battle that will take place in Israel after it is reestablished — Armaggedon — in which it is prophesied that good will finally triumph over evil. However, in the process, two-thirds of the Jews in Israel die and the other third are converted to Christianity. Jesus then returns to Earth to rule for 1,000 years as king.

Although these Christians do hope for a Messianic age, the majority of them do not wish for the deaths of thousands of Jews during Armageddon. Dispensationalist Christians believe that the Jewish people, not Christians, are the ones who were promised Israel in the Bible. In their view, Christianity did not come into existence to replace Judaism, but to restore it. This view has surpassed replacement theology as the dominant form of Christian thought regarding Israel in America today. Jews who are suspicious of Christian Zionist motives are usually unaware that many Christian supporters of Israel have abandoned replacement theology.

Aside from anti-Semitism and Christian replacement theology, many Jews are wary of the fact that many evangelical Christians simply want to convert them to Christianity or speed up the Second Coming of Christ. David Brog refutes this claim:

“Evangelicals who support Israel most certainly do want to convert people. Evangelicals who don’t support Israel also want to convert people. The mission of sharing the ‘good news’ of Jesus Christ is central to being an evangelical. But it is important to note that this is not about converting just the Jews — Christians want to share their faith with Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and their Christian friends and neighbors who have yet to be born again. The important question is this: Is evangelical support for Israel merely a tool in the effort to convert the Jews? Is this merely some scheme to soften the Jews up so that they can better sell Jesus to them? And the answer to this question is absolutely not. If anything, the opposite it true.

Christian Zionists say Jews have no reason to distrust their motives for supporting Israel because they do not believe they can speed up the Second Coming of Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, it is written that Jesus said about his return, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

Pastor John Hagee, a longtime supporter of Israel, based at the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, heads Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a pro-Israel group established in 2006. Hagee has denounced replacement theology, and says of Israel: “We believe in the promise of Genesis 12:3 regarding the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. We believe that this is an eternal covenant between God and the seed of Abraham to which God is faithful.” Evangelical leader Pat Robertson echoed this statement while on his tour of Israel during the Israel-Hizbullah war, saying, “The Jews are God’s chosen people. Israel is a special nation that has a special place in God’s heart. He will defend this nation. So Evangelical Christians stand with Israel. That is one of the reasons I am here.”

Pastor Hagee claims that he and other Christian Zionists support Israel because they owe a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people, and not because they want Jews to convert to Christianity. The Jewish people gave the world Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, of whom there were “not a Baptist in the bunch...The Jewish people do not need Christianity to explain their existence. But Christians cannot explain our existence without Judaism. The roots of Christianity are Jewish.”

Jews are also uncomfortable with Christian Zionists because most have few other common political interests besides their support for Israel. The majority of American Jews are politically and socially liberal. Christian Zionists are on the whole politically conservative Republicans who, for example, oppose abortion and gay marriage, and support prayer in public schools. Most Jews are particularly concerned over what they see as the Christian Right’s efforts to weaken the separation between church and state. The Anti-Defamation League’s director, Abe Foxman, has been particularly outspoken and has said that if the domestic agenda of the Christian Right ever materializes, it will turn American Jews into “second-class citizens in our own country.”

Christian Zionists are also more conservative on Israel than many Jews. They favor Israel maintaining all of its settlements in the West Bank, and were opposed to the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Some prominent Christian Zionists have been highly critical of Israeli government policy of giving over parts of Israel to the Palestinian people. Christian Zionists, like followers of the Israeli Right, believe that Israel should never cede any section of Israel to the Palestinians because Israel was given to the Jews by God. After former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon implemented the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip and then fell ill a few months later, Pat Robertson claimed that his illness was divine retribution for giving up part of biblical Israel. When asked about Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s convergence plan to evacuate settlements in the West Bank, Robertson said, “It’s an absolute disaster...I don't think the holy God is going to be happy about someone giving up his land.”

Conservative Christians, in general, are viewed as particularly influential with the Bush Administration and Republican Congress, and Christian Zionists are consequently viewed as also having greater access to decisionmakers. It is not clear, however, that pro-Israel Christians have exerted decisive influence on any significant decisions and their clout is expected to decline if Democrats regain the White House and/or the majority in Congress.

Holy Sites For Christians in Israel

Churches In Israel

Christian Pilgrims have been visiting Israel for centuries. No wonder: the land where Jesus and the disciples lived is filled with historical sites and ancient churches that hold a tremendous importance for Christian believers. Many important churches in Israel are spread throughout the country, and are visited by thousands of believers every year. ??The following is a shortlist of some of the most significant churches in Israel:

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher - Jerusalem

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, is the first among the Christian shrines. According to Christian belief, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (refereed to as Golgotha, the Hill of Calvary, by most Christians) is where Jesus was crucified and buried. The resurrection has been celebrated there for many centuries as the most sacred place in all of Christendom.



The Chapel of the Ascension - Jerusalem

The Chapel of the Ascension in Jerusalem is believed by Christians to be where Jesus ascended into heaven. It is a holy site for Muslims as well, and serves as a church and a mosque. The first church was built there in 390 AD., the current chapel was built in 1150 AD., and the mosque was added in 1620 AD. It is located just south of the Mount of Olives.



The Church of the Nativity - Bethlehem

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the most ancient churches in the world, and one of the most important churches in Israel. It was built over the supposed birth place of Jesus, and is considered sacred to Muslims as well.



Church of the Annunciation - Nazareth

The Church of the Annunciation, sometimes referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation, is located in Nazareth, where - according to Roman Catholic tradition – Mary was told by Gabriel that she will be the mother of Jesus. The Church of the Annunciation is a pilgrims’ must-see and a tourists’ long time favorite. ??Church of St. Gabriel - According to the apocryphal Gospel, the Church of St. Gabriel (St. Mary’s well) is the actual place where Gabriel made the announcement to Mary. It is also located in Nazareth. ??The Church of St. Joseph is another main Christian attraction in Nazareth. Known as the supposed location of Joseph’s carpentry shop, the Church of St. Joseph is visited by many believers every year. The lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by many Christians to be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary.



Peter house in Capernaum

Capernaum is frequently mentioned in the Gospels and was Jesus' main base during his Galilean ministry. It is referred to as Jesus' "own city" (Mt 9:1; Mk 2:1) and a place where he lived (Mt 1:13). He probably chose it simply because it was the home of his first converts, Peter and Andrew (Mk 1:21, 29).

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law....

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up." (Mark 1:21-22, 29-30). Many familiar Gospel events occurred in this village. Capernaum is where Jesus first began to preach after the Temptation in the wilderness (Mt 1:12-17) and called Levi from his tax-collector's booth (Mk 2:13-17). It was while teaching in the synagogue of Capernaum that he said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (Jn 6:54)

Capernaum is where Jesus healed a centurion's servant without even seeing him (Mt 8:5-13; Lk 7:1-10), Peter's mother-in-law (Mt 8:14-15; Mk 1:29-30); the paralytic who was lowered thorugh the roof (Mk 2:1-12), and many others who were brought to him (Mt 8:16-17). And it was Capernaum that Jesus had set out from when he calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mt 8:23-27).

Jesus was harsh with his adopted home when it proved unrepentent despite his many miracles. "And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you" (Mt 11:23-24).





The Jesus Trail

The Jesus Trail is a marvelous new way for Christian visitors to Israel to feel, through all five senses, and their feet, the ministry of Jesus in the Galilee and to experience the land the way the ancients did.

The Jesus Trail meets the desire of many Christians to understand how the land reflects Scripture. Designed to be walked over three or four days, the 65-kilometer (40-mile) trail leads to Nazareth, Sepphoris, Cana, the Arbel Cliffs, Tabgha, Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes, Tiberias and the Jordan River. Among many highlights, in early spring, you’ll stop to take a field of bright red anemones or yellow daisies––Jesus’ “lilies of the field” (Luke 12:27). Walking a path between wild oats and thistles and a beautifully cultivated field, Jesus’ famed Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3-9) makes perfect sense. Climbing to Sepphoris, near Nazareth, the city Jesus might have known as a boy, the image of the “city on a hill” (Matt. 5:14) comes into unforgettable perspective.

The Galilee is as multi-cultural now as when Jesus interacted with its many peoples. Christians talking the Jesus Trail will enjoy the hospitality of local people of all faiths and ethnic groups, adding a unique dimension to their experience, whether in home-stays, restaurants, hotels, historic sites, and on the trail itself.

Walkers can cover the trail at once or in segments, and the level of challenge is flexible. Overnight options extend from hotels, owner-operated bed-and-breakfasts to overnight camping, and there are many places to buy water and food along the way. Public buses are available at most starting and end-points.

From mid-December 2008, a volunteer will be on hand daily to meet walkers and accompany them along the first day of the Jesus Trail, from Nazareth to Sepphoris and Cana. For more information







Yardenit Baptism

Yardenit ("little Jordan") is a popular Baptism site. Here, the water flows into the Jordan river, eventually flowing into the Dead Sea located more than 100KM to the south. This site is believed by some traditions to be the actual site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 13 : "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John").



Many Christian pilgrims stop at this site and perform baptism ceremonies, normally in small groups and accompanied by the group's pastor. It is a remarkable and charming site - and should not be missed.

The site is located at the southern exit of the Sea of Galilee, just behind the gate of the Dam that is used on rainy winters to lower the level of the lake. The baptism site has a large parking lot, convenient dressing rooms, stairway to walk down into the waters, a restaurant and a shop.





You might also like to read:

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-galilee-upper-galilee.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-golan-heights-hermon.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-coastal-plain.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-netanya-in-picture.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-jerusalem.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-west-galilee.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israels-tourism-tel-aviv-jaffa.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/israel-tourism-negev.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/for-first-time-main-road-of-jerusalem.html

http://holylandandjudaism.blogspot.com/2010/07/1800-years-old-high-level-aqueduct-of.html

Why Jews Don't Accept Jesus as the Messiah

For 2,000 years Jews have rejected the Christian idea of Jesus as messiah. Why?

One of the most common questions we receive at Aish.com is: "Why don't Jews believe in Jesus?" Let's understand why ― not in order to to disparage other religions, but rather to clarify the Jewish position.

Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:

1. Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies.
2. Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah.
3. Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations.
4. Jewish belief is based on national revelation.

But first, some background: What exactly is the Messiah?

The word "Messiah" is an English rendering of the Hebrew word "Mashiach", which means "Anointed." It usually refers to a person initiated into God's service by being anointed with oil. (Exodus 29:7, I Kings 1:39, II Kings 9:3)

Since every King and High Priest was anointed with oil, each may be referred to as "an anointed one" (a Mashiach or a Messiah). For example: "God forbid that I [David] should stretch out my hand against the Lord's Messiah [Saul]..." (I Samuel 26:11. Cf. II Samuel 23:1, Isaiah 45:1, Psalms 20:6)

Where does the Jewish concept of Messiah come from? One of the central themes of Biblical prophecy is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God. (Isaiah 2:1-4; Zephaniah 3:9; Hosea 2:20-22; Amos 9:13-15; Isaiah 32:15-18, 60:15-18; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:23, 14:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34)

Many of these prophetic passages speak of a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection. (Isaiah 11:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 30:7-10, 33:14-16; Ezekiel 34:11-31, 37:21-28; Hosea 3:4-5)

Since every King is a Messiah, by convention, we refer to this future anointed king as The Messiah. The above is the only description in the Bible of a Davidic descendant who is to come in the future. We will recognize the Messiah by seeing who the King of Israel is at the time of complete universal perfection.

1. Jesus Did Not Fulfill the Messianic Prophecies

What is the Messiah supposed to accomplish? The Bible says that he will:

1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
2. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
3. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
4. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world ― on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).

If an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be "The Messiah."

Because no one has ever fulfilled the Bible's description of this future King, Jews still await the coming of the Messiah. All past Messianic claimants, including Jesus of Nazareth, Bar Cochba and Shabbtai Tzvi have been rejected.

Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill these in the Second Coming, but Jewish sources show that the Messiah will fulfill the prophecies outright; in the Bible no concept of a second coming exists.

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2) Jesus Did Not Embody the Personal Qualifications of Messiah

A. Messiah as Prophet

The Messiah will become the greatest prophet in history, second only to Moses. (Targum - Isaiah 11:2; Maimonides - Yad Teshuva 9:2)

Prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry, a situation which has not existed since 300 BCE. During the time of Ezra, when the majority of Jews refused to move from Babylon to Israel, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets ― Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Jesus was not a prophet; he appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy had ended.

B. Descendent of David

According to Jewish sources, the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people. He will not be a demi-god, (1) nor will he possess supernatural qualities.

The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (see Genesis 49:10, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:17; Ezekiel 34:23-24). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father ― and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David. (2)

C. Torah Observance

The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are no longer applicable. For example, John 9:14 records that Jesus made a paste in violation of Shabbat, which caused the Pharisees to say (verse 16), "He does not observe Shabbat!"

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3) Mistranslated Verses "Referring" to Jesus

Biblical verses can only be understood by studying the original Hebrew text ― which reveals many discrepancies in the Christian translation.

A. Virgin Birth

The Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as giving birth. The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin." This accords Jesus' birth with the first century pagan idea of mortals being impregnated by gods.

B. Suffering Servant

Christianity claims that Isaiah chapter 53 refers to Jesus, as the "suffering servant."

In actuality, Isaiah 53 directly follows the theme of chapter 52, describing the exile and redemption of the Jewish people. The prophecies are written in the singular form because the Jews ("Israel") are regarded as one unit. Throughout Jewish scripture, Israel is repeatedly called, in the singular, the "Servant of God" (see Isaiah 43:8). In fact, Isaiah states no less than 11 times in the chapters prior to 53 that the Servant of God is Israel. When read correctly, Isaiah 53 clearly [and ironically] refers to the Jewish people being "bruised, crushed and as sheep brought to slaughter" at the hands of the nations of the world. These descriptions are used throughout Jewish scripture to graphically describe the suffering of the Jewish people (see Psalm 44). Isaiah 53 concludes that when the Jewish people are redeemed, the nations will recognize and accept responsibility for the inordinate suffering and death of the Jews.

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4) Jewish Belief is Based Solely on National Revelation

Throughout history, thousands of religions have been started by individuals, attempting to convince people that he or she is God's true prophet. But personal revelation is an extremely weak basis for a religion because one can never know if it is indeed true. Since others did not hear God speak to this person, they have to take his word for it. Even if the individual claiming personal revelation performs miracles, there is still no verification that he is a genuine prophet. Miracles do not prove anything. All they show ― assuming they are genuine ― is that he has certain powers. It has nothing to do with his claim of prophecy.

Judaism, unique among all of the world's major religions, does not rely on "claims of miracles" as the basis for its religion. In fact, the Bible says that God sometimes grants the power of "miracles" to charlatans, in order to test Jewish loyalty to the Torah (Deut. 13:4).

Of the thousands of religions in human history, only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation ― i.e. God speaking to the entire nation. If God is going to start a religion, it makes sense He'll tell everyone, not just one person.

Maimonides states (Foundations of Torah, ch. 8):

The Jews did not believe in Moses, our teacher, because of the miracles he performed. Whenever anyone's belief is based on seeing miracles, he has lingering doubts, because it is possible the miracles were performed through magic or sorcery. All of the miracles performed by Moses in the desert were because they were necessary, and not as proof of his prophecy.

What then was the basis of [Jewish] belief? The Revelation at Mount Sinai, which we saw with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, not dependent on the testimony of others... as it says, "Face to face, God spoke with you..." The Torah also states: "God did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us ― who are all here alive today." (Deut. 5:3)

Judaism is not miracles. It is the personal eyewitness experience of every man, woman and child, standing at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago.

For further reading: "Did God Speak at Mount Sinai?"

Waiting for the Messiah

The world is in desperate need of Messianic redemption. And to the extent we are aware of the problems of society, is the extent we will yearn for redemption. As the Talmud says, one of the first questions asked of a Jew on Judgment Day is: "Did you yearn for the arrival of the Messiah?"

How can we hasten the coming of the Messiah? The best way is to love all humanity generously, to keep the mitzvot of the Torah (as best we can), and to encourage others to do so as well.

Despite the gloom, the world does seem headed toward redemption. One apparent sign is that the Jewish people have returned to the Land of Israel and made it bloom again. Additionally, a major movement is afoot of young Jews returning to Torah tradition.

The Messiah can come any day, and it all depends on our actions. God is ready when we are. For as King David says: "Redemption will come today ― if you hearken to His voice."

For further study: • Jews for Judaism

• "The Real Messiah," by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

• "Let's Get Biblical! Why Doesn't Judaism Accept the Christian Messiah?," by Rabbi Tovia Singer

• "The Path of the Righteous Gentile," by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov Rogalsky

FOOTNOTES

1. Maimonides devotes much of the "Guide for the Perplexed" to the fundamental idea that God is incorporeal, meaning that He assumes no physical form. God is Eternal, above time. He is Infinite, beyond space. He cannot be born, and cannot die. Saying that God assumes human form makes God small, diminishing both His unity and His divinity. As the Torah says: "God is not a mortal" (Numbers 23:19).

2. In response, it is claimed that Joseph adopted Jesus, and passed on his genealogy via adoption. There are two problems with this claim:

a) There is no Biblical basis for the idea of a father passing on his tribal line by adoption. A priest who adopts a son from another tribe cannot make him a priest by adoption;

b) Joseph could never pass on by adoption that which he doesn't have. Because Joseph descended from Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11) he fell under the curse of that king that none of his descendants could ever sit as king upon the throne of David. (Jeremiah 22:30; 36:30)

To answer this difficult problem, apologists claim that Jesus traces himself back to King David through his mother Mary, who allegedly descends from David, as shown in the third chapter of Luke. There are four basic problems with this claim:

a) There is no evidence that Mary descends from David. The third chapter of Luke traces Joseph's genealogy, not Mary's.

b) Even if Mary can trace herself back to David, that doesn't help Jesus, since tribal affiliation goes only through the father, not mother. Cf. Numbers 1:18; Ezra 2:59.

c) Even if family line could go through the mother, Mary was not from a legitimate Messianic family. According to the Bible, the Messiah must be a descendent of David through his son Solomon (II Samuel 7:14; I Chronicles 17:11-14, 22:9-10, 28:4-6). The third chapter of Luke is irrelevant to this discussion because it describes lineage of David's son Nathan, not Solomon. (Luke 3:31)

d) Luke 3:27 lists Shealtiel and Zerubbabel in his genealogy. These two also appear in Matthew 1:12 as descendants of the cursed Jeconiah. If Mary descends from them, it would also disqualify her from being a Messianic progenitor.


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