In the May webinar* (click here to watch), Grant Berry introduced the concept that Christianity is Jewish. It may come as a surprise to many Christians due to the separation that exists between the church and its Jewish roots and heritage.
However, when you look at Scripture, belief in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah is the only true and proper extension of Judaism. Salvation is from the Jews because Yeshua/Jesus came from Israel to bring it to the world. (See John 4:22.) He was the One Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. He was sent first to the lost sheep of Israel, He was the end of the law for all who believed (Rom. 10:4), and through the cross and resurrection He introduced the New Covenant through His broken body and shed blood.
All of God’s covenants and promises were given to Israel that they would fulfill the call given them from God to be a light to the nations and bring Yeshua/Jesus’ message to the world. (See Isaiah 42:6-7; 49:6; John 17:20.) The first apostles who founded the ekklesia/church were all Jewish and represented the new Israel. God had transferred His authority away from the priesthood to His apostles through the sending of His Holy Spirit. (See Matthew 21:18-27; Mark 11:12-21; and Acts 2:1-4.)
From that point, His Jewish disciples took the gospel out to the world, and they gave their lives for the Gentiles to come to faith. In this way God’s children from the nations could also believe in Yeshua/Jesus, be grafted into Israel’s covenants and promises and become one with God and one with Israel.
It is this body of believers, Jew and Gentile alike, who changed the world that Rome could not contend with, so it merged. This was The One New Man (TONM) that Yeshua/Jesus created from the resurrection, those who were near and those who were far. (See Ephesians 2:11-22.) This union was a fulfillment of the first family mystery as to how the Gentiles would believe. (See Ephesians 3:4-6.)
Yeshua/Jesus brought Jew and Gentile together as a new type of community sharing the same faith. Yet from within that love and unity Jewish distinctions and heritage remained while God’s children from the nations were not obliged to follow them. (See Acts 15.)
Yeshua/Jesus created a beautiful harmony between believing Jew and Gentile in The One New Man in the first century. There was a great depth of connection and partnership. Gentile believers were incredibly grateful to participate in Israel’s rich heritage and history. Gentile and Jewish believers were united in God’s family as fellow heirs with Yeshua/Jesus and with one another.
What Was Lost When the Church Merged With Rome?
However, the unity established in the early church came under attack from Satan, with anti-Semitism and replacement thinking beginning to emerge. Additionally, as the church began to grow, there was opposition from the Jews who did not accept Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah, causing the church to disparage them.
The ancestral church misunderstood God’s response toward the Jewish people by interpreting His judgment and dispersion of them as final. They also saw God’s judgment through Rome’s subjugation of Israel.
These are a few events in the course of many that helped contribute to the anti-Jewish sentiment that incrementally and progressively crept into the church. And by the time Rome took control of the church in the fourth century, it had established Christianity as a distinct religion apart from its Jewish heritage into a theology of replacement.
The church not only severed all ties with the Jewish people and its Jewish roots and heritage, on which it was founded, creating a separation that, for the most part, continues to this day; they also persecuted and killed many Jews that resisted them, and any Jewish people wanting to come to Yeshua/Jesus now had to conform to all of the Gentile practices and traditions, nullifying their own. Quite different from how the church began.
Restoration of Israel
There is no condemnation in Mashiach/Christ; however, if residual influences are still at play in the body and in the church, shouldn’t we want to address them? All of these issues are fully dealt with in The Romans 911 Project materials (Romans911.org). Understanding the plight and journey of the Jewish people has obviously been a great challenge for the church. And it is clear from within the context of Israel’s judgment from the first and second centuries that they missed God’s final piece in Scripture toward Israel to ultimately restore Israel, which according to Scripture will happen in the final era of time before Yeshua/Jesus returns.
As we now enter these days and another one of God’s family mysteries that the apostle Paul challenged us not to be ignorant about (Rom. 11:25-27) is uncovered, Israel’s salvation moves center stage. The Father seeks to restore His promises and covenants to His firstborn children to make the family whole and prepare the bride for His return. The time approaches when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and Israel will be saved. (See Romans 11:25.) There is no separate gospel for the Jewish people, and they need to be grafted back into their own olive tree. (See Romans 11:24.)
The church must begin to recognize this and make the necessary adjustments to play its role in this awakening, an essential modification to restore relationship in love and unity with the Jewish-believing side of the family. Healing this first breach in the body will empower the ekklesia/church, leading us to reunify in other areas. It is critical to expose the divisive lies and strategies of the enemy that have separated the family for over 1,700 years.
We need to understand that Israel’s salvation is a pathway to the Lord’s return. The prepared bride must shine its light, embodying purity and the Father’s love for others. Jewish believers need to shine the light of Yeshua/Jesus back to their people, clearly displaying that they remain Jewish through faith in Him, which ultimately is the true path of Judaism. {eoa}
*The Romans 911 Project Webinar is a new one-of-a-kind virtual meeting for the ekklesia/church where believers from around the globe can enter into a deeper dialogue on The One New Man (TONM) issues. This webinar provides a platform to delve into the many issues affecting unity between Messianic and Gentile believers.
Author and speaker Grant Berry is the founder of Reconnecting Ministries and Producer of The Romans 911 Project. Grant is a Messianic believer in Yeshua/Jesus and is promoting a new message into the body of Messiah/Christ during these last days, known as “The Reconnection.” The Reconnection is a term used to describe the reuniting and reconciliation of Jewish and Gentile believers and all races and tongues into John 17 love and unity in “The One New Man” now that Israel’s awakening is upon us. The Romans 911 Project has been created to bring The Reconnection message to light, which has primarily been hidden in the mystery of Israel’s restoration according to Romans 11:25-27. For more information and a special offer on The Romans 911 Project, please visit Romans911.org.
For a link to the Romans 911 Project Podcasts, click here.
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