I'll admit off the bat, this section contains one of my pet peeves, "taking the Bible literally." In most cases, when someone talks or writes about taking the Bible literally it is a indication that he/she is about to do an awful job of interpreting the Bible. Why? Because the Bible's author's don't take the Bible "literally," and those who have learned to interpret the Bible according to its own ideas know that full well. Biblical authors write with a host of analogies, metaphors, similes, parables, as well as prophetic and apocalyptic language. What I think Lancaster is trying to say is that the people he is lambasting don't take the Bible "at face value" or "as authoritative." But I digress, the real issue with The Beginning of Wisdom lesson 20 is that here Lancaster reveals his contempt both for the modern Church and for modern Judaism. This is yet more evidence that FFOZ is trying to carve out their own unique (and new) niche in a space that is neither Christianity nor Judaism but some amalgam of both that is unrecognizable to either.
This is not the first time that I've demonstrated the animosity of FFOZ's leadership to both the Church and Judaism, but it is a reminder that the canard that their intention is to help followers of Jesus witness to Jews rings hollow when they choose to display this level of contempt to both Christianity and Judaism, and teach it to their followers.
Let's look at the specific claims to see if they hold any water or are in fact more straw men.
"Rather than teaching the Bible's wisdom, churches prefer to teach creeds and sacraments construed from elaborate theologies that are only loosely based on cherry-picked collections of Bible verses. They don't know the Torah or understand it."
Now, when the Church is in error, both historically and today, it has earned honest criticism. This isn't that, I'll give FFOZ credit for writing against things like "Christian" Nationalism (as I have done many times) and other such perversions of the scriptures, but that's not at all the focus of Lancaster's ire here. It isn't the materialism and greed of the Prosperity Gospel or the charlatans in the New Apostolic Reformation that he's aiming at, but the ordinary churches that are going about the business of sharing the Gospel they inherited and making disciples. FFOZ, through Lancaster's Torah Club materials, is teaching its followers that the whole Church is adrift and in error, not because of sin or a lack of the Fruit of the Spirit, but because they are not teaching obedience to the Torah. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of the Church is solidly trinitarian, while FFOZ is not, in Lancaster's telling the thing that makes the Church hopelessly lost is a failure to place the yoke of the Law of Moses upon those who have faith in Jesus.
Perhaps that feels like too much of a conclusion based on this one lesson, and it would be if this was all we had from FFOZ on the topic, but as my seminar and writings have demonstrated, this theme runs through the entirety of their work because they've elevated Torah to an idolatrous level making it the very nature of God, and thus eternally unchangeable (even non-expandable, non-updatable), even by Jesus himself.
Should the Church be doing a better job of teaching the, "whole counsel of God"? Absolutely. We need to be open to God's direction and correction to overcome our blind spots and the sins we tolerate. Is our answer to cling to the Law of Moses as if it has the answers? Not at all.
"Liberal synagogues steer their flocks away from taking the Bible literally, preferring to offer popular social platitudes instead of the unpopular mandates of the Torah's laws. In academic circles, men and women who make careers out of studying the Bible rarely believe the words they are studying."
I've spent my whole life within Christianity and the Church, so I won't hazard to speak about the integrity of either the liberal or orthodox branches of Judaism in the world today, but it appears that Lancaster has no such qualms about ripping into both. As the example at the end of this post demonstrates, FFOZ's leaders have equal contempt for Messianic Judaism as well. Who is left? Who is it that is interpreting the Word of God aright and doing God's will in this world? Ah, that's right, FFOZ and the HRM, and nobody else.
As I've written about Fundamentalist Christians who think only those who believe exactly as they do are acceptable to God: If 99.9% of those who proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are still lost in sin and heading to hell, according to your own view, how pathetic is the Gospel that you're proclaiming and how weak is the Holy Spirit that you're talking about? We believe that Jesus Christ overcame Sin and Death, and yet your thesis is that only you know the true Gospel, that God was incapable of implanting it correctly in anyone else?? The hubris is stupefying.
Here is that hubris in action from Boaz Michael's own mouth, "Your efforts as Torah Club leaders and students is a direct, and in my opinion, fulfillment of these words of our master. The reconciliation of Israel and the restoration of the world are in God’s hands, but the mission is in yours." (Michael, Boaz, Malchut Conference 2022, session #5, "Then the End Will Come")
I have seen Torah Club supporters over and over criticize the Church for following the "teachings of men." The irony is incredible, they're risking everything on the belief that Boaz Michael, Daniel Lancaster, and the rest are true prophets in sole possession of the key to God's Word. That's an awful lot of faith in men.
For other examples of how they view Christianity, Messianic Judaism, and their own self-aggrandized role in God's will:
An example of of Boaz Michael espousing an antisemitic trope (that they only care about money) at Messianic Judaism: By espousing these premises, Messianic Judaism has maintained a convenient niche right next to the evangelical Christian church. Since they are not teaching that the Torah is the biblically prescribed way of life for all peoples and nations who call upon the name of the God of Israel, they can conveniently co-exist in cooperation with the Church’s anti-Torah theological assumptions. They can receive financial support, utilize their buildings, speak at their conferences… – (Michael, Boaz, “Encounters with an Ephraimite: Identity through a Lost Heritage”, p. 8)
An example of Boaz Michael claiming Messianic Judaism falls short of God's will (something he believes that his organization is fulfilling in their place): The matrix of the Messianic Jewish Movement simply is not big enough for the restoration that God is doing in the Body of Messiah. The Hebrew Roots movement has outgrown Messianic Judaism. - (Michael, Boaz, “Encounters with an Ephraimite: Identity through a Lost Heritage”, p. 11)
An example of Boaz Michael claiming that his movement alone has the Truth of the Gospel, unknown before this generation: So, the responsibility of this message falls on us, a small minority of God‘s people who’ve come to an understanding of the gospel of the kingdom and whose lives are being transformed by the undiluted power of Yeshua’s message. And we’re called to take this gospel message to the kingdoms: 'Repent for the kingdom of God is it at hand.' And this prophetic movement has only become possible in our generation. It’s our responsibility. (Michael, Boaz, Malchut Conference 2022, session #5, "Then the End Will Come")
An Example of Daniel Lancaster saying that FFOZ's followers are the only true disciples of Jesus ready to face the End Times: "Until then, however, there’s a small remnant, right. It’s a pretty small remnant of the kingdom on earth. There’s a few of us. There’s a few of us clinging to the Commandments in the testimony of Yeshua as it says in the Book of Revelation." (Lancaster, Daniel, Malchut Conference 2022, session #9, "Band of Survivors")
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