The Dangers of the First Fruits of Zion and their Torah Clubs

This page contains links to the entirety of my research into the First Fruits of Zion following our (that of the Franklin Christian Ministerium) awareness of their activity through Torah Clubs here in our county beginning in the fall of 2022.  Since that time, I have read hundreds of pages of their published materials, combing through books, journals, videos, websites, and the like while seeking to both understand their purpose, goals, and methods, and document the ways in which they are an unorthodox movement outside of the boundaries of the Church while teaching a "different gospel."

Given how many people have reached out to me from across the country to share their stories of confronting this organization without knowing at first who they were and what they were trying to do, I hope this page will be able to shine the light of biblical/apostolic/historic Gospel truth.  If you're reading this because you've become involved in Torah Clubs and have questions about what you're being taught, or you're reading this because someone in your family or church has joined these groups, don't hesitate to email (pastorpowell@hotmail.com) or text/call me (616-552-2103), I feel like God put this issue in front of me for a reason, and am willing to help out where I can.

Here are the links to the 9/23 three-part seminar that I created on the FFOZ/Torah Clubs

                                                                                Part 1

Part 1 contains the history of our ministerium's exploration of, and response to, the beliefs espoused by FFOZ, and then a deep dive into the unorthodox beliefs of this organization:

                                                                            Part 2

Part 2 continues the detailing of the unorthodox beliefs of FFOZ that was begun in part 1

                                                                                Part 3

Part 3 focuses on how the Early Church Fathers and Reformation Era creeds previously rejected this teaching, as well as an examination of some of the key texts of scripture abused by this organization.

And this is the PowerPoint utilized during the seminar, rather than trying to write down or screen shot portions, copy/paste from the original is much easier: Seminar PowerPoint slides, 9/23 version

This is the document of primary source examples that illustrate the dangers identified by the Franklin Christian Ministerium (along with some short responses that I've written):

The Unorthodox Beliefs of the First Fruits of Zion, their Torah Clubs, and the Hebrew Roots Movement in general (version 3, 9/23)

And here is that same document in the form of a blog post, updated to the current version: 

Unorthodox Beliefs (blog post form)

This is the letter that was created by the Franklin Christian Ministerium and signed unanimously by its participants in February of 2023: 

The Franklin Christian Ministerium's warning against the Torah Clubs and the First Fruits of Zion

As well as the letter in Microsoft Word format: 

Franklin Christian Ministerium's warning letter about Torah Clubs

And the video I created to explain the letter in February of 2023.

I then wrote a post about how the Torah Clubs were an example that illustrates why the Church needs clergy that are educated, trained, and accountable: 

The Torah Clubs (FFOZ) remind us why we need an educated and accountable clergy - James 3:1 and 1 Timothy 1:6-7

After that, a dive into one of the primary texts abused by FFOZ, Romans 11: 

A foundational flaw: The Torah Clubs (FFOZ) teach Christians are grafted into Israel, but that's not what Romans 11 says

And a difficult one explaining why this particular issue being contested here in Franklin is deeply personal to me: 

Is my role in the fight against the Torah Clubs (FFOZ) personal? Absolutely, and it should be, this is why.

Above is the link to an interview that I did with Pastor Chris from our fellow American Baptist Church in Linesville, PA in the spring of 2023.  It is 45 minutes worth of talking through the issues (a helpful format).

As winter turned into spring, and no response from the local Torah Clubs was forthcoming, curiosity kept bringing new publications from FFOZ before me, new avenues of response as well...

This one was a shocker.  I had heard some grumblings that maybe we were only using old FFOZ materials (it wasn't the case even in the beginning), so having a book published in 2021 would make that objection moot.  The content of the book is more than a little controversial as it is a flat-out charge that Protestantism itself is built upon antisemitism: 

Rethinking the Five Solae - by Jacob Fronczak, First Fruits of Zion's failed attempt to label Protestantism as inherently anti-Semitic

I also came across an admission by Boaz Michael and Daniel Lancaster in 2009 that their One Law theology was wreaking havoc on the communities they were trying to form.  They were supposedly abandoning the "divine mandate" position and replacing it with "divine permission", but as our primary source document above shows, it was only window dressing, the demand that Gentiles live like Jews is still central to how FFOZ views the Gospel, the Church, and the Bible: 

The dangers of teaching that Gentiles must uphold Torah: As admitted by the leaders of First Fruits of Zion

Google searches can yield interesting things when you're persistent and try a variety of key words, in this case a paper written by an adherent of the Hebrew Roots Movement (the larger idea rather than First Fruits of Zion in particular) named Ben Frostad, that surveyed hundreds of fellow followers of this movement with interesting results: 

The insights gained from a survey of Hebrew Roots Movement followers: Who are they and what do they believe?

Then came a breakthrough, the leadership at a church in Iowa with whom I have been working as they try to combat Torah Club activity in their midst had found some videos from the 2022 Malchut Conference hosted by FFOZ for their financial patrons and Torah Club leaders.  These videos pull back the veneer and show behind the curtain what the leaders of FFOZ truly believe about themselves, their mission, and their goals.  One stunning revelation: They know they're teaching a different gospel, and believe that to be a selling point: 

FFOZ (Torah Clubs) admit they are sharing a another/new/different Gospel

Also from the 2022 Malchut conference is the admission that they cannot accomplish their goals without targeting the Church, in fact, the Church in their view was never meant to exist and has always been illegitimate and deficient: 

FFOZ (Torah Clubs) admit that they are purposefully aiming to disrupt and divide the Church

In the Spring of 2023 I wrote a brief update to the community about the response of the local Torah Clubs to our effort as a ministerium: 

How have the Torah Clubs responded to the united warning of the Franklin Christian Ministerium?  

Long story short, they have neither engaged with our objections, nor offered any sign of repentance. 

The summer was spent putting together the aforementioned seminar, it was not until August that we learned of a new initiative on the part of the local Torah Clubs to offer the HaYesod discipleship training class to local pastors: 

Local Torah Club leaders offer to privately train church pastors using material from FFOZ whose authors admit amounts to a "different gospel."  

To the best of our knowledge, this invitation was sent to 150+ pastors in our county (that's just about everyone, except people like me who were known opponents) and the only response was from a pastor who went to speak with the local leaders hoping to show them the need to turn from this false teaching.  God be praised that this effort on their part seems to have borne no fruit.

Lastly, just as the seminar was about to begin, the church in Iowa contacted me asking for prayer because the tensions between its leadership and members who had become deeply involved in a Torah Club were coming to a conclusion: 

I was asked to pray for a church that is being torn apart by a Torah Club  

Pray we did, and initial reports have been positive, holding out hope of repentance and reconciliation.  Please continue praying for churches splintered by this organization and the pastoral leaders trying to heal those rifts.

In the end, what we have been confronted with here in our county's Christian community of about 200 churches is an outside organization seeking to proselytize from among our congregations with a "different gospel" that is incompatible with any traditional/biblical/apostolic understanding of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and how we should live as a result.

We were fortunate in that we have a functioning and healthy ministerium here in Franklin, a group of men and women who have worked together to help those in need, have worshiped together publicly, and who meet regularly to support and encourage each other.  When tested from the outside, we could lean on each other for wisdom and support.  

I would encourage you, whether you are a pastor or a member of the laity, if your community doesn't have an ecumenical spirit where the churches can cooperate and work together as the Body of Christ, it isn't too late, it takes hard work and generosity of spirit, but it can be created.  Even if the First Fruits of Zion, or any other Hebrew Roots Movement group, never show themselves in your community, having the understanding in practical terms of what it means to belong to the Church beyond the walls of your own church will be invaluable.

Thank you all for your support through this journey, it wasn't one we sought out, nor one we saw coming before it was here, but it was one we as a ministerium, and I as a Baptist pastor, needed to take.

For those with questions or seeking help in this matter, you can contact me directly through my email: pastorpowell@hotmail.com, or by text/call on my cell line: 616-552-2103 

* Update 10/23* Following the premiere of the seminar the pushback we received from the local Torah Clubs was that I was taking the teachings/belief of FFOZ out of context.  The accuracy of our quotes speak for themselves, they're genuine.  One way to pour cold water on this slander is to simply list the descriptors that FFOZ chooses to use when describing the traditional Gospel and the ones they use when talking about their new 'gospel.'

Taken out of context?? Let FFOZ's words speak for themselves, this is how they describe the Gospel:

*Update 12/23* While working on my sermon from Psalm 110, I was reminded of the text of Hebrews 7 and how utterly this refutes the false premise of Torah supremacy over Jesus: 

Hebrews 7:11-12 puts an end to the lie that God cannot change the Law of Moses, for Jesus is the final High Priest

*Update 12/23* Just recently my Wednesday Bible study group was preparing to work through Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9; my prep work for that study led my to write this post: The Apostle Paul: A Jewish Christian free to live like a Gentile for the sake of the Gospel - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 and Galatians 2:11-14

*Update 1/24* A revealing comment was made in the now robust comment section on my YouTube channel: Local Torah Club leader contends that Paul's Damascus Road experience was an "adjustment", hear how Paul actually describes his encounter with Jesus Christ.

*Update 1/24*  I received a call from a grateful SBC pastor in Alabama.  His small rural church was faced with individuals seeking to establish a Torah Club in their midst.  His initial concerns when looking at FFOZ published materials were confirmed when he read the research that I've collected.  Pray for churches like this one, and their leadership, when having to defend against this heresy.

*Update 1/24* While working on my rebuttal to Daniel Lancaster's Restoration (coming soon), I decided to respond to the claim by FFOZ that the Apostles (and Gentile disciples of Jesus) were FULL participants in the ongoing Temple system: Did the Apostles fully keep the Torah after Jesus’ death and resurrection? A response to the claim of FFOZ

*Update 2/24* Here is a massive, 16,000 word review and rebuttal of Daniel Lancaster's Restoration which is published by FFOZ.  Lancaster is a primary creator of the Torah Club materials, so his personal theological viewpoints are of great import.  The book itself contains even more radical and heretical material than I've catalogued thus far: Restoration by D. Thomas Lancaster (FFOZ): A review - This is "another gospel" built on a foundation of lies

*Update 2/24* On 2/2 FFOZ released a podcast featuring Jacob Fronczak (the author of the Five Solae book that called Protestantism inherently antisemitic), Boaz Michael (the founder and president of FFOZ), and Daniel Lancaster (the author of Torah Club materials).  The podcast was entitled, "The Dangers of the First Fruits of Zion.  This is, of course, the title of my seminar without the, "and their Torah Clubs" that I added in for the sake of clarity.  The podcast purports to "answer" all of the objections that, according to them, a tiny portion of "fundamentalist" (I laughed-out-loud at that one) pastors who embrace Replacement Theology (not even a bit) make.  Unfortunately for FFOZ, there were no actual defenses of the unorthodox teachings outlined in my seminar, and each time they denied teaching something unorthodox, they added a "but" or "however" mere moments later that undercut the original denial.

Here is the podcast, go ahead and listen if you want to hear directly from FFOZ.

*Update 2/24* On 2/4 I received an email notice from YouTube that FFOZ had filed copyright takedown requests of parts 2 & 3 of my seminar on the basis that I used short clips of the Malchut 2023 conference without their permission.  However, Fair Use is enshrined in U.S. copyright law, and that educational and non-profit use of the material was my legal (and ethical, I care about that beyond the law itself) for using the clips.  Why did I use video clips?  Because local Torah Club leaders and members had already been saying that we (our ministerium) were lying about what FFOZ teaches, and video clips will put that slander to shame far more readily than quotes from a published document.  If FFOZ succeeds in removing parts 2 & 3 from YouTube, even temporarily, I will provide links on this page to the same recording through a different format while I continue the fight to protect my rights on YouTube.

*Update 2/24* Why do I keep doing this?  Why am I still sharing the truth about FFOZ?  Because it is needed.  Since Christmas I have been contacted by people in 3 states who found my material helpful in their effort to understand who/what FFOZ are when their teaching had been brought into their church/family.  Since my footprint online is miniscule, it seems likely that this is only a fraction of those who need a source of truth to counter the unorthodox and heretical that FFOZ continues to publish.  I do it for them, and I do it because I still have hope for the people I know here locally who have fallen prey to this.

*Update 3/24* The 2nd and 3rd seminar videos have been restored and can once again be viewed on YouTube.

*Update 3/24*  I did an exhaustive analysis of the Book of Acts to answer this question: What was the relationship between Jesus' followers after Pentecost and 2nd Temple Judaism?  The data with respect to what Luke actually wrote about the Early Church is highly compelling, and not in FFOZ's direction.

What does the New Testament say about the relationship of Jesus’ followers to 2nd Temple Judaism?

*Update 3/24*  Here is evidence (and my responses) of deeply anti-trinitarian teaching from Daniel Lancaster (the creator of Torah Club materials) in which he claims that the Word is only an "avatar" or "agent" of God, and that Jesus was a man indwelt by this "avatar."  That these are recycled heresies rejected by the Early Church only deepens the error.

The boldly heretical anti-trinitarianism of Daniel Lancaster (One of the key leaders of the FFOZ and Torah Clubs) in his own words

*Update 4/24* At the urging of those who had listened to the audio (my previous post relates to the transcript), here are the additional unorthodox/heretical statements from Lancaster that were edited out of the transcript:

The original audio version of Daniel Lancaster's Only Begotten Son is even more heretical.

*Update 4/24* In response to the oft stated, "I'm in Torah Club, it isn't like that at all!" objections, here is an example of a weakening of the Trinity in the very first lesson:

The very first Torah Club lesson (covering Genesis 1:1-6:8) undermines the Trinity

*Update 4/24* Another example of bizarre theology in the Torah Club materials:

Torah Club lesson #6 takes a bizarre turn toward Gnostic Dualism in support of an anti-Trinitarian view of Jesus

*Update 4/24* How do you measure the cost of this false teachings to individuals, families, and churches?  Here is one man's journey into HRM (FFOZ) and back out again.

Leaving The First Fruits of Zion and the Hebrew Roots Movement behind: One Christian's journey

*Update 4/24* Boaz Michael first mentioned our opposition to his organization's efforts in May of 2023, having just heard about those comments, here is an analysis: 

Why Boaz Michael thinks the Franklin Christian Ministerium chose to oppose the work of the First Fruits of Zion

*Update 4/24* Extra-biblical Jewish mysticism becomes the basis of this Torah Club lesson:

A House of Card: Going full-on mysticism Daniel Lancaster imagines the conversations your preexistent soul had with God

*Update 4/24* Another Torah Club lesson with extra-biblical teaching, this time from the mysticism of Kabballah. 

Torah Club teaching leans into the mysticism of Kabbalah