This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
In J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece, The Fellowship of the Ring, the titular fellowship arrives with its nine members at the Gates of Moria, the old entrance to the ancient dwarf kingdom long since abandoned. The fellowship are in desperate straits, their first attempt to move forward with the quest of destroying the One Ring had been defeated soundly when a blizzard closed the mountain pass. Now, with wolves approaching they find themselves facing a locked door. Gandalf purposes to lead them under the mountain to the other side, but the way forward is blocked. Unless Gandalf can decode the door's cryptic message, "Speak friend, and enter" by recalling the password that will open the magically sealed doors, this entire mission may end in failure before it accomplishes anything.
As the scene unfolds, Gandalf tries potential solutions in great number, all end in failure. Despite all his wisdom and skill, nothing works. That is until someone with a lot less wisdom and skill, the hobbit Merry, realizes that they had the answer all along. The door's message should have been translated, "Speak 'friend', and enter." As soon as Gandalf spoke the Elvish word for friend, the doors came open. The mystery of the sealed doors was really no mystery at all, the answer was written in plain sight.
As the Easter narrative begins in Mark's Gospel, we see Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome on their way to the tomb to honor Jesus by further preparing his body for its final burial place. Having come very early in the morning, after a Sabbath when few of Jesus' followers could have known any peace following his horrific murder on a Cross, the women don't realize until they reach the garden that they don't have a plan to remove the large stone from the tomb's entrance. Thus, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" is a question that needs an answer, one the women don't have. Or so it seems to them.
In reality, God had already moved the stone, the tomb of Jesus had already been transformed from a place of sorrow, into history's most incredible victory monument. There was nothing wrong with the women being concerned about the stone, it was a legitimate obstacle from their point-of-view, but keeping with the pattern found in the scripture's of God's will and purpose being in motion whether his people are aware of it or not, God had answered their question before they even asked it.
We sometimes forget this, or at least don't act like we know it, but God has already answered all of life's most important questions for us. There are no riddles left for us to solve before we can move forward, when Jesus rose from the grave, the question, "What is the meaning of life?" had a full and powerful answer. So too did, "How am I supposed to live my life?" and "What happens to us when we die?" God has not called us to serve a cause that we can hope might succeed, but one in which the victory has already been secured, no need for us to worry about rolling away the stone.
The Apostle Paul wants you to know that if your hope is in Christ, the love of God CANNOT be taken away from you, it cannot be overcome, deleted, sabotaged, or in any other way removed. It is permanent, period.
So, why don't we live like we believe that to be true? How differently would we live if that confidence were as strong as the "more than conquerors" verdict that Romans imparts to us?
The following analysis is taken from a thesis written by Ben Frostad, by his own account an ardent follower of the Hebrew Roots Movement (or, as he chooses to call it, the Messianic Torah Movement). It was written as a graduation requirement for the Torah Resource Institute (A One Law organization), and was sponsored by Tim Hegg, who until 2009 held a leadership role with the First Fruits of Zion. In other words, this paper and the survey it contains were created by, and overseen by, true believers in the Hebrew Roots Movement on behalf of an organization promoting those beliefs. This is thus NOT the supposition of critics of this movement (which I admit to being in my defense of orthodoxy), but the views of those from within the movement as portrayed by someone within the movement.
The survey was conducted during 2016-2017, online, with 699 qualifying respondents from 31 countries (533 the US, 95 Canada). Each accepted respondent affirmed both the following statements: (1) "Do you believe in Yeshua (Jesus)?" and (2) "Do you observe any of the following: Seventh-day Sabbath, the Biblical festivals (of Lev. 23), and/or Biblical diet restrictions?"
What can we learn from this self-reporting data?
1. Only a small minority of those participating in the Hebrew Roots Movement are Jewish.
102, or 15%, of those who answered yes to Ben's two questions claimed Jewish identity, although this number is higher than those who would be considered Jewish with respect to ethnicity as it included those (nearly half) who claim to have some Jewish ancestry (rather than Jewish parentage) and those who claimed to be 'spiritual' Jews.
In his thesis, Ben many times emphasizes that this movement is overwhelmingly composed of Gentiles.
2. The 'roots' of the movement are very modern.
68% had joined the movement since 2000, less than 10% before 1990. It is clear that the internet has been a boon to this particular ideology. {Side note, a number of respondents reported struggling with Flat Earth conspiracies within their local groups, a strong indicator that the internet is a driving force in spreading this ideology}
3. The organization, First Fruits of Zion, is a major player in this movement.
Respondents were asked to list their influences, that is who/what had helped lead them into this movement both when they began the journey, and currently. FFOZ was the top source listed (13%) at the start, and third (9%) currently. They are not a fringe group within this movement, rather one of its driving forces. When asked for a specific title, FFOZ's HaYesod was the number one book listed.
4. The Church is the mission field for this movement, not non-believers.
This is no surprise given that FFOZ specifically targets people who belong to local churches: "Most churchgoers still have no idea that they are called to be disciples of a Jewish rabbi. The potential to come alongside these brothers and sisters and seriously reorient their understanding of Jesus’ life and teachings is nearly limitless. 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few'" - Boaz Michael, founder and president of FFOZ.
65% of those participating in the Hebrew Roots Movement were formerly a part of Evangelical churches! 93% indicated some type of Christian background! Only 2% participated in a non-Christian religion, and a further 2% were non-religious. This movement is purposefully targeting the Church, drawing the majority of its adherents from Evangelical churches.
5. Following a rabbinic calendar and refraining from saying the name of God is the plurality position among followers.
While not a majority, it was the largest segment of those surveyed, with 32% saying that it is necessary to follow the Jewish calendar and wrong to speak God's name (Sacred Name movement). We have seen this locally, with those in leadership of the local Torah Clubs participating in Jewish festivals and not even being willing to write out God (replacing it with G-d or L-rd), along with adopting Yeshua instead of the Anglicized "Jesus". A further 29% of the survey respondents agreed with the need to follow the Jewish calendar, but did not have an issue with saying the name of God.
6. They don't believe that followers of this movement should stay connected to the Church.
67% strongly disagreed (a further 18% somewhat disagreed) that "Gentile believers should remain in established Christian churches, instead of joining Messianic/Torah congregations." This has been one of the concerns that caused the Franklin Christian Ministerium to take action. When 85% of the people involved in a movement believe that it is wrong to remain in the Church, and that movement is purposefully targeting people who currently attend churches, the result will be the breaking of fellowship from those churches.
It doesn't matter to me, as a pastor, what an organization believes, or what it hopes to accomplish, if it is purposefully and actively pulling people away from active participation in a local church, it is unbiblical, it is dangerous, and needs to be treated as a threat to the Church both locally and universally. Even an organization with orthodox beliefs, which this movement lacks, that pulls people out of churches, is contradicting the Word of God. Jesus himself established the Church to continue his Kingdom work, by all means reform it when it needs it, but abandon it? NO.
7. They don't believe that Torah was given by God "just for Jews."
61% strongly disagreed (a further 11% somewhat disagreed), resulting in a solid majority that believe that as followers of Jesus the Law of Moses is obligatory (in some way) for them as Gentiles. This is the heart of the One Law theology that FFOZ supposedly abandoned in 2009, but continues to be taught through their published materials (see the quotes in the link above for many, many examples).
8. They believe that "modern Christian practice is pagan in origin."
Why the hostility toward the Church? Why the desire to withdraw from fellowship in Christian congregations? 82% (42% strongly, 40% somewhat) believe that the practices of the modern Church are pagan.
9. Doubt about the deity of Jesus Christ is a minority opinion, but not an insubstantial one.
25% were unwilling to say that they strongly agreed that, "Yeshua is God." Of that 1/4, 10% actively disagreed with the statement. As noted in our research, there is a strand of both Subordinationism and Modalism within this movement. While I am encouraged that these numbers were not higher (as they no doubt would be with a survey of Jehovah's Witnesses), the fact that a significant minority have abandoned Apostolic teachings of the N.T. about the deity of Jesus Christ remains a further warning sign.
10. A majority believe they are no longer a part of Christianity.
53% (33% strongly, 20% somewhat) disagreed that their faith was a "part of modern Christianity." Here locally, the Torah Clubs are proselytizing under the idea that this is "just a Bible study." This is America, you are more than free to leave the Church and Christianity if that is what you choose to do, but people joining what is advertised as a Bible study ought to be aware that the majority of those involved in this movement have self-consciously left Christianity now that they belong to the Hebrew Roots Movement.
11. Those who have left the Church entirely are the most optimistic about the Hebrew Roots Movement.
"Those who agree that Gentiles should stay in established Christian churches rather than joining the Messianic movement tend to have very low optimism about the movement." In other words, those still connected to a local church aren't entirely sold on where this thing is going, whereas, "Those who strongly agree that Christianity is pagan tend to be more optimistic for the movement." If you're ready to cut ties with the Church and walk away from Christianity, the Hebrew Roots Movement feels like the winning ticket, or so they believe.
Overall, this survey further confirms many of the concerns that the Franklin Christian Ministerium has expressed about the Hebrew Roots Movement, First Fruits of Zion, and the Torah Clubs. You don't need to take our word for it, this is what they believe about themselves.
This blog post was turned into a YouTube video, 7/24
At one point, in 2009, the First Fruits of Zion organization came to the realization that it's "One Law" theology was a practical disaster. They had been massively invested in spreading this unorthodox and unbiblical view for years with their former partner Tim Hegg as the primary voice. After significant objections from Messianic Jews that this theology would inevitably lead to a Two House viewpoint that is itself a form of Replacement Theology {Because it views those who keep Torah as the true Jews (literally or spiritually), not those who are descended from Abraham, thus gentiles who follow this view see themselves as authentic Jews, more so than ethnic Jews who don't keep Torah even; it is thus also a form of Antisemitism}. In what could have been a watershed moment, the organization cut ties with Tim Hegg, and issued a form of repentance by saying,
"The result is a state of anarchy disguised under the name of Law. Congregations split over calendar arguments. People are embittered toward one another. Close friends are separated...Communities shrink...there are no other Messianic believers in the are with whom they can sustain a relationship. The program is not working...they reject Judaism and Jewish tradition, and they reject Christianity and Christian tradition." - Boaz Michael and D. Thomas Lancaster, One Law and the Messianic Gentile, Messiah Journal, summer 2009 {As quoted by: One Law, Two Sticks: A Critical Look at the Hebrew Roots Movement A position paper of the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS) Steering Committee 1/15/2014 The journal itself is behind the paywall on the FFOZ website, however the IAMCS position paper (link above) is deeply instructive and worth reading if you have any interest in understanding the Hebrew Roots Movement's danger from a Jewish point-of-view.}
When IAMCS released their paper condemning the Hebrew Roots Movement, including the Two House theology and One Law Theology under its umbrella in 2014, IAMCS was under the impression that FFOZ was no longer pursuing the goal of convincing gentile Christians that only through Torah keeping can they please God. However genuine the change of heart was in 2009, it didn't last. Having read hundreds of pages published by FFOZ in recent years during my effort of the last few months to understand and combat this false teaching that is spreading in our county and within some of our churches, it was very clear that FFOZ absolutely still believes and teaches that there is only one Law: the timeless Torah.
In the end, the pastors of the Franklin Christian Ministerium have recognized the danger of this teaching and have taken steps to educate our community of its dangers; at one point at least, the leadership of FFOZ, Boaz Michael and Thomas Lancaster, could see it too.
Titus 3:10-11 New International Version
10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.
They've known of the divisive nature of this movement for years.
Using Monty Python and the Holy Grail's infamous witch trial (witch=wood=duck) as a foil for humanity's imperfect justice, the comparison is to God's full, impartial, and absolute justice. God knows each and every sin (evil) in the hearts of humanity. And yet, God has chosen to declare some of those same people to be his children, to be 'not guilty' and instead righteous. How??
The answer is simple: In Jesus Christ
God justifies (declares not guilty) those who have faith in Jesus because Jesus' life of righteousness and total absence of sin enables him to be our substitute, to take our place.
Once God has done that, who is left to condemn us? Nobody.
Not ourselves, not other people, not Satan himself. Nobody.
