“Know therefore that the L-RD your God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” – Deuteronomy 7:9.
INTRODUCTION
As a Messianic and Orthodox Judaist ministry, we believe that we are to be disciples of the God of Isra’el by studying, practicing, and teaching His all-sufficient descriptions and rules in His Scriptures that provide the values, beliefs, lifestyle, and practice for those within God’s Kingdom. These statements of Fundamental Truths are intended simply as a basis of fellowship among all those who are part of this Messianic and Orthodox Judaist ministry (i.e., that we may all speak the same thing, I Corinthians 1:10; Acts 2:42).
The phraseology employed in these Statements are not inspired nor contended for, but the truths set forth are held to be essential for this Messianic and Orthodox Judaist ministry. No claim is made that it covers all Biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these fundamental truths.
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ABOUT THE ONE TRUE G-D, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRA’EL
GOD IS ONE. WE BELIEVE that there is only ONE TRUE GOD, and that He is ADONAI, the Holy God of Isra’el. He is not some imagined figment of people’s imaginations, nor is He just a belief within Judaism, but He is objectively real. He is a multi-dimensional, Eternal Spiritual Being that has created all things, and is, therefore, the King and Master of all that He has created, and He is the Savior/Deliverer/ Redeemer, Healer, and Judge of all that He has created, including all of humanity, and He has manifested Himself in various ways at various times throughout His Scriptures, the Bible.
GOD DOES NOT CHANGE. WE BELIEVE that the One True God has various qualities, such as mercy, love, justice, trustworthy, faithfulness, etc., but the essence of His Being is that he is “holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4: 8), and He cannot be anything else. Also, He does not change His nature nor His standards (Malachi 3:6) ever for any reason or purpose.
GOD’S KINGDOM. WE BELIEVE He created His Kingdom in two parallel realms: the One realm, called the “Invisible Kingdom,” or the “Spiritual Realm,” which is where His throne and capital city is located with the Cherubim, Seraphim, Angels, Elders, and the faithful believers, and the “Visible Kingdom” or the physical universe, is where the galaxies, stars, planets, asteroids located, including the planet earth.
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ABOUT THE BIBLE.
ITS STRUCTURE. WE BELIEVE the Whole Bible – the Tanakh – is comprised of Genesis to Revelation, and that there is not any structural part of the Bible called “Old Testament” and “New Testament,” but the writings of the disciples of Yeshua should be seen as a continuing part of the third part of the Tanakh, called the Ketuvim (or “Writings”). Therefore, there is only One continuous revelation, called Tanakh.
ITS CONTENTS. WE BELIEVE the Scriptures are God-breathed and are about Him, His Kingdom, and the Kingdom ways. It is the authoritative rule of our faith, and the source for our Kingdom values, beliefs, lifestyle, and practice in its original autographs.
ITS UNITY. WE BELIEVE any teaching in the Tanakh (Scriptures) that appear to contradict the Torah, or the rest of the Tanakh, we have either interpreted it wrong or it was translated into English wrong.
REFERENCES: 2 Timothy 3:15-17; I Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21.
ITS INTENDED AUDIENCE. WE BELEVE the whole Bible – the Tanakh – from Genesis to Revelation, is eternal and is for all believers, whether Jew or non-Jew, for all time, including believers today, and that not the smallest letter or stroke of a pen of anything that God has said in His Word has been “annulled,” “done away with,” or “no longer valid.”
REFERENCES: Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17-19; I Peter 1:25.
However, we do NOT believe that the English translations of the Scriptures are without
misinterpretations and errors. However, through our study and research of the Scriptures in their original Jewish contexts, we can come to know and understand the truth of what is taught.
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ABOUT HUMANITY.
CREATION OF HUMANITY. WE BELIEVE that all humanity began with the creation of Adam and Eve (Heb. Chavah), who were created “in the image and likeness of God” and were given dominion over all plant and animal life, as well as given the responsibility of being the caretakers (or stewards) of the earth.
REFERENCES: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7, 18, 21-25; 3:20; 5:1-2.
RESULTS OF SIN. WE BELIEVE that Adam and Eve (Chavah) voluntarily rebelled against God, thereby separating themselves from Him and His kingdom, ultimately resulting in both physical and spiritual death.
REFERENCES: Genesis 2:17; 3:6; Romans 5:12-19
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ABOUT THE ONE ETERNAL COVENANT
THE ONE ETERNAL COVENANT. WE BELIEVE that there is Only One Eternal Covenant in the Kingdom of God, and it is comprised of seven parts that were started (and one at the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom) at different times, under different circumstances, but once they are started, they all work in their fullness simultaneously.
PARTS OF THE COVENANT. WE BELIEVE that these seven parts of the One Eternal Covenant is comprised of the five basic covenants and its two renewals:
Five Basic Covenants
1. Noachide – Re-establishes the Earth after the flood.
2. Abrahamic – Establishes the beginning of Isra’el and Isra’el’s relationship with God.
3. Mosaic – Establishes Isra’el as a people, a community, and a nation.
4. Levitic – Establishes the Levitic priesthood.
5. Davidic – Establishes the Davidic Monarchy.
Two Renewal Covenants
1. New Covenant – Lays the groundwork and begins the initiative for the Restoration of Isra’el,
and it completes the oath that God made with Abraham.
2. Covenant of Peace – Completes the Restoration of Isra’el, and it will be the covenant of peace
will be made during the Messianic Kingdom (Ezek. 34:22-31; coming!)
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ABOUT ISRA’EL, THEIR LAND, THEIR DIVISION AND THEIR PROMISED RESTORATION
DEFINING “ISRA’EL” – WE BELIEVE that Isra’el is the One and Only Bride of God, and He has defined them as “a nation and an assembly of nations” (Genesis 35:11). The physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob comprise the “nation” and the non-Jews who have attached themselves to Isra’el comprise the “assembly (Gk. Ekklesia) of nations (or Gentiles).”
ABOUT ISRA’EL’s LAND – WE BELIEVE that the physical descendants of Isra’el have not yet owned all the land that they have been promised by God: “From the river of Egypt (the Nile River) as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: “…the [lands of the] Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite” (Genesis 15:18b-21). This land has been promised forever, and it will be theirs during the Messianic Kingdom.
ABOUT ISRA’EL’S DIVISION – WE BELIEVE due to Isra’el’s idolatry and sin, particularly King Solomon’s, the United Kingdom of Isra’el was divided into two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom of Isra’el (also called Ephraim) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Northern Kingdom had 19 kings before the Assyrians came in 722 B.C.E., and invaded the land, killed many, and took most of the rest into exile and scattered them throughout the nations. There were a few that escaped down into the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Then the Southern Kingdom of Judah had 20 Kings, and in 586 B.C.E., the Babylonians came and killed many Judeans (or Jews), then they took most of them into Exile into Babylon for 70 years.
ABOUT ISRA’EL’S RESTORATION – WE BELIEVE in both the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and the writings of the Prophets in the Tanakh, God promises that He will restore them from their captivity, and regather them from even the furthest place on earth, and He will bring them back to the land of Isra’el. In the “writings of the Way” (Heb. Ketuvim HaDerekh; aka, “New Testament”), the process of initiating the Restoration has begun and is being announced. God promises that after bringing the people back to the Land, He will prosper and multiply them there (Deuteronomy 30:1-6; Ezekiel 36: 22-38; 37:1-28).
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ABOUT YESHUA, THE ANOINTED-MESSIAH
THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF YESHUA IN THE MIND OF GOD. WE BELIEVE that prior to his birth, the Rebbe, Anointed-Messiah Yeshua existed in the mind and heart of God, even before the beginning of time.
YESHUA AS MESSIAH BEN ELOHIM. WE BELIEVE that it was God’s plan for the Rebbe Yeshua to be “Messiah ben Elohim” (“Messiah son of God”), and that from his miraculous birth, the Rebbe Yeshua was created to be someone where God’s Presence and power could dwell, and thus, the Rebbe shared a level and depth of intimacy with God that we cannot possibly understand (John 10:38).
THE ANOINTING OF YESHUA AS MESSIAH. WE BELIEVE that Yeshua became the Anointed-Messiah officially after he had been ritually purified by being immersed in the Jordan River, and then when he came up and prayed, the Spirit of Elohim (God) came down on Yeshua as an agreed-upon sign from God whom Yochanan was to anoint. As a result, he was anointed by Yochanan (John) the Immerser, a Levite and a Nazarite Prophet. It was after his anointing by Yochanan that a bat kol, a voice from heaven, came and said, “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”
THE MISSION OF YESHUA. WE BELIEVE that in keeping with God’s promises in the Tanakh and to the patriarch Abraham our Father, the Holy God of Isra’el sent Yeshua to do the following four things:
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- proclaim the beginning pf the process of the Restoration of Israel (trans. “the good news of the kingdom of God”),
- to correct some issues that Isra’el had gotten wrong,
- to complete the oath/promise that God had promised Abraham, and
- to deal with the sin problem that began with Adam and Chavah (trans. “Eve”) in the Garden of Eden.
THE MIRACLES OF YESHUA. WE BELIEVE that during the Rebbe Yeshua’s life and ministry, that he did not do any of the miracles that have been ascribed to him himself, but that it was the God of Isra’el working in and through him that performed the miracles. And the teachings that he gave were also not his, but he spoke them forth as they were given to him by God.
REFERENCES: John 5:19, 30; Acts 10:38.
THE DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION OF YESHUA. WE BELIEVE that Yeshua was crucified by the Romans, like many Jews of his time, on Passover (Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22: 7-16; and I Corinthians 5:7-8); he was then laid to rest in a tomb on the first day of Unleavened Bread, and then three days later, he was raised bodily from the dead by the Holy God of Isra’el (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; I Corinthians 15:4) three days later on the Feast of Firstfruits (I Corinthians 5:20). His death and resurrection opened the way for the restoration of Isra’el to happen, and to fulfill the oath/promise that God had made to His friend, Abraham, as well as to deal with the sin issue (Heb. yetzer ra) which began in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Chavah (trans. “Eve”).
CONTINUING THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESTORATION OF ISRA’EL. WE BELIEVE the Rebbe Yeshua then commissioned his disciples, including Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul), a second-generation Pharisee, to announce the same message out to the whole House of Isra’el outside of the land of Isra’el, to the descendants of the Northern Kingdom, and to those non-Jews, i.e., the nations, who wanted to attach themselves to Isra’el and become a part of the Restoration and the coming promised Messianic Kingdom.
THE ASCENSION OF YESHUA. WE BELIEVE the Rebbe Yeshua was then exalted to the right hand of God (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9, 11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3) to minister to Him as our advocate (I John 2:1) and mediator (I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24), and as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 5:5-10, 20; 8:1-3; 9:11).
THE SOON RETURN OF THE REBBE YESHUA. WE BELIEVE that God will return the Rebbe Yeshua soon back to earth to defend the nation and people of Isra’el from another attempted Genocide in the land of Isra’el, in which they will be defeated. He will be coronated as the King of Isra’el, where he will rule and reign in Jerusalem, as well as over the nations for a thousand years, during the time of the Messianic Kingdom.
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ABOUT SALVATION – THE PROCESS OF THE GE’ULAH & RESTORATION OF ISRA’EL
WE BELIEVE Salvation/Deliverance/Redemption exists on two levels: national and individual simultaneously. We believe salvation happens as we place our faith and trust in the Anointed-Messiah chosen by God, and we are then engrafted into the people and nation of Isra’el, and then we need to join them in their obligations and responsibilities, such as the keeping of God’s commandments.
WE BELIEVE that salvation is patterned after the Exodus from Egypt. The event which preceded their release from Egyptian slavery was the death of the Passover Lamb, and then they had to pass through the waters, and then we go and experience the revelation of God at Mt. Sinai, and then we are tested in our wilderness experiences with God, and eventually we will cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land of God’s Presence.
the Restoration of Isra’el occurs in a long process that is available to both the nation and people of Isra’el, and to those of the nations (non-Jews) who identify themselves with her in and through the Rebbe Yeshua, the Anointed Messiah of Isra’el.
WE BELIEVE that God has not changed His call one bit for the whole House of Isra’el and those who have identified with her as He gave it on Mt. Sinai:
Now then if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My commandments, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6)
But this means that we are to circumcise and purify our hearts, obeying from our hearts, and then studying His Scriptures and writing His Torah on our minds and on our hearts as He commanded us to do. Once His Torah is on our minds and hearts, and we walk in holiness before Him, then “He will be our God, and we will be His people” (Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:12; Psalm 95:7; Jeremiah 7:23; 11:4; 30:22; 32:38; Ezekiel 8:8; 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:23; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 8:10; and Revelation 21:7).
WE BELIEVE as the nation and people of Isra’el, as well as those from the nations, believe the teaching of the good news of the Restoration of Isra’el and accept, believe, and follow the teachings of the God of Isra’el given in and through the prophet Mosheh (Moses) in the Torah and that of the Rebbe Yeshua, the Anointed-Messiah of Isra’el, given in the writings of “the Way” (Heb. HaDerekh), aka, “New Testament,” they will be transformed in and through this journey, as well as experience God’s Presence, His blessings, and His protection. We believe this journey of transformation will end either at death or when God will return with Yeshua, the Anointed-Messiah of Isra’el, to defend Isra’el and to begin the Messianic Kingdom.
WE BELIEVE that there are two witnesses – one inward and one outward – that give evidence that we are in a good relationship with the God of Isra’el:
- Inward evidence – the direct witness of God’s Spirit (Romans 8:16)
- Outward evidence – the life of righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12)
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ABOUT THE EVIDENCE OF THE GE’ULAH & THE RESTORATION OF ISRA’EL
(THE IMMERSION IN THE HOLY SPIRIT)
WE BELIEVE that an evidence of the Ge’ulah (Redemption) and the Restoration of Isra’el is happening is that all believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the immersion in the Holy Spirit of God and fire, according to the command of our Anointed-Messiah Yeshua. This was the normal experience of all the early disciples of the Rebbe Yeshua. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry. REFERENCES: Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; I Corinthians 12:1-31.
WE BELIEVE this experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (inner transformation). REFERENCES: Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9.
WE BELIEVE with the immersion in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as:
— an overflowing fullness of the Spirit. REFERENCES: John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8.
— a deepened reverence for God. REFERENCES: Acts 2:43, Hebrews 12:28.
— an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work.
REFERENCE: Acts 2:42.
— and a more active love for Messiah, for His Word and for the lost.
REFERENCE: Mark 16:20.
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ABOUT THE INITIAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF THE IMMERSION IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.
WE BELIEVE the immersion of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues (aka, “the language of God”) as the Spirit of God gives them utterance. REFERENCE: Acts 2:4
WE BELIEVE the speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and use.
REFERENCES: 1 Corinthians 12:4-10; 1 Corinthians 12:28.
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ABOUT DIVINE HEALING.
WE BELIEVE Divine healing is an integral part of the good news of the Restoration of Isra’el. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the fulfillment of God’s oath to Abraham through the death and resurrection of the Rebbe, Anointed-Messiah Yeshua and is the privilege of all believers.
REFERENCES: Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:14-16.
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ABOUT THE SECOND COMING & THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM
WE BELIEVE the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Messiah and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the Second Coming of the Lord is the promise that the true, faithful believer who is keeping the commandments of God and their faith in Yeshua will not miss the Messianic Kingdom, where he will rule and reign on throne of David his ancestor over Isra’el and the nations for a thousand years of peace.
REFERENCES: 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51,52; Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 24:27, 30; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 19:11-14; Revelation 20:1-6; Psalms 2: 1-12; Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalms 72:3-8; and Micah 4:3-4.
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ABOUT THE FINAL JUDGMENT.
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
REFERENCES: Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8.
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ABOUT THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH.
“We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.” REFERENCES: Isaiah 66: 22-24; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21-22
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