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    38
    DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEW COVENANT AND ORTHODOX EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY

    10 Key Doctrines Examined
    Revised 2018 Edition

    There are not as many differences between New Covenant and orthodox Evangelical theology as some people try to make out. If you look through our book of revelations, the Olive Branch, and read some of the footnote commentaries, you will discover that in most areas of doctrine we are united with the broad sweep of evangelical teachings, especially (and most importantly) in the doctrine of the Person of Christ. We are agreed with all Christians in the Apostles' Creed and in the steps that lead to a personal relationship with the Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Lord Jesus Christ). Thereafter, like all the denominations, we start disagreeing in some things.

    Here is my own personal list, compiled as a result of years' of dialogue with representatives of different evangelical traditions. Other items could have been added and may well be in the years to come, such as our belief in the true nature of hell or Sheol and the three post-resurrection glories to which is coupled the ultimate fate of the wicked and those who do not trust in the Messiah during the days of their mortal probation on earth who must suffer corrective punishment, but that would require an article twice the length of this one.

    LIST OF CONTENTS

    • 1. The pre-Existence
    • 2. Eternal Marriage
    • 3. The Holy Spirit
    • 4. The Godhead
    • 5. The Person of Messiah
    • 6. An Open Canon
    • 7. Modern-Day Apostolic Ministry abd Church Organisation
    • 8. Progressive Salvation and Sanctification
    • 9. Monogamy and Polygamy
    • 10. Observing the Seventh-Day Sabbath and Festivals of Yahweh


    1. The Pre-Existence.

    Evangelical Christianity teaches that only the Father and Messiah (the Davar/Word) have pre-existed this world and creation. New Covenant theology teaches that everyone pre-existed this world as spirit beings which are being incarnated one by one to live but one life here. (This means that we reject the doctrine of multiple physical rebirths, or reincarnation). Evangelical Christians, for the most part, say that we are created de novo both as spirits as well as physical beings at the point of conception. Thus the circumstances we find ourselves in have nothing to do with any pre-mortal condition but are entirely the result of Elohim's (God's) will in helping us work out our salvation. Obviously the two viewpoints necessarily mean that we view life's purpose a little bit differently. Whilst we both agree that we are down here to work out our salvation (Phil.2:12), Messianic Evangelicals maintain that we have been doing it for a lot longer. For us there are three stages in growth and progression: the pre-mortal life, this life, and the æons beyond (eternity).

    For orthodox evangelicals there are only two. I don't think the difference really affects too much how we live our Christianity down here on earth; where it does make a difference is in helping us to understand why we find ourselves in our present circumstances. Even so, adherants of the pre-existence doctrine cannot answer all the why's and wherefores, and indeed probably can't explain very much more than those who believe in de novo creation here.

    Very few revelations say much about the pre-existence and even fewer remind us about what life was like in the pre-mortal worlds. I have only ever seen the pre-existence two or three times in vision and about the only thing I know about it was that there we made covenants with our prospective husbands and wives to seek them and marry them on earth (which is why, I suppose, we are are strongly 'attracted' to them sometimes), that we had great learning and knowledge (which we believe accounts for many of the 'unexplainable' talents that we are born with -- we don't believe you can explain a Mozart by genes alone), and that it was a place of great innocence and child-like purity.

    2. Eternal Marriage.

    Coupled very much to the Messianic Evangelical belief about pre-existence is its teaching about eternal marriage. Not unsurprisingly most evangelicals do not believe in marriage after death, which they base on a single incident of Yah'shua (Jesus) with the Saducees. Messianic Evangelicals interpret this passage a little differently, maintaining that earth-type marriages do indeed come to an end at death (since they had a beginning with the marriage vows) but that heavenly ones (that began in the pre-existence) will continue in the eternities after this earth life is over. We believe that whatever Elohim (God) has joined together cannot be separated, neither do we believe that the sacred love ahavah (between) husband and wife will be rudely broken at the resurrection or in the spirit world where we wait for it. What we do believe is that those marriages which are not in Messiah will come to an end because without Messiah there is nothing of the eternal. And since the resurrection is the realm of the eternal, only that which is eternal will exist.

    Many evangelicals would say that our marriage to Christ will be so intense, and He will be so utterly our focus, that there will either be no room for human marriages or they will simply be swallowed up in our adoration of Him. To us this smacks a little bit of Hinduism. Messiah does not demand that our worship and adoration of Him should diminish our inter-personal love and marriage relationships; our worship of Him means simply that we set Him up as the highest and most important by a long stretch. Our love must always be greatest for Him. In the same way, a child loving his father or mother is not suddenly supposed to lessen his love for his siblings.

    We believe that all pure and noble relationships will be enhanced in the resurrection, and that includes marital love. Otherwise one is saying that Elohim (God) has established a relationship, which He pronounced as being "good" in Genesis, as being something 'not good enough' in the resurrection. If one views marriage as having the sole purpose of procreation then there might perphaps be a case for the orthodox position, in our view. But we do not believe that procreation was the only purpose (nor that it necessarily ends after death -- this is not a doctrine that we take a definite stand on, though). Marriage was, first and foremost, given for intimate companionship. As such, then, a special unique relationship can exist which cannot in natural same-sex affections (I am not speaking here of homosexuality). Brotherly love can be fantastically deep, as we know, and as David testified in speaking of his friendship with Jonathan, but it is definitely not the same as a marriage relationship. There is an entirely different interraction which alone can make a man or woman whole. The fact that men have an unconscious female anima indicates strongly that there is a real need for this union (as also of the woman who has a male animus). Those who have been married and have become widows or widowers know of the great loneliness that can ensure even though they may have fantastically deep spiritual relationships with others in the faith. There is something within them that keep that marriage alive and which will continue into the next life, I firmly believe, even after the ecstacy of coming into union with Messiah. We were created for companionship -- even Adam, who had everything he supposedly needed in Eden -- a type of heaven, incidentally -- was not complete. Yahweh Himself said that it was not good that he was alone. Why didn't He give him male companions? Because He must have known that they would not have satisfied that deepest inner yearning which a man has for intimate companionship, quite apart from the fact that he would not have been able to multiply and refill the earth.

    There are many other reasons why we believe in eternal marriage but these are probably the main ones.

    3. The Holy Spirit.

    The Ruach haQodesh or Holy Spirit is, according to orthodox evangelical teaching, the third member of the Elohimhead or Godhead and is a male Person of Spirit, co-equal with the Father and the Son (see the Trinity doctrine below).

    In Messianic Evangelical teaching, this is both an over-simplistic view of the identity of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) as well as going beyond what the Bible actually teaches. Our position is based on a number of observations in Scripture:

    Firstly, the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) exhibits both personal as well as impersonal characteristics in such a way that it is sometimes difficult to categorise as either a 'person' or simply an 'influence'. Moreover, when associated with Elohim (God) the Father or Elohim (God) the Son, the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) demonstrates male characteristics, but when viewed alone unquestionably shows female or motherly characteristics. When acting impersonally, the Ruach (Spirit) assumes neutral characteristics. As a person, the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) is closely associated with the Hebrew Shekinah, a female term indicating 'Elohim's (God's) presence', with the Hebrew Hochmah and Greek Sophia, "wisdom" which, in the Scriptures, often takes on a very personal form which many believe to be more than allegorical. Accordingly the Eastern Orthodox Church maintains sometimes that the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) is a female Personage. And the ancient Hebrews looked upon her as the 'consort of Yahweh'. As far as Hebrew grammar is concerned, the Spirit is always female. The confusion over gender comes as a result of Greek translations where the Ruach (Spirit) - or pneuma in Greek - is, in fact, a neutral word ('It'). So why in English Bibles is the Ruach (Spirit) referred to as 'He'? Because when Ruach ('She') or Pneuma ('It') is translated into Latin, the word Spiritus is used (from whence we obtain the English word 'Spirit') which is grammatically male. This is why in nearly every English translation the Ruach (Spirit) is rendered as 'He'...because of the Latin (Roman) gender.

    Whilst in various places in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament) we see the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) acting like a Person in setting men apart in spiritual callings, we also see 'It' conferred as though 'It' were a mere force or "breath" -- Yah'shua (Jesus) imparted the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) to His apostles by BREATHING on them (Jn.20:22). So unless the Person of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) actually lived in Him and could pass through His mouth, we must either assume that the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) here is His own personal "Spirit", or invisible life-force, or this was simply a symbolic transfer indicating how the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) would later be given the talmidim (disciples) - invisibly and without human aids, as happened on the first Messianic Shavu'ot (Weeks) or 'Pentecost' which Yah'shua (Jesus) had prophesied using this very metaphor (Jn.3:8).

    We are also reminded in this incident of the time when Yahweh "breathed" into Adam's inanimate body, thus bequeathing it chayim (life). This can only be seen, in this context, as an impersonal force.

    The Bible, moreover, uses the terms "Holy Spirit", "Spirit of Elohim (God)", and "Spirit of Messiah (Christ)" interchangeably, which can somewhat add to the confusion to those not familiar with the way the Hebrew language works. These observations lead Messianic Evangelicals to tread cautiously. If one adopts the Person theory, scriptures on 'Its' impersonality have to be ignored, and vice versa.

    Our view is therefore that the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) is both a female Person - the third member of the Elohimhead (Godhead) (see below) and our Heavenly Mother - as well as the collective, shared Ruach (Spirit) or Presence of the whole Elohimhead (Godhead) which may be seen in terms of the personalities of the Father or Son, and at times as an impersonal force. The use of 'It' in this case is not inappropriate, or 'He' when referring to the Headship of the Father. Whereas in the past we took a neutral position on the Ruach's (Spirit's) gender, using the designation 'It' (and sometimes still do when speaking with other believers who may not be ready to receive this truth and might be offended), we have, when referring to the Person of the Ruach (Spirit) opted to use the reference 'Her' or 'She', as is indeed the usage in the Aramaic Peshitta.

    4. The Godhead.

    Because we take the position on the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) described above it follows that we are not necessarily classical Trinitarians. We do not say that the Trinity doctrine is necessarily an unbiblical formulation but that it goes far beyond what the Bible actually teaches. Evangelical Christianity has invested an authority in this dogma which we find unwarranted. Worse, it is used by them as a test of true Christian faith. One is, in their eyes, virtually (if not worse than) a heretic if one does not agree to it, reminding us of the spirit of inquisition that marked the apostate Catholic Church of the Middle Ages and the spirit of intolerance that caused the needless suffering and death of so many. In short, the Trinity doctrine often rides an ugly spirit which has nothing to do with the Besorah (Gospel) of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

    We have no objections to the Trinity doctrines as an exercise in speculative theology but to make it a test of faith we object to strongly. It had no part of the Messianic Community (New Testament Church) who happily got by without it, or the Community (Church) of the Sub-Apostolic Fathers; if Christianity could do perfectly well without it in its first centuries then obviously we can today too. That the Christians of the third century onwards felt a need for a concise statement to preclude heresy is understandable but its results were, in our view, even more disasterous than the dissention and schisms that took place in early Christian history because people were not agreed. Trinitarianism, alas, is too closely connected with the politicised version of Christianity that supplanted the genuine Ruach/Spirit-directed original which it replaced, plunging Europe into the Dark Ages of oppression and spiritual darkness.

    Sadly, Trinitarians in many quarters still shun and persecute those who do not espouse their doctrine which is ironic in as much as it breaks the sacred Sola Scriptura /Scripture Alone) rule of the Reformation by adding human-made creeds. This aggressive and fellowship-breaking attitude is not the Spirit of Messiah, but the spirit of another who seeks to enslave through dogmatic propositionalism and those who inisist on the theological conclusions of Catholic councils are in a way admitting that the first believers were deficient for not possessing those creeds. For the first believers it was sufficient to know that Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) was Elohim (God) and that should be the test of real Christian/Messianic emunah (faith). We can, and should, charitably agree to disagree on the details.

    Messianic Evangelicals approach the Godhead question on two levels. Firstly, we believe in a minimum doctrine which we call "Proto-Trinitariansism" which is basically 'simple Trinitarianism', the belief and understanding of the first believers that Yah'shua (Jesus) was Elohim (God). For us, that is sufficient to have fellowship with other believers (including Trinitarians) even if that fellowship is not always reciprocated. We do, however, have a much deeper formulation which is based on the understanding that the Person of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) is female, our Heavenly Mother and sevenfold. This we call the Echad Doctrine which is the result of two decades of intensive and careful exegesis on the subject. Also see the Patriarchinity series.

    I know that many in the openly anti-Trinitarian camp (particularly a number of Messianics) find this unsatisfactory and may even feel that we are 'selling out' when we are simply being cautious and undogmatic about so great, sacred and mysterious a subject. The great (justified) fear of Trinitarians is that other Elohimhead (Godhead) formulations rob Christ of His Deity. Ours does not. We maintain that Messiah is Yahweh, the great I AM, even as the Father is Yahweh - respectively, the 'Lesser' and 'Greater' Yahweh doctrine. Therefore they need not fear on this score. We do insist, however, that He is not fully co-equal, even though Elohim (God) the Father has declared Him to be so from a jurisdictional point-of-view for this particular æon or age and the Millennial one that follows. Therefore Messiah remains eternally subject to the Father as is demonstrated by the statement that He will return all power and authority to the Father at a point in time (1 Cor.15:24-28), underlining completely His position of submission. And yet He is acknowledged as the Eternal Father in Isaiah and elsewhere as the Eternal Elohim (God) and this by virtue of His being perfectly echad or one with the Father as explained in the Great High Priestly Prayer of John 17.

    Trinitarianism has tried to resolve this apparent paradox in its Elohim (Godhead) doctrine, a legitimate exercise, and one that has evidently served an historical purpose, yet it does not take all the scriptural postulations and factual statements into account. In our view there is not enough data to come to a dogmatic statement on the Elohimhead (Godhead) and we did not wish to artificially crystalise one that will quench the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and inhibit free enquiry. That is why we have the two approaches described. To know that Yah'shua (Jesus) is Elohim (God) is, in any case, all we need to know (and confess) for our salvation, as the first talmidim (disciples) did. The ultimate reality of the Elohimhead (Godhead) may, in any case, be far beyond our grasp. We must learn to be satisfied with what we know and not go racing ahead. We feel Trinitarianism goes beyond the mark of revealed scripture, creating an unnecessary dogma that historically has proven itself an excuse for persecution. Other studies, indicating that it may be linked to the Babylonian mystery religion serve only to raise a number of red flags that should not be ignored. That it remains the official Elohimhead (Godhead) doctrine of Churches that have a terrible spiritual track record is also disconcerting though this in and of itself does not necessarily negate its validity. People with correct doctrine can still do terrible things, and vice versa.

    Yah'shua (Jesus) obviously did not feel it necessary to say any more than He did. In answering Philip's request to be shown the Father, He evidently felt it was enough to tell the puzzled apostle that He was looking at the Father in the person of Messiah, by virtue of their being Echad or One (Jn.4:8ff). He refused to say any more, so why should we demand Christians accept any more to have fellowship with them? If we kept things that simple we could avoid unnecessary quarreling and heated debate. Finally, then, the cry of 'heretic' might die down. But sometimes I wonder if people are more interested in defending a tradition than the biblical revelation, let alone trying to preserve unity.

    5. The Person of Messiah.

    I admit this is a complicated one too. Here, though, Messianic Evangelical ideas are much clearer and unapologetic. Part of the Trinity formulation insists that Messiah is "fully man and fully God" and it goes on to talk about various "substances" that are shared by members of the Elohimhead (Godhead).

    We teach that Messiah is "fully Elohim (God) and fully man" too but don't quite see it the same way as all Trinitarians (there are different ways of looking at Trinitarianism, incidentally). A 'man' is his spirit and body which together constitute what is called a "soul" (only one passage in the Bible seems to give another interpretation, but this is more hyperbolic). Like evangelicals, we believe that the spirit (what orthodox believers call 'soul') is immortal, not of itself, but because of Elohim (God). That is to say, it cannot exist in an immortal condition apart from Elohim (God). We reject the teaching espoused by Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians, Seventh-Day Adventists, and the original Wordwide Church of God (and spin-offs like the United Church of God) who teach that the spirit of man is merely Elohim's (God's) impersonal breath that returns to Him at death - see the section above on Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). We believe that there are TWO 'spirits' (or spiritual aspects) in man -- his own (his personality) and Elohim's (God's) (which gives him life). Obviously such a doctrine is connected in some way with our belief in a pre-mortal spiritual existence (see above).

    I have never been entirely clear what Trinitarians mean when they say Christ is "fully man and fully God" but the impression I get is that they view His physical body as throughly intertwined with spirit, and vice versa, as if put into a kind of 'cosmic blender'. Various extra-biblical speculative theories have been advanced by them over the centuries to explain this further.

    If this is their meaning (and I have read several theories from Trinitarians) then we do not agree. We believe that as to His body ('flesh') He was fully human but as to His Ruach (Spirit) He was fully Divine. Thus the Ruach (Spirit) of the eternal Elohim (God) (Yahweh) somehow entered the mortal body of the offspring of Mary to become the 'God-Man', much as we, as pre-mortal spirits, enter the body of living flesh 'created' by the union of our parents. Ours is essentially a 'hand-in-glove' doctrine - the spirit enters the body much as a person puts his hand into a glove.

    This is, of course, over-simplistic because the body has a far more intimate conection with the spirit than a hand-in-a-glove does. The spirit inter-penetrates every cell, co-existing in the same space-time continuum with it. Thus, to all intents and purposes, there is a single spirit-body entity even though they are also 'separate'. However, the one is mortal and the other is not, and when the body is killed or dies, the spirit (Yahweh's invisible ruach plus the persinality which is an individual) departs from it and continues to live in a non-physical, though parallel, dimension. (Some believe - the soul-sleepers - that this 'spirit' is absorbed by Yahweh and the 'person' ceases to exist, save in Yahweh's memory, and is recreated later).

    Our doctrine has sometimes been likened to Nestorianism. Perhaps it is, in one or two aspects (but certainly not in others) but it is one we believe is consistent with Scripture. It in no way lessens the atonement because in virtue of the close intimacy of spirit and flesh, atonement is effective on both spiritual and physical planes.

    Opponents of this doctrine would argue that the Bible -- and particularly the Tanakh (Old Testament) -- make no such spirit-body distinctions. And they would be partly right provided one understands that the Tanakh (Old Testament) did not have a developed theology of spirit or life-after-death. It took the New Testament revelation to add depth and insight into this topic. As you will find discussed in the footnote concordance of the Olive Branch, the ancients perceived of death as little more than the 'grave', a metaphor for what lay beyond our physical ken, and theirs in particular, though there was a resurrection hope from the earliest times (Job 19:26). Jehovah's Witnesses and others have simply focused on these passages and chosen to ignore the greater light of the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament), creating variations on a similar theme that has more in common with primitive Hebrew thought than the revelation of the apostles.

    For the Messianic Evangelical, Yah'shua (Jesus) is the Elohim/God-Man -- Elohim (God) in His Spirit and Man in his flesh. The latter was obtained from the Virgin Mary and the genes manipulated by the Ruach (Spirit) to:

    • (a) Ensure the flesh was male; and
    • (b) Make the flesh free of defections and deformity.

    Had there been any defections or deformities, which we don't know -- we only know that Mary was "pure" as Noah had been (that is to say, free of nephilim genes) -- there could not have been a perfect sacrifice according to the requirements of the Mosaic Torah (Law). By virtue of the fact that the Ruach (Spirit) of Messiah (Christ) was in this flesh (as our spirits are in the flesh of our parents), so He was fully Elohim (God) and fully Man.

    Another theory views Yah'shua's (Jesus') flesh as being of entirely supernatural origin and whilst there is much merit in this position it is not, in our view, bourne out by all Scripture.

    Though our teaching is perhaps a little different from classical Trinitarianism, the consequences are the same as far as the atonement is concerned -- the atonement of Messiah was eternal affecting both the physical and spiritual world.

    There are other important reasons why we believe this doctrine to be important and that concerns a rather touchy issue as to whether Yah'shua (Jesus) was - or could have been - married or not, and whether He had any offspring.

    If the classical Trinitarian interpretations as to His deity are correct, namely, that He was divine in both spirit and the flesh, then obviously any progeny would be partly divine. It may well be for this reason that 'orthodoxy' has insisted that Yah'shua (Jesus) must have been unmarried, to preclude demi-gods being sired, an obvious impossibility and smacking of the malak (angel) rebellion that led to the siring of bizzare gigantic beings (nephilim) with human women.

    (There are other reasons 'orthodoxy' will not admit to the possibility of Jesus being married, and that is that they are influenced by gnostic ideas that sex and marriage are somehow 'evil' or 'bad' (in stark contrast to traditional Jewish teaching) and that someone as pure and holy as the Son of Man could not, therefore, ever be seen to participate in such a 'dirty' thing. This idea Messianic Evangelicals reject as being totally anti-biblical and, as far as the Protestant world is concerned, an unfortunate left-over of Catholicism which exalts the unmarried state as the highest ideal, following a misunderstanding of the apostle Paul's advice not to engage in marriage during times of intense persecution where the raising of families would be nigh impossible. But that is another matter).

    But for Messianic Evangelical views of the Person of Messiah no such difficulties exist in Him being married and fathering children because the children would not have inherited His divine Ruach (Spirit) but only His mortal flesh. Thus any children of Messiah would incarnate into mortal flesh (from Yah'shua/Jesus viâ Mary) and from Yah'shua's (Jesus') (speculative) wife, and their own spirits from the pre-existence. Thus the NCAY doctrine of Messiah precludes the possibilitiy of the creation of a super-race of supernaturally-endowed demi-gods.

    There are numerous traditions which suggest that Yah'shua (Jesus) was married but as there is no direct evidence from the Bible that He was (or, for that matter, any evidence that He was not), we leave the matter as speculative. However, we wish to point out that our teaching of the person of Messiah does allow for the possibility of His being a husband and a father. Why is that important for us? Because had He not entered this very human of estates, how could He have been tempted in every point just as we are, yet without sinning? Just as an unmarried Catholic priest cannot possible understand or counsel in the practical affairs of marriage, how could the mortal Messiah relate to humans whilst being entirely separated from this fundamental human institution? (Heb.4:15)

    6. An Open Canon.

    There are not many churches these days which acknowledge an open Canon of Scripture and those which do (like the Mormons and Christian Scientists) teach a doctrine so at variance with Biblical Christianity that we shall say that Messianic Evangelicals are amongst the very few Bible-believing (as well as Bible-implementing) people who acknowledge the possibility of an open canon. There are a number of Messianic groups who have added various apocryphal and pseudepigraphic books to the main canon, something we would never dare to do.

    Our claim to continuing to be Bible-believing Christians/Messianics, in spite of believing in an open canon, lies chiefly in the fact that we regard the Protetsant Bible as primary canon and everything else that can claim to be inspired as secondary. We also insist that any secondary scriptures harmonises, or be legitimate expansions of, the emet (truth) already found in the Bible. In this alone we distance ourselves completely from Mormons and others who

    • (a) Claim that other scriptures have equality with the Bible (and sometimes greater -- the Mormons place the 'Book of Mormon' higher than the Bible); and
    • (b) Teach doctrines which are completely disjunctive with the Bible, contradicting its teachings in important areas of revealed emet (truth) (such as the Elohimhead/Godhead -- Mormons maintain there are three Gods in the face of the Shema which teaches that there is only one, and that we "are saved by grace after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23), a pernicious heresy perverting the simple message of the Gospel).

    Not suprisingly, opponents of this work are keen to associate us with Mormon claims and, in so doing, effectively categorise us with what they call the "cults". But we do not belong to such a category by virtue of our position on the Bible. We acknowledge Yahweh's providential hand in providing us with the Bible, on the one hand, but deny that this is all of Elohim's (God's) revealed Word to mankind. And we make this denial on the sole basis that nowhere in the Bible books do we find any hint or reference to or prophecy of a 'Bible' coming into existence as a sole, self-contained Davar Elohim (Word of God). Scriptures typically cited by those who insist that the Protestant Bible is Elohim's (God's) final word either quote those referring to the Tanakh (Old Testament) or to a particular book (Rev.22:18-19). The mitzvah (commandment) is not to add to or subtract from any revelation already given by Yahweh through the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit).

    Those who defend such a doctrine are forced to stretch scriptural passages far beyond their original meaning and, in so doing, adopt tactics similar to the 'cults' which they so vehemently oppose for doing the very same thing. And one of the most abused passages, to be found in the concluding remarks by the Apostle John about "not adding or taking away" from the Word, is a reference not to any Bible (which did not even exist when this revelation was written) but solely to the prophecy he was penning at the time. Interestingly, though the Book of Revelation appears at the end of the Bible, it was not the last biblical book to be written -- the epistles of John are known to be of a much later provenance.

    Thus Messianic Evangelicals come with a doctrine of canonicity which, whilst respecting the Bible canon as such, and upholding it as primary canon, challenges directly the unbiblical tradition that the Bible is all of the Davar Elohim (God's Word), and that no more will ever be added.

    The more enlightened evangelicals -- and there are many -- acknowledge that Elohim (God) could add more Davar (Word) if He wanted to but wonder how this could ever be agreed upon by Christendom at large. And they are right to a certain extent. There never would be universal agreement. There is already disagreement between Protestants, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, and other traditions over the canon, and they are unlikely ever to agree. What binds Protestant Churches together, in all their diversity, is essentially two things -- the Bible Canon and the Trinity Doctrine. And within Protestantism there are the Evangelicals who maintain the same prospositions. These alone would make us non-Protestants, since we do not belong to the same historical or theological tradition.

    If we are into defining Christian churches according to doctrinal propositions then people will have a hard time defining the New Covenant Assemblies of Yahweh. People have tried to slot us into various categories. The truth is we are a category on our own whilst at the same time sharing the same Bible as Protestantism and the same Apostles' Creed as the whole of Christendom. Perhaps, in the light of this, categorisation is not a very helpful activity.

    Whilst Messianic Evangelicals acknowledge that some or all their secondary scriptures may one day become primary, they do not anticipate this happening for a very long time and certainly not before the Millennium and Messiah's return. We are content to let Messiah decide that when He comes back. If it took the first Christians/Messianics three centuries to agree on a Bible canon then it is not unreasonable that a similar length of time would be required with any other writings purporting to be scripture. But as such an action would only serve to alienate us from the wider Body of Messiah it is not something that we are likely to consider as it would work against fruitful inter-denominational relations. Thus we are not intent on persuading other believers to accept anything more that the Protestant Canon and are more than willing to lay aside our secondary canon if needs be. We happily limit ourselves to the Protestant Canon for the sake of unity.

    7. Modern-Day Apostolic Ministry and Church Organisation.

    Messianic Evangelicals believe in the same congregational and eccelsiastical structure generally that obtained in Yah'shua's (Jesus') and the apostles' days, allowing too for the evolution of structures which meet the needs of every generation. Though increasing numbers of Evangelical Christian groups (particularly in the 'Faith Movement') are acknowleding the need for modern apostolic and prophetic ministry, and send out leadership with these particular 'calls', none is organised quite the same way as the original Messianic Israel or 'New Testament Church'.

    Part of the problem with the Protestant paradigm is that it is, at heart, anti-structural and anti-organisational, being a reaction or protest against Catholicism. Though it must, and does, admit to some sort of structure and organisation, it shies away from going the whole hog because if any one denomination were to organise fully, with 12 apostles, it would be tantamount to denying that all the denominations -- or at least all those who are truly born again within those denominations -- formed a single Body of Messiah or Universal Church. I suppose that is what they would conclude. Thus these ministries, in order to defend their church paradigm, must be 'shared' out so that if one denomination wants/has an unspecified number of 'apostles', it can, so long as others are given the freedom to have the same. (They would, of course, disagree amongst themselves according to their various traditions). Thus in practice, there are considerably more than 12 men (not to mention women) serving under a claimed 'apostolic mantle' (they would not dare call themselves apostles like the New Testament ones, and rightly so).

    It is quite confusing, really. And though Messianic Evangelicals recognise that Yahweh is working in this muddled huddle of denominations, to the extent that they let Him, and are willing to cooperate with them, at least as far as making simple converts to Messiah is concerned, we are unable to support what we regard as an essentially unbiblical approach to 'church' structures with 'boards', 'synods', 'Elders Conferences', etc., etc.. Various theological devices are used in support of the Protestant organisational systems such as (typically) the notion that the structure that is to be found in the New Testament was simply to 'get the Church established and on its feet' (a similar argument is applied by Baptists and others for denying the spiritual gifts of prophecy, talking in tongues, etc.) or that the 'Church' can be expressed in different ways in different cultures...which of course is true if you believe in religious syncretism.

    Part of the problem that needs addressing here is what exactly the Master wanted with the first believers and what actually happened historically. This is a controversial subject, into the fray of which Messianic Evangelicals have eagerly jumped at the risk of being severely burned by hostile adherants of a very old tradition.

    NCAY teaches that the Messianic Community or 'Church of God' is Israel -- the theocratic nation. Not so much a 'New Israel' (though it is that too) replacing the old nation of Israel, but a fragmented part of Israel - specifically, Messianic Israel. Most modern churches (including those which have traditions going back to earliest times) have espoused an anti-biblical teaching called 'Replacement Theology' which in essence says that the 'Church' has replaced the nation of Israel as Elohim's (God's) covenant people. The Bible, by contrast, declares that those who receive Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) as Master (Lord) and Deliverer (Saviour) are adopted into the nation of Israel. This adoption has been going on for the last 2,000 years. Paul in Romans explains this by likening Christ to a vine tree and Israel to its branches. Those false Judahites ('Jews'), represented as natural branches, who reject the Messiah are cut off and gentiles (non-Hebrews) who accept Messiah (being unnatural branches) are grafted on. Thus the true Messianic Community (Church of God) is the vine of Israel onto which gentile converts have been grafted as adopted sons and daughters of Abraham.

    To be grafted into Israel means to accept the New Covenant or Messianic Israelite Theocracy. The trouble is Israel as a nation ceased to exist after the first century and so theologians invented a false doctrine transferring theocratic rule to Rome (or Constantinople, or elsewhere, depending on your tradition). Thus Rome became a kind of gentile 'Jerusalem' and 'Israel', albeit a false one. This is the basis of the Roman Catholic claim. They, and most other Christians, therefore see the promises made earlier in the Tanakh (Old Testament) to Israel as belonging excluively to this Gentile Church. They don't. Elohim (God) has not cast away Israel - Israel is those who accept Messiah and obey the mitzvot (commandments) of Torah, which Torah is the 'Constitution' and 'Laws' of the Kingdom over which Yah'shua (Jesus) is Messianic King. The promises hold fast and do not belong to 'gentile Christians' any more than they do to those who espouse Judaism today. They do, however, belong to Christians who are grafted into Israel.

    What does this, in practice, mean? Firstly, on the national level, it means that the only true Israel is in the Holy Land -- the land presently occupied by the modern Republic of Israel. Christians and Messianic Jews do not possess that and probably won't until the Millennium - it's a secratian state run by the Illuminist Rothschild family. It is occupied by many kinds of people:

    • (a) Non-Christian/Messianic descendants of Jacob who have a conditional right to be there so long as they accept Messiah by the time the Millennium starts -- if they don't, they will have no residential rights;
    • (b) Non-Christians/Messianics, secular descendants of Jacob, who are also given the opportunity to repent;
    • (c) Converts to Judaism who have no Hebrew genealogical line -- they have no right to be there (e.g. the descendants of the Khazars);
    • (d) Messianic Jews who automatically have a right to be there, so long as they embrace the fullness when Messiah comes;
    • (e) Christians, whether Arab, Druze, Samaritan, or other, who have the conditional right to be there so long as they accept the fullness of the Israelite Gospel by the time Messiah returns;
    • (f) Those from other religions like Islam who have no right to be there unless they repent and accept Messiah; and
    • (g) The descendants of Ishmael (Arabs), who have certain rights within Israel so long as they forsake Islam; those who war against Messiah have no rights to be there.

    This is an over-simplification, to be sure (though it looks complex)! The fact of the matter is that there is a mixture of unbelievers and believers, unconverted Jews and converted Jews, Semites and gentiles. The tares are fully mixed in with the wheat and will be separated, quite violently, I'm afraid, at the end of the dispensation.

    The Republic of Israel is not, then, a true Christian Israelite theocracy. It's not even strictly-speaking 'Israel'. Far from it. But it will come there. Thus there is no completely true Christian Church or Messianic Assembly on the face of the earth...yet. There is only a pot pourri of all kinds of Christian and Messianic traditions, organisations, teachings, etc.. In short, a mess. Yet, miraculously, and in spite of men, and because of grace (undeserved loving kindness), Elohim (God) is working. The whole porridge is being stirred up and Yahweh is creating something new. He is dividing the pot into two -- the old, who will not repent and reform but who insist on clinging to their traditions no matter what -- and a remnant who are desperately seeking for more light and emet (truth) and are willing to put tradition aside for the sake of that emet (truth).

    This remnant is still in a state of confusion itself. Though the light is breaking through to it, it still cannot clearly see the way. It is to this remnant that NCAY is addressing the Good News that the Master is organising spiritually and visibly.

    But it will take time -- the emet (truth) often takes a while to percolate through the layers and layers of false tradition acrued over centuries. Amongst this remant, groups will organise to varying degrees, seeking to be faithful to the Biblical revelation. They are all over the world and are coming out of every Christian, Messianic and semi-Christian tradition imaginable, reminding me of the first dazed Christians/Messianics after the death of Messiah waiting for a spiritual endowment -- aware of the hostility and corruption of the established sects of Judaism and not sure what to do. Many are going back to their 'worldly trades' to wait and see.

    The blueprint for the Messianic Community in the last days now exists in outline. It is called the Olive Branch. It contains not only spiritual truths but details on how the Remnant should organise as a theocracy. Since the Remnant cannot organise in Israel until Christ returns, Yahweh has decreed that tiny colonies should be organised within existing countries where theocratic rule -- Messianic Israelite rule -- can occur to the maximum possible extent. It is a fully apostolic Community (Church) and will, finally, have 12 apostles like the first apostles of old. Yahweh has already started calling those apostles both within the NCAY and outside in the disorganised remnant waiting to gather. In the end, they will gather to Chavurat Bekorot or Holy Order -- where they can see the Israelite theocracy -- Tsiyon (Zion) -- in action.

    This in-gathering of the remnant, which started in the 1980s, will take two to three generations at the most, and may possibly be accomplished within two. The final result will be twelve self-sustaining firstborn colonies where Tsiyon (Zion) is to be found and where Yahweh's Shekinah (presence/glory) is to be located. Each will be named after one of the 12 Tribes of Israel and will pass through the Great Tribulation unscathed, to then gather to the Promised Land where Messiah will rule as King. These 12 colonies will then receive tribal lands, possibly along the lines described by the navi (prophet) Ezekiel. They will contain Messianic Israelites from all the tribes plus gentile converts who will be adopted by ingrafting into the tribes. These will be the true Israel and therefore the true Messianic Community ('Church').

    Such a view is, of course, radically different from a major segment of Evangelical Protestantism which has invented the biggest non-biblical cop-out doctrine ever -- the "rapture" of the Church (all true Christians suddenly, without warning, being 'whisked into heaven' before the Great Tribulation), thus removing the unpleasant (for them) task of acknowledging any responsbility other than to make 'personal Christians'. It will never happen. We are all going through the Tribulation, good and bad Christians and Messianics alike -- but only those who gather will escape the Anti-Messiah's (Antichrist's) pogroms. And, sadly, it won't be many.

    Thus the organisation of NCAY (and its parent, the Chavurat Bekorot) is both spiritual as well as practical in the sense that it will create an alternative culture. Removal from the world culture will take place in stages:

    • 1. By the creation of local congregations in the world called 'Branches';
    • 2. Removal to proto-firstborn colonies where the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) learn to live cooperatively together; and
    • 3. The twelve final Firstborn Colonies or Communities where Israelite theocratic government rules absolutely for seven years during the great Persecution (tribulation) before transfering to the land of Israel itself at the end of the Second Exodus which started in 2014 with the Mishpatim-Yahweh (Judgments of Yahweh) and was followed by the Great 2015 Dedication.

    There is nothing like this anywhere in Christendom though Satan has raised up some pretty diabolical counterfeits like the Branch Davidians and some milder versions like the Mormons' Deseret. None have succeeded. A few evangelical Christians are gathering, especially Patriarchal Christians who have been persecuted by the main-line churches, and we view this as a positive movement. We will see more of this anon.

    8. Progressive Salvation and Sanctification.

    Evangelical Christians are somewhat divided over the issue of what it is to be saved. Some (the more radical) say that they are saved instantly they make a declaration of faith in Christ as Saviour through mouth-confession, are completely sanctified (made qadosh/holy), and are instantaeousnly sinless. The evidence of their lives proves the opposite. They, like a great number of evangelicals, confuse jurisdictional salvation (that which is 'legal' - 'forensic salvation') with the process of salvation called sanctification. Indeed, the Bible speaks of many different types of salvation or deliverance (such as deliverance from demons), some of which are instantaneous and others of which are gradual, requiring a whole life-time of active discipleship.

    Messianic Evangelicals believe that they are jurisdictionally (forensically) saved as soon as they start - and continue - trusting in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) as Deliverer (Saviour) and Master (Lord, leader) much as a criminal is released from prison having received a pardon, irrespective of whether he was worthy or not. As sinners we are not worthy of Elohim's (God's) pardon (forgiveness) for sin and we receive this free gift the moment we are exercising true emunah (faith) in the Master and claim His covering blood. Many evangelicals maintain that once you have obtained this forgiveness you are forever protected by the blood, no matter whether you apostatise or not (the heretical 'Once Saved, Always Saved' doctrine). This we reject. A man may as easily leave the protective cover of Messiah's atoning blood as he entered under it. Thus a man may lose his salvation. But to do this he must completely apostatise -- we remain under that blood covering even if we continue sinning so long as we are sincerely repenting and not exploiting grace.

    Being jurisdictionally or forensically (as in a court of law) forgiven - justification (also see righteousness.html) - is not, however, to be sanctified. Sanctification -- the gradual inward transformation of our spirit by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) -- occurs only as long as we are true and faithful to the mitzvot (commandments) and are walking in holiness through Ruach/Spirit-empowerment. Though a man may be pardoned for a crime and released from prison this does not automatically make him guiltless within. He has still got to change his life, a reason so many ex-felons find it easier living in prison than adjusting to the responsibilites of life outside prison's walls. Similarly, Christians/Messianics who have received the free pardon of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) must work to purify themselves in Messiah (Jas.4:8; 1 Jn.3:3). They cannot do it in their own strength (no man can) and must rely on the cleansing and empowering of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit).

    We are thus enabled, by the Ruach Elohim (God's Spirit), to be obedient. This obedience beings with it an inner cleansing, making us purer and purer until we are perfect, like Messiah and Yahweh Himself, albeit on a human level (Mt.5:48; 19:21; Jn.17:23; Heb.11:40; Jas.1:4; Rev.3:2). (This is not the same as jurisdictional or forensic 'perfection'). Not until we are fully sanctified may we say that we are fully saved in both the jurisdictional and literal sense, a reason why Scripture speaks of salvation-past, -present, and -future. Yet even if we do not complete the race, we still belong to Messiah and to Heaven, and will receive the rewards there of our works, unless we repudiate Him whilst in the flesh.

    As I said, evangelicals look at the question of salvation, justification, righteousness and sanctification somewhat differently even amongst themselves, confusing the four. Part of the problem is discerning where emunah (faith) and works begin and end. We are saved by emunah (faith) because we cannot save ourselves by works - we are not aquitted in the Heavenly Court because of what we 'do' -- in that we are pure evangelical Christian. The evidence of a man's jurisdictional salvation is his works, assuming he is not incapacitated and cannot per force do them (like the saved thief on the cross).

    Most evangelicals say that our works are merely an expression of gratitude. We would agree that that is a huge part of it but we would add that these works also sanctify us, not in jurisdictional salvation, but in the inner process of transformation and deliverance (salvation) from the dominion of the flesh. The key is not working to be sanctified but working with sanctification working unconsciously in the background. It's a suble use of words and whilst we may appear to be saying different things sometimes, we are, in fact, saying the same thing. Are we saved by emunah (faith) or by works? In the first instance, emunah (faith); ultimately, both, because emunah is not passive, armchair belief, but active trusting that produces works. It is proactive (Jas.2:18).

    9. Monogamy and Polygamy.

    Now here's a hot cake! Ever since the Roman Code of Justinian outlawed polygamy in the sixth century AD, the officially state- and church-sanctioned form of marriage in the Western (Catholic and Protestant) and Eastern (Orthodox) Churches has been monogamy-only. Time, and Roman cultural biases, has erased the distant memory of European and Middle Eastern Christians living polygamy like their Hebrew forebears.

    Not any longer. If my research on the Internet is anything to go by, increasing numbers of evangelical Christians and Messianics, who have left the denominations and are trying to get back to Biblical Christianity, have entered polygamous marriages and found that they not only work but can be spiritual blessing for the men and women alike if lived properly.

    One of the characteristics of the Millennium is that Christians/Messianics, at least in Israel, will be living polygamously (Is.4:1), and posssibly this will affect the whole world (though the Bible speaks only of Tsiyon/Zion). Accordingly, we should not be surprised to learn that those of the remnant who are moved by the spirit of Tsiyon (Zion - not to be confused with Jewish and Christian Zionism) will be increasingly drawn to this principle, at least in small numbers in the early days.

    Whatever our cultural biases (and they are strong) those who claim to be of the Remnant must at least be theologically or mentally preparing for this principle, if not for themselves, then at least for others gathering who are called to it. In our view, few are ready for it and won't be until the Millennium. For this reason we discourage the practice of the lifestyle but encourage an intimate theological knowledge of it. It follows that those who belong to the Gentile churches will reject this principle out of hand as 'barbaric', as they always have done, despite their prolific sexual immorality.

    Therefore it would be true to say that whilst the majority of evangelical Protestants are vehemently opposed to polygamy, increasing numbers of them, who belong to the Remnant of Messianic Israel (Church), will embrace it as fully scriptural. I suspect that Christians' and Messianics' attitudes to this patriarchal principle, amongst others, will determine whether or not they are of the Remnant. For obviously someone opposed to the principle will not fit in culturally in the millennial Israel, and those who persecute those who live it will not receive the Master's approbation. They at least have the time before the Millennium to spiritually work it out!

    Messianic Evangelicals believe that celibacy, monogamy-and-polygamy (i.e. Biblical Marriage) are the only sexual or non-sexual biblical lifestyles approved by Elohim (God) for men and women, and that each must choose, non-compulsively, which they will live according to the leading of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). In the time before the Millennium, this is effectively celibacy or monogamy. As believers we are not to judge since all are biblically acceptable, and have been since the beginning of time. Whether the adherants of our gentile Christian and Jewish traditions accept or reject any of these is utterly irrelevant. In the meantime, we continue to encounter polygamous families in our evangelism in Africa and do our best to instruct and integrate them into the life of local congregational life withoutthe stigma that follows this lifestyle in traditional Christian churches.

    10. Observing the Seventh-Day Sabbath and Festivals of Yahweh

    A test of emunah (faith) and of our ahavah (love) of Yah'shua (Jesus) is whether or not we obey the mitzvot (commandments). These include the commandment to observe the Seventh-day Sabbath, the monthly New Moon, and the Seven Annual Festivals of Yahweh (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonements and Tabernacles) according to the biblical Creation (Luni-Solar) Calendar.

    The true Sabbath is rejected by almost all Evangelicals and those who do attempt to (like Seventh-Day Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists and Messianics), have been confused by the false Talmudic calendar system universally in use over the world and so observe Saturdays instead of Sundays. In their place, pagan traditions such as Christmas, Easter and other pagan practices have been introduced and adopted wholesale by Protestants as an ungodly inheritance from Catholicism.

    In respect of these observances, Messianic Evengalicals sympathise with Messianics (both Jewish and Israelite) and the Churches of God who at least recognise that something is wrong with the traditional orthodox churches. We ourselves went through the same phase as these groups continue to find themselves in but did not remain with the false traditions that spellbind them.

    Obedience to the mitzvot (commandments) means obedience to the true Torah, not the mutilated version created by Judaism and inherited by most Messianics. This means additionally following the Dietary or Kashrut Code established by the Creator for our health and well-being, following in the footsteps of the Rechabites (who in some respects prefigured the New Covenant) by abstaining from Alcohol and to in general persue Holiness as authentic, set-apart talmidim (disciples).


    What qualifies us to become members of Yahweh's House - His Kingdom - is in reality very simple indeed: it is belief in the incarnation, resurrection and atonement of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), the the uniquely begotten Son of Elohim (God), who alone can save us, who alone is the way to the Father, who alone will raise us from the dead at the last day, and who alone will ensure that we enjoy an ahavah (love), simcha (joy) and shalom (peace) which the secular and religious world can never give. And all of that is concisely stated in the Apostles' Creed.

    If you would like a concise summary and alternative version of this article, please see Lev's Hot Potatoes: Hard Truths for the Remnant. If you would like to talk to us about the questions raised here, please join an MLT online discussion group or get in contact. May Yahweh bless you in your searching.

    This page was created on 16 October 1997
    Last updated on 14 October 2018

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