No, this is not another article on the pronunciation of the Sacred Name. To the degree that is important, I believe enough people have covered that topic already…
In a brand new era under the Trump administration, the president has taken the unusual initiative of renaming certain geographical places. It is unusual because most administrations don’t usually engage in what many will say is non-sense. Why is this even important to do?
Good question. If a secular administration finds it important to rename things, as Believers, I believe it is more important and this is the perfect time to engage on this topic!
Why cause more contention?
“Why is he doing this? He will only cause more contention than there already is!”
This is true. But is the Conflict (an example of calling something what it is, mind you) with renaming things – or does the Conflict exist because some people named things wrongly long ago?? Mind you: anyone who knows my political philosophy will know that I don’t “take sides” with any party, including the President here, because I don’t believe Politics should be treated like Religion. Religion is about Right and Wrong; Politics is about Better or Worse and I am as Centrist as they come. Case-in-point right here: President Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Ok; but why?
Because we have as much coastal frontage to that ocean as Mexico does (maybe more), as the reasoning goes. But if we look at it from a hemispherical aspect, that ocean is not owned by anyone because We, mankind, have decided that no one “owns” the Oceans of the world! In that respect, both Canada and Venezuela have a right to that “gulf” as our two nations do. So why not call it the “Gulf of the Americas”, which is a tacit reference to North, Central and South America??
See what I mean? But who listens to me…
When Contention IS warranted
As I just stated above, I believe contention is warranted when it comes to religious matters, and not all religious matters as Paul warned in Romans 14:1 but just those of religious import.
One of those that I bring to the forefront is the language I hear many “Hebraic Roots” leaders and teachers using these days. It seems almost everyone has forgotten what their identity is. This is not terribly surprising to me since Messianic Jews have been tackling that issue ever since they were resurrected two generations ago but among those who are Messianic non-Jewish (and there are more of us on that side of the aisle), the non-Jewish Believers in Messiah Yeshua have forgotten what their “roots” are! I think “Hebrew Roots” Believers was/is a fine label for the gentiles in the Faith so long as we remember where that label and its foundation came from!
We are Messianics
This too is not too surprising to me or anyone who has been at minimal, 20 years in the faith. If you have become Messianic less than 20 years ago (roughly), it would behoove you to know what transpired in the first decade of the 21st century:
There used to be a time when Jews and gentiles would worship in the same House and even same Feast sites (for Sukkot). That has not occurred since around 2009 and perhaps a bit earlier because in that year, the Messianic Jewish alliances wrote a public paper by Kate Sieberling denouncing the entire Messianic Gentile body and their leaders as being anathema to the Faith because non-Jewish teachers were teaching three big errors. Only ONE of those three were legitimate (that we weren’t/aren’t the descendants of the northern House of Israel). The other two were wrong and they publicly condemned teachers you may listen to, to this day!
If that wasn’t bad enough, they finalized one of their pillars of their faith (think of catholic church councils here) to conclude that we/you Gentiles should not be keeping Torah because that was “their” covenant. And with that, they, like their unbelieving cousins, have been teaching the Dual Covenant Theology heresy ever since.[1]
Heresy is bad enough but to double-down on their evil doctrine, they started calling everyone who isn’t “Messianic Jewish” a “Christian”! Why? Because Gentiles aren’t to keep Torah!! And like the medieval catholics who suppressed the medieval gentile Messianics from getting the true gospel out, they ignore the myriads of us who not only keep Torah but urge all unbelievers to do the same because Torah is Good (not my doctrine: Tehillim 119 and Paul said it to the Romans). Breaking Torah is the reason why the world is in the condition it is (and yes, why we need Yeshua. All milk doctrine)
Friends: The Messianic Jewish leadership is SO against what you do, they may as well be Muslims. You do not let other people declare your identity; you do not let enemies control the conversation! That is what they are doing! WE ARE MESSIANICS, NOT CHRISTIANS! When I hear so many teachers say, “we, the Church…” or “to us who are Christians…”, I am not only appalled but I am disheartened that there are now so many Messianic teachers and leaders who do not know who they are!! Yes, the “Hebraic Roots” movement continues to grow but if you lose your foundation, you will only crater in sooner or later.
IS this trivial?
Some people may look at this and say this is as trivial as the sacred name movement. It doesn’t matter what label we call ourselves! And with that, I will spend the rest of this paper telling you why names or labels DO matter…
- We came out of the “Church” and Christianity. Unless we are Jewish, muslim, etc. the overwhelming majority of us came out of the “Babylonian whore system”. We cannot go back because many of us were kicked out for trying to preach the true Gospel that we now know. Some of them are friendly to us; the majority are hostile and hostile because…
- Christianity has a different foundation. Christianity was founded upon the heretical creeds of Rome and Germany (the birthplace of Protestantism). They are anti-Torah, allegorical and rebellious when one of us tries to point out their heresies. Italy and Germany are the most hostile nations to Sabbath-keeping or Jewish people to this day! Messianism is built upon the Bible and informed by the Jewish traditions and understanding. We are not like the Republican and Progressive parties; we are in the middle and say that both Christianity and (rabbinic)Judaism is wrong to the core (and Messianic Judaism unfortunately)
- You can’t use someone else’s Name, commercially, and get away with it! If I was laid off from my company (think disfellowshipped or excommunicated) and I went and set up a company to make the same exact product as my former employer and called my product by their name, I would be shut down within a matter of days or weeks once it became known. You can’t use the name of another company or label your product as the same as another popular brand or else you get in legal trouble. You also get in legal trouble if…
- You speak slander or write libelously of another person. If you are a person of any wealth, I promise, promise you, you will be fined to the stars if you call somebody something (factually) what they are not. Note I emphasized “factually” because you can make any opinion about whatever you want in America (1st amendment) as long as it does not mislead someone. Examples: “He is my husband”; “I am his wife”; “he is the president of the company”; “that Muslim terrorized me” Misuse any key word from these statements and you will be fined or jailed! [so serious is this subject that this is where we get the humorous legal defence of what “is” is from the Clinton administration. That one will carry into eternity if you ask me…]
If only a few teachers said this, I could write it off as being sloppy but the fact that our people aren’t doing “Hebraic” customs anymore or aren’t using Messianic translations for their reading is becoming too much. If you want to be a Christian, go back to the Christian church. If you are one of those who have been passing on the phrase “Messy Messianics”, you are very likely one of those who gave that name that reputation. Yah doesn’t like degrading proverbs either. Check this out if you never read it:
“The word of Adonai came to me: ‘What does it mean, that you keep quoting this proverb in the land of Israel – “When parents eat sour grapes, their children’s teeth are set on edge”? As I live’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘I swear that you will never again quote this proverb in Israel’” Yechezquel/Ez.18:1-3
HE won’t allow untruthful proverbs to continue if you finish reading that chapter and I am sure by this principle, He doesn’t call anyone “His people” if they are not. Northern Israel, the Lost Tribes, lost that title and that is partly why he called gentiles into the Body of Believers.
No Judah, we are not the genetic descendants of those people; yes, Judah, we have been bought into the Commonwealth of Israel through Yeshua and we are the unnatural branches (Romans 9-11) who are subject to the same laws as the rest of Israel – Truth ya’ll.
Long live the Messianic Kingdom
[1] I have spelled this out thoroughly in my thesis titled “A Latter Day Testament: Book 1” on this website. It is vital to know if you are unfamiliar with this…
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