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Whenever people have attempted to restore the Jewish or Hebraic root of their faith, the cry of Judaizing is heard. The non-Jewish believers who have a heart felt and sincere call to return to the Jewishness of Yeshua [Jesus] should not be intimidated by Gentile Christians or traditional Jews who reject the notion that such a return is impossible. The authority for such a return to Hebrew centered faith is found in both the Tanakh and the New Testament documents. Gentiles who have come to believe in the God of Israel through faith through the ministry of Yeshua's disciples have been, by God, grafted into Israel, made partakers of the commonwealth of Israel, made heirs to the promises of the covenants, and sharers in the rich heritage and tradition of the Jewish people. Believers should be free to identify with Yeshua and celebrate their Olive Tree connection!
The Biblical text has little to say about Judaizing. The only reference in the Tanakh [Old Testament] is found in Esther 8:17. Here the Hebrew verb, yahad is used of those Gentiles in Persia who adopted the Jewish way of life out of fear of Esther's decree which allowed the Jews to avenge themselves on their enemies (Esther 8:13). The Septuagint (Hebrew translation of the Old Testament into Greek) uses the Greek word Ioudaizo and adds to the verse that the Gentiles were circumcised and actually converted to Judaism. In the New Testament Ioudaizo is usually translated to live as the Jews and actually occurs only in Galatians 2:14. Here Sha'ul [Paul] opposed Judaizing only when it had the potential of distorting the Biblical and Hebraic view of salvation by God's grace (Galatians 2:21). Although the ritual and ceremonial aspects of Torah are not binding on Gentile believers for salvation, it is questionable that Gentiles can ever understand their faith and calling without the observation of them.
It is one thing for a Gentile to feel he is bound by halachah (to obey the commandments of the Bible concerning Festivals and Sabbath and other rituals, ceremonies and customs of the Jewish people because he is already "saved"), and another thing, for one to feel compelled as a necessary part of one's Christian experience, to observe Sabbath, eat kosher foods and participate in the Biblical Festivals in order "to be saved." However, the Jewish Messianic Community in Acts 15 NEVER imposed these Jewish practices on Gentiles as an obligation "FOR" Gentile salvation, but be not mistaken dear reader, the obligations to keep the festivals, customs, ordinances, holy days, and Sabbaths were definitely imposed by James, the Lord's brother and head-Pastor of Jesus' church as 'necessary' for Gentiles since they are becoming "saved." It is here we encounter James teaching us that adherence to the Laws of Noah (Noah Covenant with all Gentile mankind) is yet binding upon the Gentile who turns from idols to the God of Israel. James knew what few Christians seem to know today; namely that if you are grafted into Israel then you will look like Israel. The Isa. 56 passages teaches us that non-Jews can go beyond the minimum and choose those things that please God and choose His Sabbaths. In this statement we see the binding together of the two olive branches: one Jewish and one Gentile. Bet not mistaken that the Jews are supposed to keep Gentile pagan holy days and holiday. The opposite is the case; after coming to the God of Israel the non-Jews were to be one with the Jewish people and observe with them God's appointed times and holy days as this pleases the L-rd. Besides that the Old Testament can shown on many occasions the non-Jews who came to the knowledge of God keeping the sabbaths and holy days and festivals of YHWH. Before we can continue, we must have a thorough understanding of the Laws of Noah as they pertain to the Gentile believer in Yeshua today in the Christian church.
It is quite clear from the Bible that God has ordained a separate and unique covenant with all mankind as He has made a special and unique covenant with the Jewish people. The covenant that God has made with all Gentile nations is not to be found in the perverted misinterpretations of a Gentile Church which has rejected the teachings of the original church of Yeshua (a totally Jewish institution for it's first seventeen years and which continued in Jewish faith until 325 C.E.). It is this "Jewish church" which was built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets which has become tragically today a church built upon Roman Catholicism, Reformation theology, and upon the Charismatic Gentile misinterpretations of Hebraic Scriptures. Such fallacy that believes that a "New" covenant was given to replace an "Old" covenant is a total perversion of Yeshua's own words as recorded for us in Matt. 5:17ff: "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Remember, this is in the "red" of your Bibles. "New," as understood in "New Covenant," refers to a "RE-NEWED" prior covenant, not to a replacement of a prior covenant or a substitute for a previous covenant. To interpret any differently is a perversion of the Biblical text and creates new religion, and Jesus warns us that he has not come to destroy the Torah (Law), also known as the Old Covenant. These are such unfortunate terms that were chosen to express such a wonderful concept from God, but we have totally misunderstood the dynamics involved in the ministry of Yeshua.
What so many Gentiles fail to understand is that God's covenant with mankind started with Adam (himself a Gentile and not a Jew) in the Garden of Eden. According to Jewish tradition and Oral Law (called "Mishnah" and dating back prior to Moses), God had given to Adam, and later to Noah after the flood, certain basic laws of universal morality which were to be observed by all of Adam's (and later, Noah's) descendants.
These universal laws came to be known as the laws of the Benei Noah (i.e. children of Noah, since after the flood we are all Noah's children). Jews have, for the most part, never sought to covert Gentiles to Judaism, for there were never was a need to. Gentiles have their own covenant and path to God by faith in God and resultant obedience and observance of the commandments that God gave them. This was and still is the message of Yeshua in our Bibles. We should re-read our own Bibles and look for the "verbs" in Yeshua's discourses, and listen to what he tells and commands to be done, and quit listening to our 1500 different denominations tell us to do anything that is opposite to or in violation to what Yeshua says in the New Testament Scriptures.
This knowledge is nothing new. Even the original Christians knew this! It is we, the contemporary church of today, who have forgotten what the original Church of Jesus both believed and practiced for salvation. When I say "original" church I mean those Jews and Gentiles of the first two-three centuries, who came to faith in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah of Second Temple Judaism and adopted and adhered to his message. The church of Yeshua (Jesus), as it exists today, as well as during it's long history, has, for the most part, rejected anything Jewish in nature. Thus, little study was done in Hebrew or very little effort expended to understand the Scriptures from a Hebraic perspective, both Old Testament and New Testament. We have forgotten that Yeshua (Jesus) is a Jew and he spoke Hebrew and taught from a Jewish perspective. The fact that Jesus is a Jew seemed to have little bearing on his message to us today. How unfortunate for the church today because they have failed "to let Yeshua's mind be in them..which is a Jewish mind". This has been for well over 1700 years a tragic mistake, for which we still suffer the consequences today by observing a replacement faith and religion which has little in common with the faith of Jesus. We follow Paul and his "unique" gospel more than the true gospel as taught by Yeshua/Jesus.
James, the leader of the Yeshua Messianic Movement within Judaism at that time was asked regarding Gentiles who were listening to their "gospel", if these Gentiles who were accepting the message of Yeshua and his invitation had to convert to Judaism in order to be accepted as grafted into Israel. James rightly said to them (Acts 15) that all these Gentiles had to do was certain "essentials", and he proceeds to list a basic form of the laws of Benei Noach. Please notice also that James also says these "necessary things" also seemed good to the Holy Spirit as well (Acts 15:28)!
Answer for yourself: Did you catch that? The Laws of Noah seemed good to the head of the Messianic church as well as to the Holy Spirit as the answer as to how Gentiles were to become a part of believing Israel! Thus they were grafted into Israel and Paul would refer to this very thing later in the New Testament Scriptures.
An important fact we must understand is that "Christianity" at that time, while a "Messianic sect" within Judaism, and not apart from it, had not yet turned idolatrous as it has today. The Yeshua Messianic Movement, as it evolved and changed over the centuries under Gentile influence, began to claim that "it only" was the "true Israel". This new message ("another gospel" as was warned by Paul and as preached today), found its strength in Roman Catholicism and in the Reformation Protestant church. Such damnable doctrines surfaced as we confront today such as that pernicious error which teaches that the "church" is the "New Israel", and as "the church" has replaced natural Israel in the plan of God. This is blasphemous!
The message of such churches is the "inclusion of the Gentiles" into a "new" covenant with God, as if they did not possess one already. In ignorance, the Gentile Christian church has for centuries wanted to avoid any knowledge of the "Benei Noah" (sons of Noah) covenant that God has had with the Gentiles for thousands of years, even before there was a Jewish people. Such an ancient covenant would abrogate the Christian position of having to reach out to the Gentiles, claiming they (the Gentile) had no other avenue to God or relationship with God outside of the New Testament.
Dear Christian, God's Word is God's Word, regardless of Christian misinterpretations. The Word of God must be our authority, whether Jew or Gentile. This Word of God is the Bible that Jesus used; the Hebrew Scriptures and not the book created by pagan Rome some 400 years later called the New Testament! As Christians, we have failed to adhere to this cardinal principle when it comes to interpretation of our Bibles, and unfortunately let our Church's denomination and its doctrine stand above the Bible that Jesus used as our authority. As Christians we seldom read or thoroughly understand and know the Hebrew Scriptures. Shame on us! We must learn to study to find our the truth about the words of our Bibles; the Bible that Yeshua/Jesus read and loved...the Jewish Bible!
The Christian Church, to this day, holds itself to be the "replacement" for the Jewish people and therefore, the definer or right and wrong for the Gentile (and the Jew). The last time I read Matt. 23 I believe that Jesus says that the Pharisees (of whom he is one) are to sit in Moses's seat and not Gentiles. In the Greek the word "set" refers to "inherit a kingdom" and ironically Yeshua had just pronounced that the "kingdom" and rulership for God over the people of Israel had been taken from the pro-Roman Sadducees of his day and given to the Pharisees who would be the only group to survive the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. Though this "replacement" nonsense is clearly exposed in the Bible for the falsehood that it is, many sincere Gentile believers are still deceived into believing it. It is to these sincere Gentiles first that we at Bet Emet, as well as other similar ministries, as well as the Jewish community, have an obligation by Torah (law, instruction, teaching of God) Law to educate them in what God truly (and not falsely) said and demands of them.
The laws of the Benei Noah (sons of Noah), although originating with Adam, are conveniently recorded in the Talmud (Jewish commentary) and expounded upon in Maimonides's Mishneh Torah, the great codification of Jewish Law written in the 12th century. This is required learning for every Jew and needs to be for every Christian as well (those laws pertaining to him and his covenant with God). For as it is known, the children of Israel (Benei Yisrael) have the obligation to be a "nation of priests", this means to be teachers and educators. The children of Noah, Benei Noah (i.e. all Gentiles) have the obligation to learn these laws and practice them. Only in this way does a Gentile draw close to God and fulfill his/her spiritual purpose here in this world. Faith in God with incorrect responses and obedience to God's commandments does not please God!
Answer for yourself: What level of spirituality can be achieved by the righteous children of Noah? To begin with, they are the ones who are called the "righteous Gentile." Of them, the prophet Elijah has said (Tana D'evi Eliyahu, Rabbah 9), "Heaven and Earth will bare witness to me, be it a man or woman, Jew of Gentile...all can receive the Holy Spirit. It all depends upon one's actions." For further elucidation on these commandments I recommend The path of the Righteous Gentile by Rabbi Haim Clorfene published by Targum Press (Feldheim) and The Seven Laws of Noah by Aaron Lichtenstein, published by Berman Books.
Maimonides, in his epic work Mishneh Torah, in the Laws of Kings 9:1, teaches us concerning the Laws of Noah:
Thus, there are seven Mitzvot" (commandments).
Again quoting from the Law of Kings 8:10 he states: "Our teacher Moshe (Moses) was commanded by God to compel all the peoples of the earth to accept upon themselves the laws given to the descendants of Noah."
Again quoting: "This obligation, to teach all the peoples of the earth about the Laws of Noah, is incumbent upon every individual in every era. The Jews must serve as "a light to the nations" (Isa. 42:6) teaching them (the Gentiles) the Seven Mitzvot (laws) and instructing them in proper behavior...Similarly, the Chatam Sofer (Choshen Mishpat, Responsum 85) writes that it is a mitzvah (commandment) to guide the Gentiles in the service of God."
For whatever reason, teaching Gentiles the universal laws of the children of Noah has not been practiced in earnest since the days of the Second Temple. During the long exile of the Jewish people among the Christians and the Moslems, who both falsely claim to be the legitimate heir to the title "the chosen people of God", the Jews experienced extreme persecution from both Christians and Jews for observing the truth of their own Torah. Even more so would the Jews have suffered persecution if the Jews had hounded the Gentiles and shared with them the truth of the Torah which was, in reality, the responsibility of the Jew. Now that HaShem (God), in His mercy has returned the Jewish people to their homeland, we again find the Jewish people have the strength to take on the Gentiles and compel them to give up their idol worship religions and purge Christianity of its paganism. This might not sound like the most liberal of "live and let live" philosophies. But nowhere does Torah teach us to "live and let live". The Jewish people, as well as Gentile "God-fearers" (Acts 10) who have come to the truth concerning the faith once given to the saints, have an obligation to "shine the light" of HaShem's (God's) truth on error and deception. If this means we have to expose the falsehoods of the world's religions, then we are obligated to do so. At no time more so than in this generation are there so many Gentiles who have left their former religions and are seeking the real truth. Where will they turn? We, both Jews and Gentile "God-fearers" who have come to the faith of Yeshua (Jesus), instead of a faith-in Jesus, have been given this opportunity in our day and time to fulfill our obligation as teachers and "priests", to teach other Gentiles the experiential truth of the one and only God! This we do in preparation of the coming of Mashiah (Messiah). One of the groups leading this great effort are the world-wide sh'li'him (disciples) of Lubavitch. I support and applaud their endeavors.
Isaiah 42:6 calls God's people to be a light to the nations (Gentiles). Today, the Gentiles are embedded in deceit and false teachings in the majority of the Christian churches of our land. We, who understand and practice the faith of Yeshua (Jesus), both Jews and "God-fearers", must be a light to the nations of the world and the Christian church. This applies particularly to the present age, where there is far greater communication between Jews and Gentiles than every before. Many Jews and Rabbis are taking advantage of this phenomenon. We, as repentant, teachable, and enlightened Christians and followers of Jesus, must observe our obligation and engage other Gentiles, in heated debate if necessary. Halachah (proper interpretation of the Torah-the teaching of God) demands that we go on the offensive and compel the Gentiles to abandon their idolatry. This is not an option; this is Halachah! Rather than be influenced by these paganized Gentiles that comprise the majority of contemporary Christian churches of today, we must utilize our freedom of communication to convince the Gentiles to accept their Seven Mitzvot (categories of commandments).
"The Seven Mitzvot are by no means a narrow field of study. Rabbi Meiri (Sanhedrin 59A) states that most elements of the Torah are included within them (Are you not surprised?). For example, in order to observe the prohibition against the worship of false gods correctly, one must become aware of God's unity. Accordingly, a number of contemporary Sages have suggested the translation of certain basic Chassidic and Kabbalistic texts into English with the intent that they be studied by Gentiles." My own experience has taught me that when Christians are exposed to the true meanings of the words of our Bibles, as understood in their original language, original culture, and with a correct historical understanding, many quickly abandon their false beliefs and began to repent and "do" what the Bible really says and commands. It is a shame so few Christians study the Bible in the original languages today; the fruit of which is error, deception, false doctrine, idolatry, and the practice of robbery of God's people within the Churches that bear God's name no less!
It is forbidden for a Jew to cause a Gentile to violate one of the seven commandments of the children of Noah, because it is written, "You shall not place a stumbling block before the blind" (Lev. 19:14) therefore it is appropriate for all Israel to be aware of them. This is good advice to the Christian Church as well. Therefore I am writing down the seven laws of the children of Noah. All of them are to be found in Sanhedrin 56, and in the Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, chapters 9-10.
Law #1:
The Gentile is warned not to practice idolatry. Maimonides clearly writes in the Laws of Idolatry, Chapter 9, Halachah 4 that Trinitarian Christianity is idolatry. This means that the Jews, as well as Monotheistic Christians (of whom there are too few!) have the obligation to go on the offense and (lovingly, if possible) guide the Christian population to recognize their hollow inheritance, the actual inception of this Gentile-Pagan idea into a Jewish faith, and the truths about the Council of Nicea where this idea gained acceptance in 325 C.E. in protests of the majority of "Christianity" at that time. It is time to come back to God in truth. In my personal opinion, I believe that most Christians have "their hearts in the right place," it is their heads that have been "tossed to and fro" by such false doctrines. We must not place a stumbling block before the blind and allow this to continue. We are commanded by Halachah to stand against such false teachings and reveal the truth to all nations.
Law #2:
The Gentile is warned not to curse God. If this is violated, one is guilty. This is true whether one cursed God using His Name or one of the terms used to refer to Him. According to the Holy Zohar (III, 273A), "HaShem (God), Torah, and Israel are one." In my opinion, the one who cursed the Torah, either the Oral Torah (Oral Law) or the Written Torah (Written Law) violates this commandment. Many a Gentile, violates this commandment, and is not even aware of his sin. While alleging love for God, the majority of Gentiles in the Christian churches of today express great contempt towards the Talmud and Judaism. We fail to realize that the Talmud is the embodiment of the Oral Torah (Oral Law), given at Mt. Sinai and often spoken of by Jesus in the New Testament. Being that HaShem (God) and His Torah are one, therefore the Gentile who curses or otherwise maligns the Talmud and the Jewish religion is guilty of violating this commandment, the same as if he was cursing God. But even more damaging, if possible, is the sin and guilt incurred by the Gentile Christian who believes and espouses that the New Testament has replaced the Old Testament (Torah). Never was such a more damnable doctrine devised than the one which denigrates the Old Testament, and teaches that the New Testament has replaced the Old Testament. Along with this evil Replacement Theology, as held by the majority of the Christian churches today, is the added guilt that we have violated the law of Noah in this regard, for God and Torah are one. How can we replace God with such a substitute? Therefore, the Christians who believes and espouses or maligns the Old Testament (the Bible Jesus used) is guilty, the same as if he was cursing God.
Law #3:
The Gentile is warned not to commit murder. If a Gentile kills another, even a fetus in its mother's womb, he is subject to capital punishment as far as God is concerned. Abortion is defined as murder by universal law. Therefore those who perform abortions have the legal definition as murderers.
Even more startling, the rabbis teach that if you misuse the tithe, or fail to tithe, or incorrectly tithe, you are not only guilty of stealing from God and His people, but such sin is considered murder as well as it leads to the demise of God's people. Understand that as a traditional Christian you are guilty of murder before God because you have never been taught the tithe correctly and have never given your tithes according to the way the Hebrew Scriptures command it be done. Your Pastor has made you an accessory to murder according to traditional Jewish exegesis of these verses. Remember Jesus is a Jew and believed like other Jews. This is truly alarming when this understanding hits home in your heart and head. Are you your brother's keeper? God considers that you and I are!
Capital punishment for murder is a commandment of God. God may have ordained this as a deterrent or for some other reason. One thing however is clear, we cannot second guess God's Divine morality. Our courts today may not follow God's commandments in this area, and we my interpret their leniency and grace as God's will, but to do so violates God's Word. We have been lulled asleep for the most part as Christians today because of the lack of study of God's word, and we lean upon our own understanding in these areas. There is a way that seems right with man, but the end-result is not of God.
Law #4:
The Gentile is warned not to partake in forbidden sexual unions. These are forbidden relations that a Gentile is warned not to violate: one is forbidden to have a sexual affair with one's mother, the wife of one's father, a married woman, the sister of his mother, and a member of the same sex (homosexuality) and an animal. Specifically this means a man with another man. Homosexuality is thus considered a crime against the universal laws of nature. On an interesting note, lesbianism is not clearly pointed out in this regard. Even in Jewish Law, whereas lesbianism is absolutely forbidden, its penalty is less than that for homosexuality.
One would be guilty of this sin in relationships with one's mother even if she was raped by his father, or if his father had relations with her only once. Regardless, she is his mother. Regarding the wife of one's father, one is guilty even after the death of one' father. Regarding a married woman, one is not guilty until one has relations with her in the natural manner after she has been intimate with her husband. However, a woman who is engaged or who has performed a marriage ceremony but who has not yet been intimate with her husband, one is not guilty over, for it is written, "and she has been intimate with her husband." (Ber. 20:3). All this refers specifically to a male Gentile and a female Gentile.
If however a male Gentile has sexual relations with a female Jew, whether in the natural way or in an unnatural way, he is guilty. If the female Jewess was engaged, the Gentile (who has relations with her) is stoned to death as would be a Jew. If the Gentile was to have sexual relations with a Jewess after her wedding ceremony, but prior to her being intimate with her husband, he is executed by hanging as would be a Jew. If the Gentile has relations with any other Jewess who is not a virgin, the penalty is death by decapitation, as it would be if the Gentile violates a married Gentile woman. The Gentile who has relations with a member of the same sex or with an animal is guilty regardless if the act was performed with an adult or child.
Law #5:
The Gentile is warned not to commit theft. There is no difference between stealing from a Gentile or stealing from a Jew. One who cheats or steals money, kidnaps someone (steals a life), does not pay due wages, or fails to pay due wages promptly, etc....even a worker who takes a lunch break when he should be working; all of these are guilty of violating this law of Noah. All of these are to be included in the definition of a thief. One is guilty of even the slightest monetary amount. If a Gentile steals something of the least monetary value, and another Gentile comes along and steals that from him, they are both liable.
Law #6:
The Gentile is warned not to eat a limb from a living animal, whether it be domesticated or wild. When an animal is slaughtered, even after its wind pipe and jugular vein have been severed, all the while that animal kicks, its flesh and meat which has already been removed for "food" are forbidden to the Gentile as the "limb from a living animal". One is guilty for this whether it be a domesticated or wild animal, clean or unclean.
Law #7:
The children of Noah have been commanded regarding judges. Gentiles are required by God to place judges and magistrates in each and every town so as to make judgments regarding the six commandments listed above. These Gentile courts must warn the people. A Gentile who violates one of these laws is executed by the sword (decapitation). It is for this reason that all the inhabitants of Shechem were subject to the death penalty. Shechem stole Dinah from the House of Jacob. Everyone in town saw and knew what he did, yet no one judged him or held him accountable for his actions.
A Gentile can be executed on the word of one witness, one judge, without warning, and by evidence given by a relative. It is this section of Halachah that justifies Baruch Goldstein taking lives in the Hebron mosque. The Moslem population (Gentiles) of Hebron have continually expressed its hatred of Jews and the inhabitants of the town have committed and have been sympathetic to the committing of acts of violence against Jews. Since that town of Hebron has not established judges to punish the anti-Israeli perpetrators of violence and terrorism, the entire town therefore became collaborators in the guilt of the perpetrators. The entire population therefore become subject to collective punishment. Baurch Goldstein acted as the single witness to this fact. He judged by what he saw, and acted as an executioner and in total compliance to the letter of the Torah. As unpopular as it might be by modern Gentile moral standards that have replaced the Torah with "grace alone", Baruch Goldstein was acting in compliance with the written will of God in the Torah (negatively called today "the letter of the law"). Let us never forget we must have an authority, and such is the Torah; it sits in judgment upon us, we do not sit in judgment upon it by erroneously applying our emotions or our experience upon it! Goldstein executed righteous justice, based upon the Bible, on a guilty population. This is the correct view according to the Torah (Law of Moses) and the universal laws of Benei Noah and the covenant of Noah, no matter what man's courts may decide today which do not follow God's Torah!
I hope this article has stimulated your thinking and moved you closer to more in-depth study of your faith. Shalom.
bennoah1@airmail.net