Missionary Types and Shadows: Types and Shadows fly in the face of how Biblical prophecy works,

Missionary Types and Shadows

Missionaries rely heavily on very non-literal readings of the Hebrew Bible. They call these types and foreshadows. Jewish Scripture, we are told, points to Jesus even when the text is plainly not discussing Jesus. Is this missionary claim at all justified?

This missionary method is not surprising, as the plain meaning of Scripture (pshat) does not support the missionary agenda. Even missionaries concede prophecy fulfillment is generally not based on pshat:

Don't fall into the mistake of assuming that every time a New Testament writer cites an Old Testament text and applies it to Jesus (even if a "fulfillment" formula is followed), it must have been a direct/literal prediction coupled with a direct/literal fulfillment. In most cases by far, the New Testament takes a broader approach to the subject of messianic prophecy (e.g., typology, thematic parallels, corporate solidarity, historical correspondences/analogies, etc.). (broken link removed. S.)

The Biblical Approach to Prophecy

The missionary approach to prophecy is alien to the Biblical view. When Jewish Scripture identifies prophecy as fulfilled, we see a direct one-to-one correspondence between prophecy and fulfillment. We present an example of Biblical prophecy to show how it works:
"Joshua caused [the people] to swear at that time saying, 'Cursed before G-d is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With his firstborn son he will lay its foundations, and with his youngest he will set up its gates' (Joshua 6:26)."
We read of the fulfillment:
"In his days, Hiel the Beth-elite built Jericho; with Abiriam, his firstborn, he laid its foundations; and with Segub, his youngest, he set up its doors, according to the word of G-d He spoke through Joshua son of Nun (I Kings 16:34)."
We see that Biblical prophecy is directly predictive, the opposite of the missionary method.

Examples Where Jesus Does Not Fulfill the Pshat (plain meaning) of Scripture
a. Matthew 2:15 claims that when Jesus left Egypt he fulfilled Out of Egypt I called My son (Hosea 11:1). The beginning of that verse reads, When Israel was a child I loved him and Hosea calls Israel, not Jesus, G-ds son. Hosea is not making a prediction about anyone but remembering Israels exodus long ago.

Hosea continues to teach us that this son of G-d is not so righteous after all. They sacrificed to the Baalim, and burnt incense to graven images (11:2). Is Jesus a personification of idol worship?
Missionaries do a cut-and-paste job since their types and shadows ignore pshat (plain meaning).
b. Immanuel is clearly born in King Ahazs time, centuries before Jesus. Isaiah predicts to King Ahaz that a young woman will give birth to Immanuel (7:14). Isaiah tells Ahaz, Before the child shall know to reject evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread [Rezin and Pekah- see 7:1-2] shall be forsaken (7:16). The downfall of these two kings quickly took place (II Kings 15:29-30, 16:9).

Missionaries honest enough to admit the timing of Immanuel's birth nevertheless insist it is a foreshadowing of another Immanuel, namely Jesus. (Missionaries do not dare say the first Immanuel was born of a virgin, but we will not let ourselves be disturbed by such facts right now)
and
c. Zechariah 11:12-13 reads, Then I said to them, If you think it good, pay me my wages; if not, dont. So they weighed out my wages, thirty shekels of silver. G-d said to me, Cast it to the treasurer of the Temple, which I have divested of them. Missionaries claim this foreshadows Judas betrayal of Jesus for thirty shekels (Matthew 26:15) as Judas threw the money into the Temple (27:5)

Zechariah never says the transaction predicts a future event. Pshat indicates no prophecy to be fulfilled.
and

d. With this interpretive license, we should not be surprised when missionaries actually admit that the New Testament misquotes Biblical verses. Psalms 40:7 reads, Sacrifice and meal offering you do not desire, ears You have opened for me. The New Testament misquotes it as a BODY you have prepared for me (Hebrews 10:5).  (broken link removed. S.)
There is no real difficulty here since the writer of Hebrews views Psalms 40:7 as typologically referring to Christ rather than as a literal or direct messianic prophecy.

Supposedly, Psalms proves that Jesus fulfills Psalms 40 and that crucifixion atones for mankind. The pshat suggests otherwise: obedience, listening to G-d is greater than sacrifice, similar to "I desire kindness, not sacrifice, and knowledge of G-d more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6)."

Missionaries assume without textual basis that Psalms 40 is a prediction, and (contrary to pshat) posit the superiority of a particular sacrifice above all else. Since the altered version in Hebrews 10:5 allegedly gives the true sense of Psalms, it supposedly does not matter that Psalms 40:7 never mentions a body.
e. Missionaries press even further, claiming that Jesus fulfilled Biblical verses that do not exist! Matthew 2:23 quotes (if that is the right word) He shall be called a Nazarene. There is no such verse in the Hebrew Bible! Missionaries say this is no problem. Since Isaiah refers to Messiah figuratively as a netzer [shoot] (11:1), Jesus fulfilled the invented words he shall be called Nazarene by going to Nazareth. In fact the city of Nazareth is never mentioned in Jewish Scriptures.
In these and other cases, missionaries claim it does not matter whether Jesus fulfilled the pshat of Jewish Scripture. He fulfilled these prophecies anyway.

Unverified and Unverifiable Interpretations

How does one test the validity of types and shadows? Missionaries cherish them because THERE IS NO STANDARD OF VERIFICATION. How can they determine whether Scripture ever intended types and shadows, and which verses are intended as such and which are not? Given the countless type and shadow meanings one can read into a text, how can they know which meaning is meant? Claims that are not testable are worthless.

Missionaries fail to address other legitimate possibilities. What if Hosea is speaking only of Israel as G-ds son? Suppose Isaiah is speaking of one Immanuel, as pshat indicates. Perhaps Zechariah's acceptance of thirty shekels does not predict any other thirty-shekel transaction. Nothing indicates that types and shadows are absolute truth. Yet missionaries say they are solid enough to dogmatically identify Messiah and send the unconvinced to hell!

Circular Reasoning of Missionaries 

Missionaries would respond that their types and shadows are valid because Jesus and his disciples taught them.

Here we arrive at the circular reasoning of missionaries. The types and shadows are true because they come from Jesus. But how do we establish the credibility of Jesus? Easy- he fulfilled so many types and shadows!

Missionary Double Standard

The perceptive reader will notice the double standard by which missionaries operate. Do they apply the same poetic license in interpreting the New Testament as they do to the Hebrew Bible? Not at all! They take the New Testament very seriously. Anyone claiming to find types and shadows in the New Testament is labeled a Mormon, Moonie, etc. (Certainly missionaries reject Charles Mansons claim that the New Testament hints to the Beatles)

In recent years, however, missionaries have accused Judaism of practicing a double standard. They refer to Midrash- Rabbinic homiletic, which supplement the pshat of Scripture. Missionaries ask why they must be held accountable to the pshat given the existence of Jewish Midrash.

According to Moshe Yosef Koniuchowsky, Hebrew-Christian, counter-missionaries are guilty by refusing to make allowance, and give the New Testament writers the same liberty and literary freedom in using Scripture to portray truth as they do the writers and authors of the Tanach [Hebrew Bible] (Messianic Believers First Response Handbook, p. 7).

As we shall see, Midrash and missionary prooftexting are not at all comparable.

There are at least five critical differences between Jewish Midrash and missionary types and shadows.

a. Midrash is used for Midrash- homiletic meanings. Missionaries use types and shadows to establish pshat (plain meaning).

There is no such thing as a Midrashic fulfillment of a prophecy.
What is a Midrash? According to Moses Mielziner in Introduction to the Talmud, Where the Midrash does not concern legal enactments and provisions, but merely inquires into the meaning and significance of the laws or where it only uses the words of Scripture as a vehicle to convey a moral teaching or a religious instruction and consolation, it is called Midrash Agadah Interpretation of the Agadah, homiletical interpretation. (Emphasis mine) judaismsanswer.com/midrash.htm
Nachmanides, in a thirteenth-century disputation with the Church said,
"We have a third book called Midrash, meaning sermons. It is just as if the bishop would rise and deliver a sermon, and one of the listeners whom the sermon pleased recorded it (Disputation at Barcelona, p. 7)."
In a sermon, the speaker can relate a verse to person X without person X being the actual subject of the verse. The same is true for Midrash.

This is why the Talmud relates the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 with Moses, even though Isaiah is speaking of a future event. Likewise the Rabbis homiletically link Isaiah 53 with the Messiah. Neither is meant literally. In general Midrash is not meant to be taken literally (Maimonides: Introduction to Mishnah Commentary).

Rabbi Moshe Shulman explains in What is a Midrash? :

In Sotah 14a, Isaiah 53 is interpreted as referring to Moses. The ancient Jewish view and that which appears continually in the words of the commentators (as we will discuss later) are that the Servant is Israel who is called Servant throughout Isaiah. Clearly Isaiah when he was prophesying was talking of someone in the future and not Moses who had been in the past, so the question is what lessons are the Rabbis trying to teach by relating Moses to this chapter, and why specifically to this chapter. We all know that Moses was the greatest of the prophets and was known as the 'servant of G-d'. Sotah is showing us that many of the great qualities that Moses had, are likewise there in the Servant, Israel. So, for example, where the servant of Isaiah prays for sinners, so Moses prayed for those who were guilty of the sin of the golden calf, and effected their atonement. By so doing the Midrash allows us to look at the greatness of Moses, and his work

The first is that many times verses that deal with categories of people are used to apply to individuals. It's pretty much like the concept of set inclusion. Something is a member of the set, and then it has all the properties that the set has Since the Jewish understanding is that Isaiah is about Israel (and specifically the righteous of Israel), any individual of exceptional personality could be compared to some of the verses there with valid results.
To better understand the nature of Midrash, let us look at an actual Midrash:
From the beginning of the words creation, the Holy One foresaw the deeds of the righteous and wicked. This is like what is written, For G-d knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall become lost (Psalms 1:6). AND THE LAND WAS CHAOS AND VOID- these are the deeds of the wicked-G-D SAID LET THERE BE LIGHT- these are the deeds of the righteous. But I would not know which of them G-d desires- the deeds of the righteous or of the wicked. But when it is written, G-D SAW THE LIGHT THAT IT WAS GOOD [I conclude] He desires the deeds of the righteous and not the deeds of the wicked (Genesis Rabbah 2:5).
This passage is neither historical nor predictive. Obviously it does not mean human actions took place in the beginning of creation. It is not a prophecy to be fulfilled. The Midrash is teaching a moral lesson: human action is analogous (not identical) to light and darkness, but goodness is  G-ds purpose in creation

Missionaries try to have their cake and eat it too. They use non-pshat methods to get pshat results. They do not merely say that Jesus is homiletic-ally connected to Immanuel; they claim he is Immanuel, period. They do not simply relate Jesus homiletic-ally to the Passover Lamb; they maintain he is actually the fulfillment of this legal datum.

b. Midrash reveals deeper meaning of an existing religion. New Testament needs types and shadows to claim its religion even exists.

Judaism does not rely on Midrash to establish there is such a thing as Judaism. Its not as if Judaism took a scripture of someones religion and then demonstrated through Midrash that Judaism alone is the true successor to that religion. Were that the case, dismissal of Judaism would be entirely justified.

From the Written Law the practices and essential beliefs of Judaism are known. While the details of Biblical commandments are absent, there is no doubt for which commandments a Jew is responsible. As for beliefs, Maimonides' famous formulation of the Thirteen Fundamentals of Judaism is all based on Scriptural verses he cites.

c. Jewish Midrash supplements pshat. Types and shadows replace pshat.

Basic Jewish doctrines, found in pshat of Scripture, are denied by missionaries. These include: the binding character of the commandments, their ongoing validity, practice of the commandments brings righteousness and salvation, commandments can be kept, G-d is not a man, G-d is immutable, the exclusive chosenness of the Jewish people, the Messiah inherits Davids throne solely through paternal birth line, etc.

The Rabbis have a rule that Scripture does not depart from the plain meaning (Shabbat 63a). Midrashic interpretation reveals deeper meanings but does not reject pshat. By contrast, types and shadows are employed to deny basic Biblical doctrines.

d. Jewish Midrash is rooted in an oral transmission from Sinai. The New Testament does not even claim to be rooted in an unbroken tradition going back to the revelation of the Torah.

Judaism posits that that two Torahs were revealed at Mt. Sinai: Written Law and Oral Law. The existence of the Oral Law is evident from the Written Law itself. It is clear from Scripture that (1) G-d is just and (2) G-d wants the Law to be obeyed. Yet we find that the Written Law simply does not tell us what to do. The commandments are stated in vague generalities, without the numerous details found in every respectable legal system.

Leviticus 23:40 commands taking the fruit of the tree of splendor (pri etz hadar) on the Feast of Tabernacles. Pri etz hadar is a botanically meaningless statement even to Hebrew-speaking scientists. There is no clue which species is mentioned without a clarifying Oral Law.

The Passover holiday begins on the fifteenth day of the first month (Leviticus 23:6). To identify this day requires knowing when is the first day of that month, which the Written Law does not say.

Exodus 12:15 bids us to eat matza on seven days of Passover, while Deuteronomy 16:8 says to eat it for six days. Only the Oral Law can reconcile the contradiction.

It is prohibited to leave ones "place" on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:29). Does this mean ones house, property, neighborhood, city or state? Only the Oral Law tells us.

It is obvious to any objective reader that one cannot know how to perform the Biblical commandments based on Written Law alone. G-d must have given an Oral Law to Moses to explain what the Written Law means. It follows that Moses would transmit this Oral Law to his disciples, who then taught it to future generations of Sages.

These Sages have taught us that Oral Torah encompasses both Halacha (law) and also Midrash. Midrash is also given at Sinai (Yerushalmi Peah 2:6). If there is an Oral Torah, only in the hands of Jewish Sages, why not believe those responsible for transmitting it that Oral Torah contains Midrash too?

This does not mean that every Midrashic statement was said verbatim at Sinai. It does mean that midrashic concepts and methodology are essentially Sinaitic.

The charge that the Sages basically falsified the Oral Torah is incoherent. An unwritten tradition by definition is only known from the Sages who transmit it. No outsider can claim to know the Oral Law better than those who teach it in the first place.

e. The Rabbis of Midrash have Biblical credibility. Deuteronomy 17 requires obeying them in matters of law. If G-d trusts them, we can too. Nothing in Jewish Scripture tells us to trust the New Testament writers.

If a matter for judgment is too difficult for you, between blood and blood, between verdict and verdict, between plague and plague, even matters of controversy in your gates; you shall go up the place that the L-rd your G-d shall choose. You shall come to the priests, the Levites and to the judge that shall be in those days. You shall ask and they will tell you the word of judgment. You shall do according to the word that they will tell you, from the place that G-d will choose, and keep the law according to what they teach you. According to the Torah that they teach you and according to the judgment that they say to you, you must do. Do not turn aside from the word that they tell you, neither right nor left. And the man that does willfully, not listening to the priest standing to serve L-rd your, G-d or to the judge; that man shall die, and you shall remove the evil from your midst (Deut. 17:8-12).

This passage clearly establishes that the Jewish judiciary has authority in matters of Jewish law. The place that G-d shall choose means, throughout the Bible, the Sanctuary site. The judiciary that sat there is the Sanhedrin.

Midrash is not from a separate group with separate ideas. The masters of Midrash are the same Talmudic Rabbis who themselves were members of the divinely ordained judiciary known as the Sanhedrin, together with their students. We are obligated to follow this judiciary. There is no good reason not to believe these same Rabbis when they present Midrash as valid and authentic.

Establishing Jesus Credentials

We would like to ask those who preach types and shadows: how could Jesus credential have been established in the first place? The New Testament had not been written yet during early first century. Jews did not then know missionary types and shadows. Their only basis to judge was the plain words of the Hebrew Bible. Assuming the missionary viewpoint, how could those Jews have possibly known what to look for? How can the credibility of a would-be messiah depend on types and shadows? Yet Jesus is portrayed in the Gospels as demanding peoples obedience early in his career!

Didnt Jesus Fulfill Pshat Also?

Missionaries may also deny their dependence on types and shadows by pointing to certain Biblical prophecies that they claim were fulfilled by Jesus according to pshat. Space does not permit a discussion of the mistranslations; misquotations and out-of context readings missionaries use to make such claims. No one has ever shown this writer one prophecy that Jesus clearly and literally fulfilled.

One point is in order, however. It would be disingenuous of missionaries to make such an argument! The missionary enterprise does not generally make distinctions between pshat and non-pshat fulfillments. Websites and missionaries on the beat, that claim Jesus fulfilled 100, 200, even 300 prophecies present an undifferentiated package. Were they to scale down their list to alleged pshat fulfillment, it would be an embarrassingly small list. We quote again from Church in Focus:
In most cases by far, the New Testament takes a broader approach to the subject of messianic prophecy (e.g., typology, thematic parallels, corporate solidarity, historical correspondences/analogies, etc.) (emphasis mine).
We appreciate Church In Focus advising fellow missionaries to practice greater honesty: Evangelicals must seek to reform their messianic apologetics with a greater appreciation for the different ways in which the New Testament cites the Old and with a tad less sensationalism in how Jesus' messiahship is presented to unbelieving Jews (e.g., such tract titles as "300 Prophecies Fulfilled in One Day!" or "70 Prophecies Fulfilled at the Cross!").

We are not optimistic that their advice will be heeded. Missionaries must inflate their own claims by conflating pshat with non-pshat.

Summary: Missionaries rely on types and shadows because they know pshat does not justify their beliefs. Types and shadows fly in the face of how Biblical prophecy works, and actually contravenes the meaning of Scripture. The New Testament writers present unverifiable homiletics. These men have no Scriptural basis for their authority and credibility as Biblical interpreters. Analogies to Jewish Midrash have no validity. Missionaries cannot afford to dispense with types and shadows because they aim to promote a false messiah.

source: http://messiahtruth.yuku.com/topic/3886#.Uu-hiRBkTTp

Ralph Messer & Churches To Return Torah Scrolls To Jewish Congregations & Organizations

Shalom, this is Aviad Cohen with a proposal that Ralph Messer and the churches and specific kinds of congregations, organizations and individuals who Messer gave (or sold) Torah scrolls to which were desecrated and misused in unheard of ways or just been "gifted to them", be returned to Jewish (Orthodox or Conservative) Congregations and/or Jewish Organizations in the USA.

May the Messianic Jewish Community, Jewish Community & Christian Churches work together to make sure that all Torah scrolls in Ralph Messer's possession, his congregation and those whom he "gifted" Torah scrolls to, be returned immediately to those who will properly handle them - the Jewish community (even though the Messianic Jewish community also knows how to properly handle Torah scrolls).

As a Jew who is a follower of Yeshua Messiah and a Kohan (former Jewish rapper 50 Shekel) who is Israeli-born, raised in the Jewish community in NY & NJ, attending Jewish Day Schools, Private Schools, Yeshiva, having a Bar Mitzvah, etc - I have a deep conviction about this being resolved in a manner where "actions" speak louder than "apologies in the press", as the unthinkable and at times seemingly unforgivable has transpired.

To those congregations, churches, individuals, etc. who are in the possession of these Torah scrolls given to (or sold to them) by Ralph Messer, contact me, Aviad Cohen at www.AviadCohen.com to arrange for your Torah scrolls to be returned to a Jewish Congregation or Organization, whom I will help you to make arrangements to return the Torah scrolls to a local or out of state Jewish Congregation or Organization.

What the darkness meant for evil, HaShem (G-d) can turn into something good. This is an important action that needs to take place, for "quick apologies in the press" will not suffice nor justifications by Ralph Messer will either. The sacred Torah scrolls are to returned immediately.

Thank you for your time and attention to this delicate matter,

Aviad Cohen
www.AviadCohen.com

Ralph Messer's Messianic Shamanism - one shameless showman

Ralph Messer's Messianic Shamanism - one shameless showman

"There is a big message for Messianic and Judeo-Christian folk."

In the book of Judges we have the famous line, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” In the recent incident involving Ralph Messer and Bishop Eddie Long at New Birth Missionary Baptist church just a small distance from my home, we see the fruit of self-authorized, unaccountable religious groups built on popularity and sensationalism. There is a big message for Messianic and Judeo-Christian folk.

WHAT DO I MEAN BY MESSIANIC AND JUDEO-CHRISTIAN?
I have written often about the types of Messianic congregations that exist out there. See one of my recent attempts to classify what the visitor to a Messianic congregation might encounter.

I don’t believe a person like Ralph Messer could possibly be raised up in a Jewish Messianic Jewish congregation (many of you know why I have to place the word “Jewish” in front of “Messianic Jewish” as an adjective!). This is not because I think that somehow Jewish followers of Yeshua (Jesus) are less gullible on the whole. But I think that there has been a culture in Jewish life in America (and outside of America) which expects some level of decorum, accountability, and education in a rabbi and at a synagogue.

But in the anything-goes world of crazy Christian groups, hooting and hollering are a sign of success! And I am in no way referring to the culture in black churches in America, having grown out of the slavery experience. The spirit, enthusiasm, and loud vocal patterns in the black Baptist churches I have visited — the good ones with trained ministers accountable to a denomination — are nothing like the televangelist trash culture. It’s no coincidence that in the movie “Keeping the Faith,” Ben Stiller’s character (a Reform rabbi) called on the local AME (or maybe Baptist) church choir to come and teach his members how to have spirit when singing the “Ein Keloheinu”!

And, as has been documented repeatedly here at Messianic Jewish Musings and on plenty of other blogs, “Messianic” has become a gimmick. If you attend a concert at some “Messianic” places, members of the audience bring shofars to blow like stadium noisemakers! Ralph Messer’s televangelist strut back and forth on the stage while the magic, shamanistic icon of the Torah Scroll was being shown to the uninitiated audience (not their fault they don’t know about a Torah Scroll) was only one extreme example of a large trend. Jewish festivals, sancta, rituals, and prayers are not holy relics which will elevate a person to a higher status with God or in the world. They are not play-toys or holy hand-grenades of Antioch!

Many seekers of true faith seek out a “Messianic” or “Hebrew Roots” or “Ephraimite” or “Two House” or “One Torah” group because they think these are more legitimate, that something is wrong with Christian denominations. Foolishly, many imagine that the “Messianic” teacher who knows a smattering of Hebrew (sometimes none, sometimes a good deal of Hebrew) and has read at least five books on Judaism (some less, some more) will bring them to a higher level. It is foolish to think that Christianity, a faith which has a checkered history (welcome to the reality of being human) but which has developed works of charity and goodness all over the globe, which has spawned some of the world’s greatest literature, which has produced an elevated spiritual tradition of active love and contemplative devotion is somehow incapable of bringing a person near to God while a showman-shaman like Ralph Messer might do a better job!

What I mean by Messianic is Messianic Jewish and that means congregations primarily about Jewish faith in Yeshua, but certainly including non-Jews who believe in, are supportive of, and want to be in the Jewish movement of faith alongside Messianic Jews. What I mean by Judeo-Christian is congregations primarily about Yeshua in which there is a preference for respectful participation in Torah and Jewish liturgy and customs. I do not find it strange that many Christians want Jewish culture. I think it was inevitable. As long as Judeo-Christian groups respect other Jewish and Christian approaches to God, as long as they do not confuse people about their identity, I think they are a healthy alternative to other Christian traditions. Messianic Jews generally are positive toward Judaism and Christianity. I hope the various Judeo-Christian groups under the many labels they use will find their place and get rid of all craziness like Ralph Messer speedily and soon. I’d like to point out that I know of Judeo-Christian congregations that would be a delight for any Jew or Christian to visit.

LESSONS FROM THE MESSER DEBACLE
A commenter on “Ralph Messer is not a Messianic Jewish Rabbi” (a commenter I have recently met on Facebook and for whom I can say I have respect) said: “not belonging to any of the above mentioned Messianic groups, does not equate to illegitimacy as a Messianic Rabbi.”

I understand what this commenter was saying. But let me ask you: how is the “everyone does what is right in his own eyes” thing going? I understand that religious communities form with untrained leaders. I understand that size and success are not markers of fidelity to God.

But why must something that starts small remain isolated and unaccountable? Don’t we learn from the terrible consequences in the public media when self-styled “rabbis” cause a scandal that accountability and togetherness are a good thing?

Messianic Judaism in America has two primary associations: the UMJC and the MJAA (the congregational arm of the MJAA is actually called the IAMCS). I am a UMJC guy. If a video was made by me at some mega-church crowning kings with a Sefer Torah, I would already have been contacted and proceedings to dissociate me from the UMJC would already be underway.

Who is Ralph Messer accountable to?

I will go out on a limb and say — it is virtually impossible that any UMJC or MJAA rabbi would have done something even half as embarrassing and wrong as Ralph Messer. The disease which leads to an explosion of Messer mania is caused by the need for maintaining power, success, and image through over-the-top antics instead of principled belonging and participation in a group of congregations whose combined presence and practice gives individual congregations something larger to belong to. A rabbi or pastor in a denomination doesn’t need to self-authenticate or prance like a rooster.

Currently, there is no association for Judeo-Christian congregations which are not primarily focused on the Jewish community. I think there should be. There certainly are organizations which might be called denominations for non-Jewish “Hebraic” groups. But the ones I am aware of are based on some erroneous theology (I’m thinking, for example, of a group which holds an annual conference based on the idea that non-Jews in Yeshua might be crypto-Israelites from the “lost tribes”).

There is an organization for individual Judeo-Christians called the UMB (Union of Messianic Believers). It could be a valuable idea to explore some sort of congregational affiliation with the UMB (not sure if the UMB leadership want that or not).

And another lesson: leaders in Messianic Judaism, Judeo-Christianity, and whatever other groups out there want to call themselves should not use the term “rabbi” for themselves if they have not completed the kind of training and have not received ordination by a body of rabbis who have overseen their education. There is no shame in being a “Congregational Leader” if you have not earned the title “rabbi.” Furthermore, it is inappropriate for any non-Jew to use the title “rabbi.” Judeo-Christian groups led by non-Jews need to find titles and nomenclature that are more appropriate. A rabbi is not a “Jewish pastor,” but a person trained to function in the Jewish community as a guide to matters of law and faith. Personally, I think “pastor” is a fine title for a non-Jewish leader (and rabbis who lead congregations are also pastors, since the title pastor has to do with religious leadership of a faith community).

In short (I know, this article was not short), the incident at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, involving Ralph Messer and Bishop Eddie Long, teaches us that education, accountability, appropriate use of terminology and Jewish sancta (also Christian sancta) is required. The days of do-it-yourself “Messianic” shamanism should be over. I hope many groups will contact the UMJC and MJAA and seek information. I hope many people who have been putting up with a clown as a leader because they thought Jewish roots would make them closer to God will make an exodus from the Ralph Messers of the world and find either a good church or a Judeo-Christian group that respects Judaism and Christianity. I hope the good work being done by Messianic Judaism will not be set back a decade by the act of one shameless showman.  source:

*The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to Jewish leaders who are highly offended and speaking out against a ceremony held Sunday at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, in which Bishop Eddie Long was wrapped in a sacred Torah scroll and carried upon a throne.

“He’s a king. God has blessed him,” said Rabbi Ralph Messer before covering Long in a scroll “[that] may still have the dust of Auschwitz and Birkenau.” Messer referred to the Nazi extermination camps in Poland where millions of Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

A Torah’s use in a ceremony ordaining Long as “a king” is offensive to many Jews, said Bill Nigut, Southeast Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League.

The ceremony at Long’s Lithonia church, viewed more than 139,000 times on YouTube, “in no way represents any Jewish ritual that I’m familiar with,” Nigut tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We do not proclaim individuals to be kings.”

Messer said his parchment, a handwritten copy of the holiest book within Judaism, was 312 years old. His mention of Auschwitz-Birkenau implied the scroll was one of those recovered from the death camps when they were liberated by the Allies toward the end of World War II.

It’s impossible to authenticate Messer’s claim without examining the texts up close, said Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs. While rare, Torahs can be easily purchased, even on eBay, he said.

“There are a fair number of Torah scrolls that survived the war,” said Heller, adding roughly 1,500 were rescued from Czechoslovakia alone.

More disturbing was the use of this particular Torah in an inappropriate setting, experts on religion say.

“The connection of the Torah scroll to the Holocaust and then to Eddie Long is incomprehensible to me,” said David P. Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University. Gushee is a scholar of the Holocaust and has visited Auschwitz several times.

“What was the point? Was it to signal that Eddie Long was suffering persecution like the Jews at Auschwitz?” Gushee asked.

Messer’s son, Minister Russell Messer of Simchat Torah Beit Midrash in Parker, Colo., said his father purchased the parchment and relied on the word of its seller regarding its provenance. “It came through that generation of Europe,” the younger Messer said.

Russell Messer said that in the next two days, his father — who has no formal rabbinical training — plans to post on his organization’s website the full video of his sermon along with additional comments regarding Sunday’s service.

When asked for comment about the event, New Birth emailed a statement Thursday in which Ralph Messer said critics misunderstood his intent.

“My message was about restoring a man and to encourage his walk in the Lord,” Messer said. “It was not to make Bishop Eddie L. Long a king.”

The YouTube video indicates otherwise, Heller told the AJC.

“We wouldn’t wrap a Jewish person in a Torah scroll and declare him king,” he said. “As a Jew, I find that use of symbols very off-putting.”

The messenger is as controversial as the message, Jewish leaders say.

Ralph Messer, according to a biography on his organization’s website, is “pioneering a work to bring the ‘Good News’ of Yeshua (Jesus Christ) in the Torah to the ends of the Earth.” He is active in the Messianic Judaism movement, which fuses evangelical Christian beliefs with elements of Jewish tradition.

“The Jewish community does not associate itself with the Messianic congregations,” Heller said. “We don’t feel like this does due justice to either the Jewish or Christian community.”

Messer’s biography says he has ties with prominent evangelicals including the Rev. Kenneth Copeland of Lubbock, Texas, and Paula White, pastor of a charismatic mega-church based in Florida. It says he has made frequent appearances on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

In his statement Thursday, Ralph Messer said Sunday’s presentation “was simply a way of bringing honor to a man who had given his life to the Lord and had given so much to his church, the Atlanta metro area and throughout the world.”

“Lifting him on the chair was to acknowledge and honor him,” he said, adding it is consistent with rituals performed at Jewish weddings and Bar mitzvahs.

Russell Messer said that his father and Long “just got to know each other in the last six months.”

Long was appointed New Birth’s pastor in 1987 when the church had only 300 members. By its 10th anniversary, New Birth reported a membership of roughly 18,000, peaking at 25,000.

But in September 2010, Long was sued by four former church members who alleged he used his influence, trips, gifts and jobs to coerce them into sexual relationships. The suit was settled in May. The church’s attendance has declined since the sexual coercion lawsuit was filed.

The bishop may have taken comfort in Messer’s message.

“You can’t attack [Long],” Messer said Sunday. “He’s sealed. Wherever he turns, the power of God is there. … It’s not him, it’s the king in him.”

As Long sat behind him, perched on a throne under a spotlight, Messer chanted repeatedly, “It’s a new birth,” eliciting cheers from the congregation.

Mercer’s Gushee said the service may have been an attempt to shore up Long’s standing in his ministry.

“A lot of things could have been done to shore that up, but this particularly bizarre ritual was deeply disturbing,” Gushee said. “One problem with Messianic Judaism, in which leaders attempt to fuse Jewish and Christian traditions and symbols, is that it can easily stray into profound insensitivity.”

Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, associate professor of Biblical studies at Interdenominational Theological Center, said that on viewing the video, “My first impression was, ‘Who is this individual who has the authority to make Bishop Long a king?’

“It’s something I’ve never seen or read within the Judeo-Christian tradition,” Hopkins said. “There’s nothing within Scripture that supports such a practice of this ceremony. It really just stands outside of the Christian faith.”