Compound Unity
We Believe…There is one sovereign living G-d, and He is “Echad” as declared in the Sh’ma (Deuteronomy 6:4, a “united One” or “compound unity” eternally existent (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as expressed in:
Isaiah 48:16, [i] “Draw near to Me, hear this: Since the beginning, I have not spoken in secret. From the time it existed, I was there. So now Adonai Elohim has sent Me, and His Ruach.”
Mathew 28:19 -20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh. teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The Messiah
Yeshua HaMashiach; Jesus is the Messiah; He is eternally pre-existent and is co-equal with G-d the Father, He took on Himself the nature of man through the virgin birth which was to be a sign to Israel of His Messiahship. (Isaiah 9:5-6, John 1:1-14)
Isaiah 7:14 -15, “Therefore Adonai Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin[b] will conceive. When she is giving birth to a son, she will call his name Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey by the time he knows to refuse evil and choose good.”
The Messiah lived and performed miracles yesterday and lives and performs His miracles today. He lived a sinless life with perfect obedience to the Law. He died at Passover as the Lamb of G-d with an Atoning death for all people. He was buried and rose three days later. He arose from the dead, ascended into heaven to become the eternal Great High Priest interceding for us. He will return for believers, both living and dead, and establish His worldwide rule from Jerusalem (Mathew 20:30 -34; John 20; Mark 16:19; John 14:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Zechariah 12:10, 13:1, Revelation 20:4)
Hebrews 8:1 -2, “Now here is the main point being said. We do have such a Kohen Gadol, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. He is a priestly attendant of the Holies and the true Tent—which Adonai set up, not man.”
Zechariah 8:3, “Thus says Adonai, ‘I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth and the mountain of Adonai-Tzva’ot will be called the Holy Mountain.’”
The Ruach HaKodesh
Ruach Hakodesh (The Holy Spirit) is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and with the Son; He was active in the creation of things and continues to be so in providence; He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgement; He regenerates, sanctifies, baptizes, indwells, seals, illuminates, guides, fellowships with believers and bestows His gifts upon all believers. (Genesis 1:26; Ezekiel 36:26; Matthew 3:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 12:7)
1 Corinthians 6:11, “That is what some of you were—but you were washed, you were made holy, you were set right in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and by the Ruach of our God.”
The Scriptures
The Hebrew Scriptures (Tenach) and the Writings of the Apostles (Brit Chadashah) are divinely inspired, verbally and completely inerrant in the original writings, and are the only infallible, authoritative Word of God in all matters of faith and conduct. (Numbers 12:6 -8; 2 Timothy 3:16 -17)
Isaiah said, “To Torah and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no light.” (8:20)
Adonai G-d gave the 10 Commandments for moral instruction and these laws are still valid as a reflection of G-d’s righteous standard as a means of preserving a distinct nation of Israel, and fulfillment of the work of Yeshua does not mean abrogation of G-d moral laws. Righteousness with G-d has always been solely by His grace through faith/trust in His provision. (Deuteronomy 6:4 -6, 6:20 -25, 30:11 -20; Psalms 19:7 -14; Romans 3:27 -31; Ephesians 2:8 -9)
Yeshua said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17 -19)
State of Mankind
G-d created mankind in His own image; but because of the disobedience of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, they lost their innocence and both they and their descendants are separated from G-d and suffer physical and spiritual death. Therefore, all human beings, with the exception of Yeshua HaMashiach, are sinners. (Genesis 1:27, 3; Psalms 51:7; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Ecclesiastes 7:20, “Surely there is not a righteous person on earth who does what is good and doesn’t sin.”
Redemption of Mankind
The only means to be cleansed from sins is by grace, through faith in the shed sacrificial blood of Yeshua HaMashiach, and that repentance from sin and regeneration by the Holy Spirit (Ruach Hakodesh) is absolutely essential for personal salvation. There is no other Name than that of Yeshua by which all Jews and Gentiles must be saved. (Ephesians 2:8; James 2:14 -26; Matthew 18:3; John 3:3)
Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives—for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.”
Acts 4:11 -12, “This Yeshua is ‘the stone—rejected by you, the builders—that has become the chief cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved!”
Messianic Jews
Jewish people (physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, through either the mother’s or father’s bloodline) who place their faith in Israel’s Messiah, Yeshua, have not disowned or separated themselves from their race and Judaic heritage, but remain sons and daughters of Israel. Gentiles who place their faith in Israel’s Messiah, Yeshua, are “grafted into” the Jewish olive tree of faith becoming spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham. (Romans 2:28 -29; 11:17 -25; Galatians 3:28 -29) We observe and celebrate the Biblical Holy Days given by Adonai to Israel, with their fulfillment in and through the Messiah, Yeshua. We believe that true “Biblical Judaism,” the faith of the first century believers, which we seek to practice, acknowledges the continuity of faith in the one true God, revealed throughout the Scriptures, and ultimately manifested in God’s Son, Yeshua the Messiah. We believe that salvation has always been “by faith,” and that works of law, or righteous acts, have never saved anyone (Genesis 15:6, Romans 2 -6, Ephesians 2:8 -9, Hebrews 11:6, 39) We acknowledge that the New Covenant body of believers is composed of both Jews and Gentiles who have received Yeshua the Messiah as the Promised Redeemer. The “middle wall of partition” has been broken down and now we worship the God of Israel together (1 Corinthians 13:13, Ephesians 2:13 -14)
G-d’s Purpose for Israel
Israel exists as a covenant people through whom G-d continues to accomplish His purposes. In accordance with the New Covenant, Jews and Gentiles who acknowledge Yeshua as Messiah and Redeemer are an elect people and now worship together in the house of G-d (Ephesians 2:2 -14; 1 Corinthians 12:13, Hebrews 10:16)
God made an everlasting and irrevocable covenant with Abraham. It includes the unconditional election of Israel as God’s chosen people, the promise of the Messiah through whom the whole earth will be blessed, and the gift of the land of Israel to the Jewish people. (Gen. 12:1 -3, 15:9-7, 17:1-5, 2 Sam. 7:12 -16; Rom. 9:1 -11:21)
The greatest miracle of our day has been the re-establishment or rebirth of the State of Israel according to prophecy, and a central part of God’s end-time plan is the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, as taught in the Scriptures. (Ezek. 34:11 -31 36-39; Hos. 3; Amos 9:11 -15; Zech. 12 -14; Isa. 11; 43; 54; 60-62; 66; Rom. 11:1 -34)
Resurrection from the Dead
Both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; the saved ones to everlasting life and the lost ones to eternal separation from G-d, the latter being consigned to a state of everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46)
Daniel 12:2, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake—some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Communion with Messiah
We should partake of the communal elements of the matzo (unleavened bread) and the fruit of the vine, as instituted by Yeshua HaMashiach at His last Passover Seder; that the elements are symbolic of the L-rd’s death and resurrection. (1 Corinthians 11:23-34)
1 Cor. 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
Immersion in Water
We participate in Mikvah immersion (water baptism) of believers as commanded by the Scriptures, as an outward sign of an inward salvation experience, symbolizing the death of the “old” man and the resurrection into newness of life. (Matthew 28:18 -20; Acts 19:2 -6; Romans 6:4)
Acts 19:2 -6, “[Paul] said to them, “Did you receive the Ruach ha-Kodesh when you believed?” They replied to him, “No, we’ve never even heard that there is a Ruach ha-Kodesh.” He said, “Into what were you immersed?” They said, “Into John’s immersion.” Paul said, “John immersed with an immersion of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One coming after him—that is, in Yeshua.” When they heard this, they were immersed in the name of the Lord Yeshua. 6 And when Paul laid hands upon them, the Ruach ha-Kodesh came upon them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.”
[i] All Scripture quotations are taken from the Tree of Life (TLV) version unless otherwise noted.