Jewish Converison and The Messianics

Today in America there is a tremendous pull to separate the Jewish soul from his covenant with the God of Israel through conversion. In June 1996 at the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans their 10th resolution on Jewish evangelism was passed. The mandate to this resolution was this: "to develop evangelistic ministries among Jews and start churches in predominantly Jewish communities." Now here is my question for Southern Baptist as well as other denominations who seeks Jewish conversion: Why are the Jews of Judaism who represent one of the tiniest religions in the world are the ones most specially targeted for conversion purposes?

The Southern Baptist is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States with approximately 16 million members. That’s more members in this single Christian denomination in the United States than the entire world-wide Jewish population! Yet, out of all the other religions of the world including Islam (the second largest and fastest growing religion of the world), and a thousand of other Christian denominations to whom the Southern Baptist oppose doctrinally (including the Catholic Church, the most numerous single religious denomination in the world), it is Judaism (one of the smallest religions of the world) that is singled out as “the prize catch” for conversion at these Southern Baptist conventions. Again, my question is, why the Jews?

.

Since 1867 the Southern Baptist (who originally supported black slavery) has passed ten resolutions (averaging about one every fourteen years) urging their organization leaders and members to convert the Jews. Historically, how many resolutions at these conventions do you suppose the Southern Baptist organization has passed concerning conversion of other religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Catholicism (the “Mother of Harlots” of Revelation 17:5 as believed by Southern Baptist)? Let me give you a hint: Its more than minus-one, but less than one! It is therefore fair to say, that the Southern Baptists seeks out the tiny member Jewish nation for conversion more than ten times the amount as other world religions or non-Southern Baptist. One more time, why the Jews? What is it about these Jews and their covenant that causes this great uncontrollable pulsating urges among the Gentile evangelicals to persistently and methodically seek out Jewish conversion?

.

To understand the evangelical psyche of Jewish favoritism for conversion, one has to realize that what motivates these evangelicals is theological domination rather than a genuine love for the Jewish soul. The evangelicals who target Jewish are really fighting (not even being aware of it subconsciously) for the validity of their Christianity by favoring Jewish conversion over their fellow Gentile conversion. Isn’t a soul a soul and an eternal life an eternal life regardless if that life is a Jew or Gentile? Not from some, (if not most) evangelists viewpoints. I heard of one minister telling a prominent rabbi that he had rather convert one single Jew to Christianity than convert over 50,000 Gentiles! What is the spiritual logic and reasoning to this? What is the over-all motive in such conversion desires coming from Christian leaders?

.

As is was from the beginning of Christianity, modern Christianity hinges on Jewish conversion and without that Jewish conversion Christianity losses its force, (Romans 1:16, 2:9-10) especially just before and at the End of Days that we are now approaching (Romans 11:25-28). It is the "Jew" that lends any spiritual credibility to the Church, not the Gentiles no matter how abundant they may be. This is why we see such a strong push among many of the Gentile churches trying in their minds, to return the church to its “Jewish roots” by incorporating Jewish style rituals into their Christian worship. They are doing whatever they can to incorporate themselves into the covenant that God has with Israel without the proper credentials while seeking to convert every Jew that they can away from of that very covenant! They are making the same spiritual mistake that the Jew-what-to-be Samaritians made when they tried to make Mount Gerizim God's provided place of worship instead of David's Jerusalem as the true place to worship (see St. John 4:20,22).

.

Both Christianity and Islam have used force and intimidation to persuade Jews to convert for centuries, but in societies where the Church don’t have absolute control over secular governments, proselytizing in many different forms and methods have become the norm. For example, never before until now has there been so many evangelical Christians dressing, eating, drinking, talking, and acting like orthodox Jews. They call themselves Messianic Christians, Hebrew Believers, Jews for Jesus, Completed Jews, as well as other names that indicates their mixing of Christianity with traditional Jewish beliefs. Most of their rituals are Jewish biblical rituals, and even including non-biblical Jewish traditions such as wearing yarmulkes, lighting Hanukkah candles, and conducting Seder Passover meals, all the while claiming that they only stick with the scriptures and the Rabinnic Jews whom they imitate to the core, are false.

.

Can you image the Medieval Christians of Europe expressing their Christianity by using Jewish traditions? In many places throughout Christian Europe it was forbidden on pains of death for Christians to have any dealings with the Jews or to even be present at a Jewish service, much less to eat, drink, dress, talk, or act like the hated Jews! So why now in this present day can we find in any big city’s phone book, a yellow-page listing of a messianic synagogue (in the synagogue section) when one was not even heard of before 1970’s?

.

This is a relatively new tactic used by the evangelicals since the old methods failed to yield the desired body-count. I use that term because this “tactic of disguise” is actually a military tactic in which I am surprised it has taken as long as it has for the evangelicals to use it. How many times in history has an army disguise itself to look, act, and talk like their enemy in order to wipe out the ones whom they were dressed and acting like? If true Judaism would ceased to be, it would only be a matter of weeks before the messianic movements would collapse. The reason why: There is no reason to keep working once a job has been completed.

.

Here is what I see the Messianic movement leaders saying to their students (in my own radical way):“If you are going to go out and trick the Jews into Christianity instead of killing them or forcibly converting them, you must be trained in the art of Jewish disguise.”
Rule # 1. “Never expose your true beliefs openly as they are, but make it sound Jewish.”
Rule # 2. “Don’t let him know you mean to wipe out the Jewish nation through conversion to a cult. Rather, make the Jew think that he is staying Jewish when in reality he is like Esau, giving up his birth right.”
Rule #3. “Though you hate the very depths of their souls because they are Jews, show them love-love-love. Ask them about their families, invite them over to your house, see if they need anything, and tell them about how you just love and support the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Now, here is your training card when conversing with a Jew using Biblical issues. Remember, make him think its Jewish!”

.

To see how far the Messianics will go to lure scriptural-ungrounded Jews (or evens Gentiles for that matter), into their cult is really quite amazing. For the sole purpose of converting Jews, they have created what they call a “Complete Jewish Bible” interpolated (not translated) by David H. Stren. Its not called a “Holy Bible” or “Holy Scriptures” but a “Complete Jewish Bible”. Stren just had to make sure he got that keyword “Jewish” on the front cover to create a Jewish lure. What Stren does with his so-called “Jewish” bible is essentially this:
1. He has taken the English language and mixed it with Hebrew sounding names (as do many Messianics with their own personal names) to give it that special Jewish effect.
2. He placed the books of the Old Testament in the same order as found in the Jewish Bible, since the Christian Bible has them in a different order than that of a Jewish Bible. In so doing, Stren sought to carefully eradicate any reminders that might appear to the Jew as being “different” or non-Jewish in the traditional sense.
3. He added Jewish Parashahs (weekly synagogue readings sections), so it will mimic a Jewish Bible used in traditional synagogue services. To stimulate Jewish conversion, the Jew don’t have to give up his Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath) for the Sunday worship anymore. This bible is intended to aid to Jew in continuing with this ancient Jewish Parashah practice.

4. He added the New Testament books (also with Hebrew sounding names) by which no separation distinction is made as it is found in a typical Christian Bible, in order to stress the belief that the New Testament is a continuation of the Jewish Bible instead of an addition. Additions causes questions, especially when the Jews were taught that their Jewish Bible is complete.
5. He added Jewish Bible-like sections to his New Testament so that it will appear similar and in continuance with the Jewish Bible. As the Jewish Bible is broken up into three sections called The Torah, The Prophets, and The Writings, Stren sought to continue that trait by adding sections of his own in the New Testament such as “Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) Letters to Communities” and “Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) Pastoral Letters”.
6. He added his own personal “corrections” in the New Testament which according to the publisher were: “mistranslations that resulted from anti-Jewish theological bias”. Meaning, anything that might offend the Jews as being anti-Jewish had to be removed or retranslated in order to make it easier for Jew to swallow.

.

The whole purpose of Stren’s messianic bible is the same as the whole purpose of the messianic movement in general, and that is to put forth enough Jewish appearance in order to trick and beguile as many people with Jewish backgrounds as possible, away from their covenant into another religion (or in this case a religious cult) as possible! It is kind of funny, but guess what the New Testament book of “Hebrews” is called in Stren’s bible? It’s not “Eve-reem” meaning “Hebrews” in Hebrew, but his book of Hebrews is called: “Messianic Jews”. Go figure.

.

What does this kind of childish-trickery evangelism say about the Jewish-disguised evangelist themselves? It says that they themselves believe their religious doctrine and beliefs must be disguised and sugar coated in order for it to be received by unsuspecting Jews, and without such deception it will surely fail. It also states that they are so fixated on seeing the Jews convert from their ancient heritage belief system that they are willing and able to stoop to whatever lows are necessary to see it accomplished. The New Testament by itself isn’t good enough to do the desired job of Jewish conversion in their minds, so it needs a little deception-help. In their minds and rightfully so, it will take an extraordinary effort to convert the chosen people out of being chosen so their offspring too will cease to be “chosen” - there is a three or four generation rule that whenever a Jew converts form the covenant, within three to four generations his offspring looses all identity as Jews (Exodus 20:5).

.

What does it say about the mainstream church organizations such as the Baptists and Assembly of God, who support the messianic movement efforts but still separate from them doctrinally? It says quite a lot. Such support actually remains me of the principles that the Palestinian suicide bombers use when they dress themselves up in Hasidic Jewish attire in order to blow themselves up from among the Jews. It is prohibited in the Palestinian society for a Palestinian to dress like a Jew unless he is doing it for the Palestinian cause of killing Jews, in which case, will bring him much praise for doing so from among the other Jew-hating Palestinians. Likewise, the mainstream churches are opposed doctrinally of dressing in TziTzis, having worship services on Saturday, and drinking four cups of wine on Passover, but they will give full support and blessings to these Messianics who practice these things for the cause a Jewish conversion into Christianity. They might wish to have them in their traditional church for a denominational feather in the hat, but as long as the Jew separates himself from his God-given covenant for some form a Christianity - well, that’s the main thing! The Jews must be saved at all cost from his covenant that the God of Israel gave them to a Christian covenant using the same logo.

.

Another display of messianic Christianity spiritual motive as well as their uprightness in heart is given in Jackie Mason’s 2006 lawsuit against the group “Jews for Jesus”. Everybody (especially the people in New York) knows Mason is Jewish (in his own words, “as a matzo ball”). What prompted Mason to file the lawsuit was a "Jews for Jesus" tract that featured an image of himself along with the words “Jackie Mason ... A Jew for Jesus!?” This tract was intended to make the unsuspecting Jew to think that Mason being the prominent Jew he is, had became a Christian and joined the Jews for Jesus organization. And if a well prominent Jew like Mason can became a messianic Christian, then surely they being Jewish should see about becoming one as well? At least that was the thinking of the tract creators. Susan Perlman, was the spokeswoman for Jews for Jesus, and said the tract was “good-natured” and “Shame on him (Mason) for getting so upset about this”. The tract was “good-natured”? Since when is a willful outright, deceiving, evil lie about someone “good natured”? Would she be "shamefully" upset if the Jewish organizations in her area printed and passed out pamphlets to messianic Christians that featured an image of her on the front cover that stated “Susan Perlman denounces Jews for Jesus”? Would this kind of pamphlet bearing her image be “good natured” too, or would it be deemed by her and others within the Jews for Jesus camp as: “those bad O Jews are trying to persecute us good O Christians” at that point?

.

What gets me is the lying audacity that groups like "Jews for Jesus" has when it comes to seeking-out Jewish conversion! To them, it is far better to lie in Jesus’s name and convert a Jew, than to be honest and let a unknowing Jew keep his / her faith! And what really gets me is the fact that other Christians will applaud their effects if they are able to pull-off a Jewish conversion, with such lying acceptance as “oh well, God can even use deceit to change a sinner’s heart”. But if the roles were reversed and Christians were giving up their faith to follow Judaism, then it would be high spiritual treason against the church. To me, its utterly disgusting that someone can even believe that God could glory in such a false-base foundation for the belief in Him.