Tikkun Olam and the Kingdom of God

The latest concept to cross my path while studying Judaism in terms of its connection with Christianity is the ancient but recently popularized notion of tikkun olam (literally meaning “world repair”).  Having been a member of congregations that were a part of the Association of Vineyard Churches for over ten years, I immediately recognized the connection with great excitement—this is describing the kingdom of God!  While neither phrase “tikkun olam” nor “the kingdom of God” explicitly appears in the Tanakh, the concept is fully represented and forms a central piece of both the First and New Covenants.  Tikkun olam is used in the Mishnah, and Jewish tradition tells us that the Aleinu (one of the thrice-daily prayers in Judaism) in which tikkun olam is mentioned was authored by Joshua—and no wonder: he was witness to the original pronouncement by God in which His kingdom was first mentioned in Exodus 19:

“…Although the whole earth is Mine, you shall be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…” (Exodus 19:5b-6a)

Here is the translation of the Aleinu:

It is for us to praise the Master of all, to render the greatness of the Creator of the beginning; Who did not make us like the nations of the lands, and did not set us like the families of the earth. Who did not set our portion as theirs nor our destiny as all of them, for they bow to naught and emptiness and pray to a god who does not save.

But we bend, bow, and give thanks before the king over the king of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, Who spans the sky and founds the earth, Whose dwelling of glory is in the heavens above, and Whose manifestation of might is in the supernal heights.

He is our God, there is no other. True! He is our king, there is none besides Him. As it is written in His Torah: “And you shall know today, and take to heart, that (YHVH) Adonai is the only God, in the heavens above and on earth below. There is no other” (Deut. 4:39).

Therefore we put our hope in You, (YHVH) Adonai our God: to see soon the radiance of Your might; to remove all idols from the earth so that all false gods will be totally eliminated; to establish the world as the kingdom of God (takken-olam) so that all the people of flesh will call upon Your name; to turn to You all the wicked of the earth (indeed) all the inhabitants of the world will recognize and know that to You every knee will bend and every tongue vow. Before You, (YHVH) Adonai our God, they will bend and kneel, thereby rendering glory to the honor of Your name. And they all will accept the yoke of Your kingship so that You will reign over them soon and forever, for kingship is Yours, and forever and ever may You reign in honor. As it is written in Your Torah: “(YHVH) Adonai will reign forever and ever” (Exod. 15:18). And it is said: “(YHVH) Adonai will be king over the whole Earth, on that day, God will be One, and His name One” (Zech. 14:9).

Now there is an interesting argument about the origin of the concept, the opposing sides of which lie roughly along the lines between conservative and liberal Jews.  You’ll notice in the Aleinu that the phrase is not tikkun olam (to fix the world), but takken olam (build, establish [on a foundation] the world).  The debate is fascinating to me because we are having the exact same quarrel in Christian circles.  It goes something like this:

On the more conservative side, it is argued that we cannot “fix the world;” this is God’s job.  What we can do is proclaim His sovereignty, live by His mitzvot (that is, His commandments or precepts), stay away from evil, and teach our children to do all the same.  Our living by obedience and the proclamation of his sovereignty builds the foundation; but the world will be finally “established” (takken olam) when God comes to reclaim what is His. On the more liberal end of the spectrum, this is not enough.  The world is in desperate need of “fixing”; social injustice, prejudice, greed, and all other sorts of evil run amok across our globe.  As the people of God, it is our duty to right these wrongs where we have the means; furthermore, for some, this value of tikkun olam is the highest value in all of Judaism—even to the exclusion of the rest of the Torah.

 The Christian version of this dispute naturally pulls Jesus into the discussion: did Jesus come into the world literally as an atonement for our sins, or was He an agent of revolutionary social change?  Is it our duty simply to live good lives and preach the Gospel, waiting for Jesus to return and make everything right, or do we grab the forces of evil by the horns and wrestle them to the ground for the sake of a more peaceable, civilized society?

The answer to these questions, obviously loaded for emphasis intended to lead us to the proper conclusion, is “yes.”  We have (as humans have a tendency to do) made this an “either/or” choice instead of a “both/and” statement.  Takken olam and tikkun olam are related and interdependent; no amount of our attempts to “fix the world” have any merit or effect without establishing those efforts under the sovereignty of God (and I would add the necessity of connection to the presence of God as well).  In the same token, it is precisely our submission to the sovereignty of God that compels us with the desire to “fix the world” in the first place.

The Judeo-Christian story tells us that this world was ejected from the shalom (peace, wellness, life, and absolute harmony wrapped into one) of God’s kingdom when our earliest ancestors chose to rebel against God in self-worship at the Garden of Eden.  Since that time, the longing of both God’s heart and our hearts was to see that kingdom restored.

Finding favorable hearts in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, God raised up the people of Israel and established them as the root—the base people in which the kingdom of God would be made manifest.   It was always His intention to include the rest of the world in His kingdom, as the Aleinu asserts; and God called His people to be “…a light to the Gentiles.”  He gave them the Feast Days as a roadmap of His redemptive process; He gave them the moral part of the Law to reveal His own character and to set a standard marking Israel as His kingdom people; and He gave the priestly part of the Law to provide them a means of communication despite their sin.

He did these things because He wanted the whole world to see what it is like to be a citizen of His kingdom; to let us know that He would never stop pursuing us.  He knew, of course, that Israel would go off into idolatry and fail not only in being a light to the Gentiles, but by be being absorbed in darkness themselves.  So He found David, another man after His own heart, and made a promise to him that his Heir would sit on the throne of the kingdom of God forever.

When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’ ” (1 Chronicles 17:11-14)

The prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel in particular) spoke of a New Covenant and a Messiah that would finally bring the complete restoration of the kingdom of God:

“…For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness the belt about His waist. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:1-9)

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD:

“I will put my Law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:26-28; from the fuller passage of Ezekiel 36:22-38)

The sages studied these texts and postulated who this Messiah might be:  He is obviously the Heir of David, but also He is Almighty God, the Everlasting Father.  How could this be?  Some believed there would be two Messiahs:  Maschiach ben-Yosef (the Suffering Servant who would wipe away the sins of Israel) and Maschiach ben-David (the Conquering Hero who would sit on the throne of his father David and restore Israel to supremacy among the nations in the kingdom of God).

Christians believe that Yeshua HaNazrit (Jesus of Nazareth) was the One spoken of by the prophets.¹ He came proclaiming the kingdom of God was near, and according to the B'rit Chadashah, the New Covenant Scriptures, he healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead as a testimony to His message. He said this about Himself:

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Of course, Jesus did not read the entire passage.  This was on purpose.  In his life, Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies related to Maschiach ben-Yosef, but not any related to Maschiach ben-David.  If Jesus had fulfilled the role of the Hero Conqueror without first completing His work as the Suffering Servant, no one would be admitted into the kingdom of God.  So, there are not two Maschiachim, but one Messiah who fulfills two roles.  For the shalom of the kingdom to return, and for all of mankind to have the opportunity to become citizens of that kingdom, the salvation provided by the Suffering Servant has to come first, followed by the judgment meted out by the Hero Conqueror.  Jesus fulfilled the first role, and promised to return and fill the second; but in between, there had to be time for the world to see and accept what God has done for us in the New Covenant.  This is why it has taken so long for Him to return.

One day, the last half of the passage in Isaiah from which Jesus read will be fulfilled as well:

“…and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”

“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” (Isaiah 61:1-9)

When Jesus returns, Scripture tells us in the Book of Revelation ² that the armies of enemies of Israel will be destroyed, and Jesus Himself will reign from the Temple in Jerusalem for 1000 years, fulfilling the promises that were made regarding Maschiach ben-David. After this, all evil will be burned up in the lake of fire, and heaven and earth will be remade with the New Jerusalem positioned in the middle. This will complete the full re-establishment of the kingdom of God; takken olam and tikkun olam will both be complete. This brings us to today, and back to our original conversation. If Jesus is going to complete all the work that is necessary, and if all the earth will be remade, what is the point of our involvement in takken/tikkun olam at all?

1. We are made in the image of God. As members of the New Covenant, the nature of selfless love that God has within Himself is being restored in us; therefore, it goes without saying that to engage in takken/tikkun olam is our natural way of life. It is what marks us as His people. Jesus said, “The world will know you are My disciples when you love one another…”


2. Consequently, it is a testimony to the world presenting God’s character. This is what it means to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” While Christians believe that there is no longer a need for a priest between the people of God and God Himself, we are priests to a world who does not yet know Him; and we show this by engaging in takken/tikkun olam.


3. We are the means by which God is increasing His kingdom. Anyone who will ever know the goodness of our God and have the opportunity to embrace Him will come to know this through their contact with us as we engage in takken/tikkun olam.

Shavuot is the Feast in which God kicked off takken/tikkun olam.  Orignially prescribed in Leviticus 23 as one of the annual Feast Days and one of the three main annual pilgrimage festivals where every Jewish man was to present himself to the presence of God as a God-worshiper, Shavuot holds an incredibly important place in the Judeo-Christian story:

1. In the First Covenant, Shavuot is the place where the kingdom proclamation was first made, marking the Israelites as God's people. The Law was given on this day.
2. In the priestly prescription for this Feast, the people were to count fifty days from Firstfruits³ (this is why in Greek and subsequently English, the Feast is known as Pentecost--lit. "fifty count"), and offer up two loaves of bread made from the field. This is symbolic of the people of God, having been made holy as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation by the offering of Firstfruits (Messiah Himself).
3. The story of Ruth, often read at Pentecost, is an allegory of the 'marriage' that takes place between God and His people as He brings us into His kingdom. He Himself is our kinsman-redeemer.
4. In the New Covenant, this is the day in which the Holy Spirit, Ruach HaKodesh, was released on the people of God, activating the New Covenant spoken of in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:26-28. The first Shavuot declared the standard of holiness in the Law and proclaimed the people of Israel as God's kingdom; the fulfillment of Shavuot in the New Covenant released the Holy Spirit who produces holiness in us and empowers us to live the kingdom mandate--engaging in takken/tikkun olam.
5. Related to the story of Ruth, Passover and Firstfruits (fulfilled in the New Covenant by the death and resurrection of Jesus, respectively) were like the betrothal of God to His people; Shavuot is like the marriage ceremony.

So what constitutes tikkun olam?  There are all kinds of opinions across the spectrum of both Judaism and Christianity.  The general consenus is some sort of service related to social justice:  feeding the hungry, healing the sick, helping the poor, defending the oppressed, etc.--though this is wide-ranging.  Some even feel (not my opinion personally) that smoking medicinal marijuana is somehow related to tikkun olam!  

The key goes back to the original discussion between takken olam and tikkun olam.  Activities that are truly part of the kingdom of God come always come from a desire to establish the world under His sovereignty.  You can't have tikkun olam without takken olam!  Simple philanthropy does not count--one can be 'good' for the sake of being 'good'--motivated from a desire to appear philanthropic, to feel good about oneself, or to earn brownie points with God--but these do not arise from the desire to see God glorified and His kingdom advanced.  True tikkun olam comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit--the result of which is a life connected to the active, living presence of God, hearing His voice, doing His will as a citizen of the kingdom of priests--a holy nation dedicated to making Him known.

Such a life resonates with the Aleinu prayer.  Rabbi Sha'ul (the Apostle Paul of Tarsus) repeated an early Christian prayer, which is a direct application of the Aleinu to Jesus:

[Because of Jesus humility and sacrifice vv.1-8] "...Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)

If one reads the last part of the highlighted section in Hebrew, it would say "...that Yeshua Ha Maschiach is Adonai."  Not just a lord of something, but YHVH--Adonai specifically.  No doubt Paul believed that Jesus was the God of Israel, the King of the Universe, with whom we participate in tikkun olam.  Happy Shavuot!

¹Discussion about the Trinity (how God can be One God in three 'Persons') and Christology (how Jesus can be both God and human at the same time) are separate conversations that digress too far from the conversation at hand, so we'll leave this alone for now; but belief in the Trinity and a high Christology are required to accept Jesus--or anyone else for that matter--as Maschiach.

²The Tanakh tells us all of these things generally as well; the B'rit Chadashah (The New Covenant Scriptures) simply apply these concepts to Jesus specifically.

³The Levitical offering of Firstfruits was a grain offering that was taken the day after the Shabbat after the Passover meal during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The priest would wave the sheaf to the LORD, and this would declare that the rest of the field was holy. Jesus was resurrected from the dead on this day, and so was 'lifted up', declaring the rest of His people as a holy kingdom of priests. It was a consecration offering to make the field holy; Shavuot was a presentation offering showing what was made holy by Firstfruits; this is why the two are related and why the 'counting of the Omer' is based off of Firstfruits.

Came back to Israel because "...we wanted to?"

The newly, democratically-elected Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, recently spoke to a group of students at a 'Birthright' event.  While I certainly agree with the Prime Minister's statements, I was concerned about the tone of his remarks.  This is a very critical time for Israel, and their actions will determine what will happen next.  The video can be found here.

My comments to the video were these:

[Prime Minister Netanyahu's statements were] ...absolutely true.  But God is responsible for this, you know; give HIM the glory!  The Israelites were kicked out in 586 B.C. for idolatry with Ba'al and Ashtoreth according to the covenant; but God loves Israel with an everlasting love--He preserved and restored them as He promised.  In 70 A.D., the Jews were kicked out again--this time for idolatry to self worship:  the lust for power, position, and self-righteousness (pride) leading to rejection of the Messiah, Yeshua.  They missed the "time of their visitation".  But God loves His people with an EVERLASTING love--He preserved them, and is restoring them according to His promises.  This time, the opportunity exists for Israel to NEVER be removed from their land again!  A New Covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:22-38 was made through the blood of Yeshua.  He was the perfect sacrifice, and was resurrected to become the Eternal High Priest. 

Israel has a choice: return to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the New Covenant and be restored to the land forever, or attempt to eke out an existence by their own self-righteousness and pride.  This is not a matter of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps of the human spirit; God will not allow self-worship to reign in Israel ever again!  What did God say to Israel at Mt. Sinai? "I will be your God, and you will be My people."  In order to partake of the New Covenant, one must put their confidence in God alone.  It is only one's birthright if one worships the God who GAVE that right. 

Israel must follow the example of their ancestor David, whose rock and fortress was El Shaddai, not his own ability to throw a good stone.  While God has given His people great ingenuity, wisdom, knowledge, and fortitude, these were not given to inspire self-confidence.  The Iron Dome will not save them, nor is it that God will take action only when the Iron Dome fails.  It is God ALONE who saves.  “...‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty."  (Zechariah 4:6b) 

On the encouraging flip-side, no back-door deal between Obama and Iran will undo the decrees of the King of the Universe; no coalition of Muslim terror groups can tear up the treaty God has made.  The UN is laughable; why do the nations plot in vain against the LORD of hosts?  But there is one thing that will delay God's promises.  If the current generation in Israel does not turn back to the LORD God, He will remove them again.  Just as the original generation of Israelites failed to reach the Promised Land because they refused to put their trust in the Great 'I AM', the current generation will fail if they do not return to God on His terms.  He loves Israel and will always preserve her; but He will permanently restore only the generation that does what is right by worshipping God through acceptance of the New Covenant.  He will not hesitate to remove them again; He has time to wait.  Will this be the generation of return?  We will find out...

The Poison of Offense

A person of importance in my life let me down the other day. Not only this, but he recently had the gall to lecture me on the virtues of faithfulness and trustworthiness – – character qualities which I certainly believe do not altogether escape me.  Naturally, I was upset by the incident and the hypocrisy paraded before me; what I didn't realize was how much this affected me.

Today, an opportunity arose where this person promised to help me with something.  As I thought about the prospect of this person's assistance actually occurring, negativity and sarcasm began to boil up from the depths of my soul; so much so that within a few minutes I actually began to feel physically sick.

Thank the LORD for his awesome mercy, his incredible love for us, his gentleness that targets us with such precision like salve to the wound.  "Listen to yourself," he quietly whispered, "he hasn't even done anything to you today, and yet you have already armed yourself against him, somehow assuming that he is deliberately making promises he has no intention of fulfilling."

My eyes widened and I gasped; I exhaled for what seemed an eternity as I began to understand the gravity of my error.  "Your offense is poisoning you."  Immediately I recanted my position of false superiority; I asked the Father to forgive me, for the Son to cleanse me, and for the Spirit's empowerment to forgive this person for previously abandoning me in my need.  Instantly I began to feel the tightness in my chest start to release.  I glanced over my right shoulder and I saw the enemy in my mind's eye, skulking and scowling in the knowledge that he had been found out, and that his hypnotic hold over my emotional state had been broken.

Why do we do this to ourselves?  What is it that causes us to hang upon every injustice we assume to suffer and to drive a benchmark through the event for all of history to witness?

Picking up an offense is one of the most seductive and dangerous forms of self-worship there is.  Based within our own faulty sense of justice and the limited perspective we have--seeing things only from our vantage point, we become completely confident in our ability to judge the motives and sensibilities of others while rejecting those same judgments as they apply to us.

The vast majority of us who were raised as Christians were no doubt forced to recite 1 Corinthians 13, whether in Sunday School, church camp, Christian school, or youth group.  Today, verses 4 and 5 resonate with me perhaps in a closer way than they ever have before:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Father God, I ask that you would impress this lesson on me; help me to hold it fast and close.  Holy Spirit, engrave this law on the tablet of my heart.  Release my heart from the poison of offense; cut the cancer of judgment away from my lips.  Heal me and help me to walk in your joy and your peace, being a conduit of your everlasting love.

...and at the PRAYER BREAKFAST of all places?

Orignially posted on Facebook, 2/5/15.

Wow. Our pretender to a pretend throne did it again; Obama's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast was actually masterfully done. I'm impressed by how he was able to take the truth and twist it in just such a way that he is not only supporting the New Age lie that all religions are equal, but comes off looking humble and conciliatory in the process! There are a few things that must be said in response to this: First, it must be acknowledged by Christians loudly enough so that the rest of the world hears us that Christian people throughout history have at times indeed committed terrible acts against each other and outsiders: dyophysites against monophysites, Christians against Jews, Christians against Muslims, Catholics against Orthodox, Catholics against Protestants, Calvinists against Arminians, the Amish, and Mennonites, Anglicans against Puritans, much of Western Christianity against blacks and Native Americans (many of these could be vice-versa). People bearing the name of Christ have tortured, beheaded, raped, disemboweled, burned people alive, enslaved others, etc. TRUE. Read your history. BUT, persons naming themselves as Christian DOES NOT mean they reflect the values of Jesus Christ or the values of Biblical Christianity. NOWHERE in the New Covenant Scriptures can you find a TRACE of evidence condoning this kind of behavior. When Constantine acquired Christendom and married it to the political machine of the state, he plunged it into a nightmarish alternate universe from which we are only now emerging. Secondly (and tied to the first), while Biblical Christianity does not condone this kind of violence, Islam which follows the Quran COMMANDS it. The things we are seeing from terrorist groups all over the world are the NATURAL outcome of the Islamic faith, NOT the exception. When a Christian makes a practice of violence, he/she does so in OPPOSITION to the Christian faith; in Islam, a person is violent in ACCORDANCE with their faith, and opposes their faith when being peacefully co-existent with non-Muslims. Thirdly, while many Christians (especially those in power) were violent through the ages, vastly more of them REVOLUTIONIZED the world. It was the influence of Judeo-Christianity that humanized much of the world's governing systems, that gave the world a conscience with regard to human dignity--especially toward women and children, that outlawed slavery throughout the British Empire and in America, that fought for freedom for the world's inhabitants against oppressors virtually everywhere, that spoke against the Holocaust and saved Jews to their own peril, that condemned the evils of Communism, that travailed in missions all over the world, feeding the poor, healing the sick, and educating and lifting those who had nothing, that fought for the life of the unborn, and on and on it goes. It is BECAUSE of Christianity that the American idea of religious 'pluralism' and freedom exists; nowhere in the non-Christian world do you find 'tolerance' of any kind. So, Mr. President, not all religions are equal; and while Christians certainly aren't perfect, our Scriptures say we are on a journey toward perfect holiness and love; and the majority of us are striving for that goal. Islam is rediscovering their dream of domination, violence, death, and destruction. Don't put us in the same universe--let alone on equal footing.

See the Original Video from the Prayer Breakfast here.  The part containing the content driving my comments begins at 8:00 and ends at 11:08.

A Yom Kippur Prayer

YHVH, Almighty King of the Universe, who alone is worthy of all allegiance and worship, thank You for bringing me to this glorious day.  You have loved me beyond all measure even when I made myself Your enemy through the self-worship in my heart.  You reached down and took the punishment of my sins upon Yourself in Jesus, the once-for-all perfect atoning sacrifice You provided for Your whole nation.  I thank you that you have permanently inscribed my name in the Book of Life.  Though I can never repay You for this, I give You myself as an offering of worship.  I thank You that Your Holy Spirit is producing holiness in me, causing me to reflect the values you displayed in the Law You gave to Moses.  Help me to love and forgive others as You have loved and forgiven me.  Conform me to the image of Yourself you created me to be—the one displayed in Your Word, Jesus, when He was here on the earth.  

I thank You that you I am now free to call You my Father and that I have been adopted into Your family as a son.  I want to know You more and to live continuously in Your presence; teach me to ever-increasingly hear Your voice.  Thank you that you are bringing the bread of our inheritance, the kingdom of God, to us every day.  Lead your people in Your way and Your truth.  Keep us from deception and from the temptations of our enemy; deliver us from the hand of the evil one in order to show the world that Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever.  I ask these things of you in the authority of the glorious, magnificent, and holy name of my Messiah and Lord, Jesus.  Amen.

A Voice in the Wilderness

I wrote the following in my dream journal, but this was less of a dream than more something God just said as I was waking up…

I was waking up to go to work and was feeling somewhat depressed because I am feeling all alone.  Ever since God has called me to Judeo-Christianity, had me quit the Vineyard and move out into the middle of nowhere, I have been isolated and feeling very useless.

God said to me, "Consider the ministry of John the Baptist."  By all of man's criteria, John the Baptist was an absolute failure:  a nobody of nobodies.  He lived in the desert, ate bugs, wore rags, never did any miracles that we know of, and simply called people to "…repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand."  Many people did respond to his message, yes; but all he did in response was mikveh them in the Jordan (that is, dunk them in a river for the preparing of their hearts for ministry).  There was no patented 12-step program for success, no book tours, no speaking engagements, no great outpouring of the Spirit, not very many lives changed for the Gospel, no hungry fed, no congregations planted, no platinum-selling worship album, etc.  Just dunking.  Lots of dunking.  As an Essene, he didn't get along well with the religious establishment, either (doesn't that sound familiar)…  The pinnacle of his success was to identify his second cousin as the Messiah of Israel, dunk Him in the river, and then point everyone in Jesus' direction.  Best quote?  "He must increase, I must decrease…"

Then he called out the puppet king of Israel for his affair with his brother's wife, which, of course ticked the king off.  The king had John put in prison, where John asked, "You know, I wonder if I made a mistake here…"  Jesus had to reel him back in by letting John know what was going on in Jesus' ministry:  the blind were seeing, the lame were walking, the kingdom was increasing, etc.  Jesus said, "Don't give up!"  A few days later, John was beheaded by the king (Mark 6:14-29).  That's it.

After I thought about all this, God said to me, "This is where I have you right now--a voice in the wilderness, calling for repentance and pointing to Me." 

Upon hearing about John's imprisonment, Jesus said to the people to whom He was ministering that John the Baptist was the greatest person ever to be born of a woman.  What was it that made him so great in Jesus' eyes?

Like many of the true heroes of the Scripture, John the Baptist's character was one of self-sacrifice.  Instead of wanting to capture the limelight, striving to accomplish an agenda, or compromising the truth to gain favor, John yielded himself to the Holy Spirit even to the point where it landed him in prison where he was ultimately beheaded.

God calls us all to live in such abandonment of self-worship; I personally believe that we will be unable to truly hear the LORD as we should until we fully understand and attempt to live this way.

And so until I hear further instructions, I shall come, day after day, into the belly of a nuclear plant surrounded by razor wire and armed guards, to do the mundane; and as I see the world spinning around me, I will call--as a voice in the wilderness--all those within my reach to repent to the LORD, because the kingdom of God is near.

The Dividing Line

The sand in the ground in front of me seems to be seeping away as a chasm is forming.  There are many people on either side, and there still is time to jump across from one bank to the other; but soon, the distance will be too great.

I’m talking about the dividing line that is solidifying between the two sides of the church—and there are only two sides.  People from every denomination of Christianity are represented on each embankment; this is not a schism that is occurring over faith tradition, but one that cuts directly to the core of what we believe.

Everywhere it seems, people are adopting positions that fly in the face of traditional Christian practice.  Just a few days ago, Vicky Beeching announced to the world that she is a lesbian; she is now, among Matthew Vines and many others, promoting the idea that God approves of a homosexual lifestyle.  Michael Gungnor recently blasted every Christian who accepts a literal interpretation of Genesis by saying “…NO REASONABLE PERSON…” can take it literally.  Ann Coulter called Ken Brantly “idiotic” and a narcissist for choosing to minister in Liberia, where he contracted the ebola virus.  The Presbyterian Church USA voted to participate in the BDS boycott of Israel, while many other denominations have recently reasserted supersessionism (the belief that the church has replaced Israel) and have virulently opposed Israel’s right to defend itself in the recent conflict in Gaza.  The overwhelming message of many churches today, through both music and teaching, is one of self-help and self-service, reflected in teachings like those of Joel Osteen; his book, Your Best Life Now, says it all.  And of course, nearly everyone remembers the controversy created when Rob Bell declared there was no hell. 

Accompanied by these sentiments is the idea that Christians should keep silent about virtually everything related to doctrine and morality:  I read an article recently—I believe it was written by Charlie Peacock*–that said something like, “the world wants a Christianity that shouts less at them from the mountaintop.”   In all corners of the world, both churched and unchurched persons alike are crowing the ‘virtues’ of passivism.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something along the lines of, “Well, you know, theology has its place, but when it boils down, beliefs don’t matter.  Love does.”  Anyone who dares to question whether an idea is headed in the ‘right’ direction is labeled divisive, critical, judgmental, a hater (or various names associated with hate), uneducated, or even stupid.  A recent statistic showed that only 10% of pastors are preaching what they know to be Biblical values because they fear this will alienate those who disagree.  A good summary of these feelings is pictured in an opinion piece that Rachel Held Evans wrote for CNN which described the reasons why Millennials are leaving the church; though it’s not just Millennials who feel these things:  the ideas of which I’ve spoken are pervasive among all age groups.

These talking points are certainly not new, nor are they news to anyone; the only thing recent about these debates is the increase in their frequency.  What may be news to some is that when analyzed at a basic level, the positions people choose in these disputes suggest an overarching, bottom-dollar question that is at the heart of everything we are:  Who do you worship?

Logically speaking, we are held to whatever standard meets our response to this question; most of us reading this article would immediately reply saying, “the God of the Bible.”  If we say something different, of course, then our foundation of truth can take a variety of forms based upon whatever we worship; but if we claim that we worship the God of the Bible, we have to consider the implications of what that means.

First of all, if we worship the God of the Bible, we of necessity must believe that the Bible is true.  Either the Bible is true and its God is who He says He is, or the Bible is false and the god we worship is something of our own making or discovery.  The Bible claims there is only one God—obviously the one described in the Bible; so from a Judeo-Christian standpoint, anything worshipped other than the God revealed in its pages is really a creation or projection of the self—which in turn is actually self-worship.  One cannot worship two masters:  either one worships God or oneself; one cannot do both at the same time.  To reject part of the Bible is to claim that God is partially lying to us and is not worthy of worship, so such a rejection is a de facto act of self-worship.

Secondly, we must understand who God is.  The God of the Bible is revealed as YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).  This was confirmed through the patriarchs, through Moses, through the nation of Israel, and if one accepts the New Covenant as Christians do, ultimately through Jesus Christ.  While the Bible clearly states in both the First Covenant (‘Old’ Testament) and the New Covenant (‘New’ Testament) that anyone can come to God and worship Him, He is known forever as the Jewish God.  Nowhere does the Bible de-Judaize Him.  Even in the New Covenant Scriptures, where the Apostle Paul goes to great lengths showing that Jewish religious practices will not save you, nowhere does the Bible claim that the definitive concept of God has changed.  Instead, it was the Romanized church who de-Judaized Christianity over a period of several hundred years under the influence of Emperor Constantine and his successors, ‘Christianizing’ the various European pagan religious systems and tried to apply the Bible to them. 

The Reformers attempted to undo some of the damage, but did not begin with the right context:  God remains conceptually Jewish, and if we worship the God of the Bible, we must do so with that understanding.  He is the King of the Universe, but He is not a universal god.  Any Biblical thoughts Christians have had about God were experienced by Jews before them; any attempt to take God out of His Jewish context results in the creation of a god of our own making.  He is not Zeus, Ra, Osiris, Ba’al, Odin the Allfather, Allah, Vishnu, Nirvana, Paramatma, the Great Spirit, the universe, nature, or spiritual energy.  He is always and forever YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

This deviation from a Biblical understanding of God is a key part of understanding why we are experiencing the massive schism that is tearing the church in two.  There are certainly other factors which are influencing the timing, methods, and issues surrounding this schism, but one thing is certain:  those involved in re-making the Biblical God into something He is not are simply ‘Christianizing’ paganism all over again. 

So a dividing line has been formed:  will we worship the God of the Bible, or one of our own making?  It is my firm belief that God is calling His people back to a Biblical concept of Himself, and a Biblical practice of faith; this central question runs deeper than the vast majority of us realize, and massive adjustments will need to be made in order to keep in step with what God is doing.  A failure to do so may mean one suddenly finds themselves on the wrong side of the chasm with great difficulty in getting back…  The world would love a Christianity that does not shout at them from the mountaintop, which does not challenge them to worship the God of the Bible; but this is not what the world needs.  We need to stand boldly.  My prayer is that we will assess where we stand today.

*I searched all over to find the article I read and failed to find the article.  Great apologies to Charlie Peacock if he did not indeed say this...

Why the Bad News?

One can’t help but notice that a large portion of my Facebook profile seems to be dedicated to bad news.  I understand that the onslaught of this information can be more than a little depressing, and perhaps it even appears as though I don’t have enough faith that God is in control and will work things out according to His purposes.

This is not so; but then why does my social networking billboard present itself as the harbinger of doom?

Unlike some, (I promise that I am not thinking of any of my Facebook friends in particular) I believe that we are called to be involved with the affairs of the world; this is why we are called the Body of Christ.  Here is a mystery for those who can understand it:  just as Christ is the ‘body’ of God, so we are the ‘body’ of Christ.  As Christ is the Word of God made flesh, the Tangible One of God, Emmanuel—God with us, so we, in ‘marriage’ to Christ as the Bride, have become one flesh with Him—the physical representative of Christ—and by extension, God—on earth.  In Him we have become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  This is the heaviest of all responsibilities; and yet, it is a simple task when one views it as it should be.  Just as Christ did nothing on His own, but only that which He received from the Father, so we should do nothing on our own that we have not received from the Father through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Through us God expands the establishment of His kingdom:  He heals the sick, gives sight to the blind, makes the lame walk, reconciles the irreconcilable, raises the dead to life—both physically and spiritually, and most miraculously of all, changes hatred to absolute unconditional love. 

However, we have to be engaged in order to be a part of what He is doing, and make the choice to step into it.  This requires that we see that which there is to see; and unfortunately, what we see is a war.  This has always been true from the Garden of Eden until today; but what we are seeing now is unprecedented.  The world with one voice has turned against both Judaism and Christianity in ways that have not been witnessed since the days of post-Hadrian pagan Rome—only this time, there is increasingly nowhere on earth in which one can find relief.  Groups that otherwise would be deadly enemies are working together in concert to stamp out the followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and to remove the memory of Him altogether.  Not that this is a surprise:  Jesus Himself told us that “…in this world you will have trouble…”  (John 16:33)

If you do not understand what I’m talking about or agree with this perspective, I would urge you to do a self-check of where you stand with regard to the dividing line that is becoming more sharply drawn among us (this is not a judgment or condemnation, but a plea).  We no longer have the luxury of living in the paradigm of the ruggedly individualistic American dream (nor, in fact, have we ever—but this is a separate discussion); now is the time to orient our lives on the Father’s business.  We (myself in the foremost) have a tendency to stick our heads in the sand and go about our lives, letting the world look after its own mess; and so we need a reminder of the job that continually faces us.

Furthermore, under the control of the world system, the majority of today’s media is lying to us, slanting their stories sometimes to the exact opposite of the truth.  Sadly, many Christians and Jews alike buy into the distorted information they receive, which lulls them into a sense of complacency or even drives them to agree with the message of our enemy (here I am thinking of some of my Facebook friends, but I won’t name them).

It is for these reasons (among a few others) that I present the grim litany of events unfolding in our current view.  I cannot in good conscience allow the atrocities of our age to be swept unnoticed under the carpet of willful ignorance, whether by those who have set themselves against us or by those purporting to be brothers in the faith.  And so, by re-sharing what I see, I am helping to spread the Judeo-Christian side of the story, one which will most likely never be seen or heard elsewhere, except by those who know where to look and who have the desire to do so.

For those who agree with my sentiments, but don’t exactly know what to do as they see the tsunami of evil unfolding:

1.       Reconcile yourself to God.  If you have never been in a friendship with our Almighty God, or if you have stepped away from Him, rest assured that He loves you beyond measure, and is willing to embrace and forgive you no matter what you’ve done.  Be forewarned, however, that the life God calls us to is one of self-sacrifice, and transformation from self-worship to God-worship; and so this will require more adjustment to your life and way of thinking than you can possibly imagine right now.

2.       Pray.  Once we are members of God’s family in right relationship with Him, this is the first and most powerful thing we can do.  YHVH God, the King of the Universe, is everything to us:  our life, our breath, our strength, our wisdom, our power, our love, our joy, etc.  The list never ends.  Prayer is our direct connection to God; while I may not be able to touch someone directly in their circumstance, I touch the God who touches them, and there is no limit to what He can do.

3.       Consider giving to organizations that are providing relief.  God has undoubtedly called people to be on the front lines of every battle that is being waged on this planet, and you can give of the resources you have been given to help them do what God has called them to do.  Like prayer, your resources can go to where you may not be able.  God will direct you as to how to give; just be obedient to what He tells you.

4.       God may call you to go physically to minister somewhere; be open to whatever assignments the LORD may hand you.  You never know who you may impact.

5.       Share the truth with everyone you know in every way you know how.  Be ready to defend yourself; some will accept what you say, but many others will hate you for it.

6.       Concentrate your fellowship—build lasting friendships with like-minded people who can encourage you.  You will need support.

7.       Above all, love everybody—especially those who hate you.  This is a testimony to them of God’s work in your life, and if they never change, it will be a testimony against them when they stand before YHVH on the final Yom Kippur (the Great White Throne Judgment).  Let God deal with the consequences—in every case where I have been wronged, the LORD has been faithful to vindicate me as I have placed my trust in Him.

I cannot be completely certain as to how the current events of our world will impact us personally; but I believe we are on the edge of cataclysmic change.  The Bible predicts that the world will grow darker and darker while God’s people will shine brighter and brighter.  I believe this distinction is getting clearer every day.  So, while I may present a parade of horrors perpetrated by the world in an attempt to stir up a cry to God from His people, I have hope that His people shall rise in Christ to accept the challenge.  “—To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”  (Jesus, speaking in Revelation 2:7)

Reading Jesus Wars

Special book review:  Jesus Wars by John Philip Jenkins

Reading Jesus Wars is like going back to school.  The rough digestion of each and every page is confirming everything I knew and feared about the history of the church, yet revealing more about the depths to which the late classical and early medieval Christian monolith sank as the patriarchs threw their arms in deadly embrace around despotic politics.  It is tedious reading, not because of the language, but because the author repeatedly details the stories of who did what to whom ad nauseam, all for the same reason:  the preservation of political power.  The list of evidence for his position is overwhelming; I certainly better understand why those in academia have a tendency to dismiss the claims of Christianity when looking at it from a surface perspective.  The world of state-owned Christianity is completely alien to Christ's admonition to His disciples:  "by this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”  --John 13:35

I would not recommend this book to anyone who is not absolutely solid in their devotion to Christ; it is my personal friendship with our God that keeps me from rejecting the whole kit and caboodle.  I know Whom I have believed, and He is not the god of Constantine!  While it is excruciating to peel back the flesh of this issue to remove the tumors of idolatry, compromise, and a whole host of other methods of self-worship, the action is paramount if any real healing is to occur. The demons of our past must be encountered and exposed; we must relate them to our current environment and be willing to neutralize their presence wherever they make their mark.  If we refuse, the cancer will spread to other systems and become uncontrollable, resulting in great loss for the kingdom of God; while we know our LORD's triumph is inevitable, a blight makes for a far less successful harvest.  This is the enemy's goal, and why he continues to make war even though he is aware he eventually lose.

A hope that I maintain is that God is always doing something new; somewhere, whether we are in its midst or not, rays of sunlight are making their way to the earth.  Though the prophet's cry over Constantinople during this period was, "Ichabod" (the glory of the LORD has departed), at the same time God was mightily using a young man named Patrick in a far away corner of the world called Ireland.  The stone and mortar of Patrick's work would be built into a fortress that would preserve the Christian faith beyond even that which the pounding waves of the Islamic caliphates could reach; indeed, its foundation would even be translated across the sea to become part of the base from which American missionaries would re-launch the Gospel across the globe. 

Will we be part of the 'something new'?  This will partially depend on our desire and ability to let go of the 'something old'...

The Black Magic Bullet

Here’s one for all of my friends who study church history or theology:  as you may (or may not) know, I’m somewhat on a quest to find a seemingly lost or unexplored event in church history.  Christianity began with the forging of the great rings—no, wait, wrong story.  It began completely within the structure of Judaism:  Jesus was the Jewish Messiah sent to redeem the lost house of Israel, restore the kingdom of God and the nation of Israel to its former glory through the establishment of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:22-38).  Even Jesus’ status as the Light to the Gentiles was a First Covenant idea—it was always in the plan.  None of the earliest followers of Jesus ever thought of themselves as anything but devout Jews—even Paul (he was perhaps the closest, as he proclaimed that his status as a ‘Jew’s Jew’ was rubbish compared to the knowledge of Christ, but never did Paul renounce his Judaism).

Somewhere along the way, however, Christianity changed into a Greek religion, borrowing from the philosophers and pagan religious forms of the Greek-influenced Roman Empire, which in turn were borrowed from Babylonian and Persian pagan archetypes (The Father is Ba’al/Nimrod/Osiris/Zeus; Mary is Ashtoreth/Semiramis/Isis/Alcmene-Hera—this is why Catholics/Orthodox call her 'the Mother of God' and 'the Queen of Heaven'; Jesus is Ba’al (reborn)/Tammuz/Horus/Hercules; the saints are the Greco-Roman pantheon).  The names were Christianized to apply the real New Testament events to the pagan story.  This paganization of the faith has influenced our behavior beyond what we even realize—down to the ways we pray and worship.  As a rough estimate of percentage, one could say modern Christianity is 25% New Covenant Judaism, 25% out-of-context attempts to explain Bible passages using Greek thought, and 50% Christianized paganism.

When I embarked on my study of church history to see where this change began, I first ran into Constantine the Great, whose influence as the first ‘Christian Emperor’ changed Christianity more than any other.  As the son of a pagan father and Christian mother, he forced a syncretism between Christianity and Roman sun-god worship most likely as a political device in an attempt to rekindle the glory of Rome, which was a natural fit for him as he truly believed Jesus was the embodiment of the Roman sun god.  The result of his beliefs were the mandate that Christian worship should only take place on ‘the venerable day of the sun’; that the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection should be reckoned by the pagan festival of Easter (Ashtoreth) rather than celebrating the Jewish Passover; and his puppet-pope Julius I determined that Jesus’ birth should be celebrated on December 25th, the pagan festival of Saturnalia and the ‘rebirth of the sun’ from the ‘death’ of the winter solstice.

The centuries following Constantine were filled with violent debates over the nature of the Trinity and Christology, all arguments being based in a Greek philosophical understanding of divine vs. human nature rather than a simple study of the Bible from the original Hebrew context; and the final papers of divorce from Judaism were signed with the Council of Laodicea in 364.  But Constantine was not the beginning of the metamorphosis; as early as Ignatius of Antioch (d. 107) we find evidences of Western Christianity becoming a largely Gentile affair.  By the time of Origen of Alexandria (d. 254) we see open criticism of Jewish thinking and Jews in general, and finally, by Constantine’s day, there are calls for open slavery, eternal damnation, and even eradication of Jews by the likes of John Chrysostom (d. 407). 

Some obvious factors one must certainly take into account when deducing the reasons for the development of a Greco-centric Christianity are:

1.       The virulent persecution of Christians by the Jews of the first century; certainly Saul of Tarsus was not the only one dragging Christians from their homes and accusing them of crimes.

2.       Even the Judaism of this time had been Hellenized sufficiently to be influenced by Greek philosophy and culture, so the fact that these pop up particularly in the Western Church should not be a surprise.

3.       The vehemence with which Paul debated the Judaizers and the subsequent failed compromise at the Council of Jerusalem involving the Noahide Laws led Gentile Christians to believe that Jewish observances were not important.

4.       While there certainly were Jewish communities in diaspora, Jerusalem was by far the largest concentration of Jews on the planet until the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D.  Therefore, as Christianity spread outward, it makes sense that more Gentiles would be converted than Jews, simply because of culture and geography.

5.       The destruction of the Second Jewish Temple was seen by Gentile Christians particularly in the West as God’s rejection of the Jews as His people.

However true, none of these reasons—separately or even combined—are sufficient enough to definitively explain how Christianity broke away from its Jewish Biblical moorings so completely in the West.  This is particularly illustrated by the fact that this did not happen in the Oriental Eastern part of the Roman Empire; Judeo-centric Christianity was practiced and survived in this region until Islam nearly destroyed it in the 7th century.  In the West, something was lost in translation from the time of the original apostles to the third generation of Christians to the point where even the identity of God was changed (no, I’m not talking about the Trinity here, but rather (YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob vs. a universal, interchangeable god).  I’m still looking for the ‘black magic bullet.’  Any thoughts?