Posts Tagged FFOZ
The Target
Posted by James in Uncategorized on January 11th, 2010
This is not our first foray into the battle for faith. In 2007, First Fruits of Zion offered a conference dedicated to answering anti-missionary arguments. The conference was a response to an alarming trend we observed among many Messianic Gentile believers who were falling in love with Judaism and abandoning faith in Messiah. Without exception, such apostates warmly (and gullibly) accepted the arguments of anti-missionaries without question, while at the same time they treated the New Testament and anything they perceived as Christian with cold suspicion and cynical criticism.
From vineofdavid.org
Answering Anti-Missionaries
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” -John 6:66-69
Vine of David is the publishing subsidiary of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ). I read their article about Anti-Missionaries and it reminded me of a couple of things. One has to do with the Jewish people and the other has to do with Gentiles in the Messianic movement…at least some Gentiles.
I don’t want to belabor the point regarding anti-missionaries in Judaism, but to understand this article, you have to understand something about anti-missionaries:
Obligated or Encouraged?
Posted by James in Uncategorized on October 1st, 2009
Update: Tim Hegg has published a detailed response to FFOZ’s theological shift on his site, torahresource.com. Look for the article “An Assessment of the “Divine Invitation” Teaching.” It’s available for download in PDF format.
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. -Acts 15:28-29
Traditionally, the Messianic or “One Law” movement has stated in rather strong terms, that except for certain minor portions of Torah, the Law of Moses and the Grace of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), are not mutually exclusive concepts in the lives of both Jewish and Gentile believers. The net result of such a theology, is a collection of Messianic congregations where both Jews and Gentiles wear a tallit in prayer, read from the Torah, keep the Leviticus 11 kosher laws (what would be considered “kosher-style” by Rabbinic Judaism), and celebrate (to the best of our ability without the Temple in Jerusalem) the Biblical festivals.
We tend to butt heads, both with Rabbinic Judaism, and with the traditional Christian church regarding our practices. Christianity states that the Law was almost completely replaced by Grace, and that in Jesus, all believers are free from Torah obligations, Jew (converted to Christianity) and Gentile alike. Judaism states that not only are Gentiles not obligated to conform to the Torah requirements, but in certain cases, they (we) are actually forbidden to observe the Law.
Goy she-shavat hayav mita” – “a gentile who rests [on the Sabbath] incurs the death penalty. -Sanhedrin 58b
I recently posted two articles regarding Gentile observance of the Torah on this blog, Reading the Jerusalem Letter and Galatia, both loosely referencing the book The Mystery of the Gospel, written by First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ) author D. Thomas Lancaster. Imagine my surprise at discovering FFOZ has reversed course, now stating that only Jews (including Jewish believers in Yeshua) are obligated to keep the Torah commandments; not Gentiles!