The Christian Letter, Volume One: Chapter 62
There are thousands of different faiths that claim the Bible, but which is the right one? After all, no one has a vision of Heaven with over two thousand denominations spread all over the place. Was the Messiah a Catholic, a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness, a Baptist, a Reform, a Pharisee, or a certified member of the saved by hope and a large tithe congregation of the perpetually cheery? Though over a billion claim it so, none of these answers are true.
Please take a moment and read Romans 11, then please take some more time to pray for peace and understanding before reading on.
“one body and one Spirit, as you also were called in one expectation of your calling, one Master, one belief, one immersion, one Elohim and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
We see in Scripture there is one Jew Who stands out from amongst them all. Not Abraham or Moses, Jeremiah or Isaiah, not David or Daniel, not Paul or Peter, but rather: Yahoshuah. Our Jewish Messiah is the One we need to look to when emulating. He is the One True Vine. We are to be the fruit on this Vine. Can thorns grow from a grape vine, or olives? Alas, how can we be of this vine—this one belief—when we are of a gentile nation or birth? Can a stranger become grafted in as a Jew, and should he?
Are we the seed of Abraham that we be of Jewish decent? “And if you are of Messiah, then you are seed of Abraham, and heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29). (Also read Genesis 12:1-3 and Exodus 19:5-6). The Messiah rebuked some of the Pharisees for claiming to be the seed of Abraham, but He did so because of their bragging on it. Yah alone is good.
Note: If someone becomes Jewish, then they will hear the following quite often: “Were your parents Jewish? No? Oh, well then you can’t be Jewish.” We are all descendants of Noah, a Jew, but more than this: I can be grafted in. You cannot be born a Catholic, only raised that way; when you’re born you have not gone down a path. I am married. I wonder why people do not say, “You can’t be married if you weren’t born that way.” I was born a baby. Why don’t people say, “You can’t be an adult because you weren’t born one.” Others will adamantly shout, “Stay away from this man, he is encouraging you to become like the Messiah!” Okay, they say I am encouraging you to become lost, but read on, pray, read His Word, and you will see, you will hear.
The one faith is that which the Ruach has inspired the men (such as Nicolas from Antioch in Acts 6:5 or Philip of Samaria) and women (such as Ruth) of Scripture to have, as well as many others. We are often told to not learn the ways of the gentiles. Who’s way is left?
I have a pair of safety glasses I use anytime they might be needed, and sometimes even when they’re really not, but you know what, I hate those safety glasses. They are uncomfortable, hurt my ears, they glare, and are about the plainest looking things you ever saw. Oh, sure, they have literally saved my vision many times, as the cuts all over them prove, but I still hate them. I’d like a better pair.
A great many people feel the same way about the Messiah as I do about my safety glasses. He is uncomfortable, hurts their ears, glares in their eyes, and to them He is about the plainest looking Jew they ever saw. They’d rather be quite comfortable by being widely accepted, having their ears tickled, the lights turned low, and glitter on the broadest path the world has to offer, with more followers than any other faith or lack thereof: Christianity. They say they love the cut and bruised Messiah, but only because of His protection.
I hate my safety glasses, but I adore my Saviour. I want to be like Him, but can I be like Him … if I have a different faith? Many people hate even the word “Jew.” Do you know what it means? Yahudi (singular) / Yahudim (plural), roughly means, “One, who, belonging unto Him, praises Yahoweh.” This title is derived from Yahudah (Judah) and often changed into a word that carries with it unsurpassed and unsubstantiated hatred: Jew. Many refuse to be called Jew, even though the original word means one, who, belonging unto Him, praises Yahoweh.
Is this an inaccurate description of you?
But what does the word Christian mean, and can we find it in the Scriptures?
The word “Christian” only appears three times in English translations of the Bible. “Then Barnabah went to Tarsos to seek Sha’ul, and having found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came to be that for an entire year they came together in the assembly and taught large numbers. And the taught ones were called ‘Messianites’ first in Antioch.” (Acts 11:25-26). (Many translations render this as Christian, rather than Messianites.)
“But if one suffers being Messianic, let him not be ashamed, but let him esteem Elohim in this matter.” (1 Peter 4:16).
“‘Sovereign Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.’ And Agrippa said to Sha’ul, ‘With a little you might persuade me to become a Messianite!’ And Sha’ul said, ‘Much or little, I pray to Elohim that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become such as I also am, except for these chains.’” (Acts 26:27-29). But was Paul a Christian? Many people like theology to answer their question, but let’s just ask Paul:
“Now Sha’ul, perceiving that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried out in the council, ‘Men, brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, I am being judged concerning the expectation and resurrection of the dead!’” (Acts 23:6).
“But wait! Wasn’t Paul the first Christian?” Ah, here we go again. Too many people either praise, or blame, Paul. After his belief in the Messiah, Paul did not claim to be a Christian, but called himself a Pharisee, or in modern terms: a Rabbinical Jew. What is a Rabbinical Jew? It is a Jew who follows a rabbi, and that is how Paul viewed himself. His Rabbi, of course, was the Jew Yahoshuah, Whom he had persecuted.
The term Messianic, or Messianite, is used in the above translation, and Christian is used in many others, but neither word is the actual word being used. So, what does this term Christian mean? Should we be called Christians? Why Christianity when Christ is a term used for all Greek deities, why not Anointedianity, Saviourianity, Messiahianity, or the likes? Seems a bit of a mystery solving needs to be done, and not the kind that just leads us to the answers we want to believe.
It is time to look for clues, and time to remember old ones.
Yahoshuah was never called Christ. He was referred to as the Messiah. What happens when we change a word? It changes everything. If a person is called a democrat, it changes your perception of him completely in comparison to his being called a republican. Alternatively, if you are told of a man named John that is very big, but when you meet him, she is thin, her name is Sally, and she is only big in heart, you will understand just how much a wrong word or two can alter your perception of truth. In the same way, it thoroughly changes our perception—as well as our identity—if we return to true words from the Word.
The word for assembly was altered to church. The word Sabbath was altered to Saturday. The word Messiah was altered to Christ. The very Name of our Saviour, Yahoshuah, was altered to Jesus. The word Jew was altered to Christian. The word Passover was altered to Easter. The fruit of the Spirit was … O dear brothers and sweet sisters … say it is not so.
Dear believers, seekers, and followers: Isn’t time we worshiped the Elohim of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac? Isn’t it time we called Him by the same Name Adam called Him by? Why do we resist, O brothers and sisters, when Yahoshuah calls us to obedience? It’s time, is it not, to lay down our perception of Him, and allow Yah the pleasure of introducing Himself. For by His doing so, we will be introduced to who we are supposed to be as well. Think I have gone off course? Consider 2 Chronicles 7:14, and how we are to be known by our love?
If we went back in time, and walked with the Messiah, ate with Him, healed with Him by His power alone, and got to be with Him for years, then how much different would we be? We would keep the Sabbath, celebrate Passover, read the Torah and refer to His Word as Ageless, indeed, we would hear sermons for children much more often than for adults. The people who were well would walk on by, and the people who were sick would know you only as the one who carried them to the Messiah. You would have no pillow. There would be no video. To hear the Words of Jeremiah, to sing the Psalms, to hear parables never recorded. Can you place yourself there, my dear brothers and sweet sisters? Can you feel the sand between your toes when the Messiah called out to you, for you to become fishers of men? … There is just one problem, though, isn’t there? You will have to leave, not just your boat, but your forefathers as well.
What would we be called? Would we be recorded as followers—or as those who preached against the Jewish Messiah? Would we wear tzitzit, or speak against it by actions? Would we hear the woman at the well calling Him a Jew, and record over these words by calling Him a Christian?—Why are we so embarrassed about Who we love?
We return to the question: What does the word Christian mean? Christian means something vastly different from Jewish. Christ is a title given to every Greek deity, from Adonis to Zeus. Today, Christ means: an idea that has been saturated to the point of rendering service, or anointed with oil. The suffix ian means coming from, or a representative of, a supporter or expert in. Yet, today, Christian means, not a follower or worshiper, but a believer in the Anointed One. To understand the great chasm of difference between believer and follower, one has only to realize that the devil is a believer, but, since that is the case … what is Satan? Alas, is Christian the only term followers in the Messiah can accept?
Yet, wait just a minute; people believed in the Messiah long before He was born! They were waiting for Him! … What were they called? Jews. What was Peter called? Jew. What was every follower called? Jewish!—From the Bereans to the former gentiles! But even more often than that they were called brothers and sisters. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were known as that today, as opposed to different denominations?
There are thousands of branches of Christianity, yet, there is something few in these branches consider: A branch is not separate—it is part of the whole tree. Where do these branches come from, though? Modern day Christianity branched from the trunk of Catholicism, yet, Catholicism never branched from the Jewish faith, the faith of the Messiah, thus it is not rooted in the Biblical faith. Where does your faith branch off from? Should we not seek the source of what we were told was truth?
Regardless, I am not sure it matters a lot what you call yourself. It matters more whom Yahoweh knows you as. Are you like His Son, or like His Son is so often portrayed? You may ponder and wonder and come to too quick of a conclusion about being called Jewish, but, at the end of the day, our actions will either call us: “One who believes in Him,” or “One, who, belonging unto Yahoweh, praises Him as a disciple.” Which one you chose to call yourself, is not as important as which one you choose to be.
When I was around ten years old, I asked a minister, “If Jesus is a Jew, then why aren’t we?” He could not answer, nor could any of the hundreds of other elders and preachers that I asked for the years to follow. Then I thought: Perhaps I should try to answer my own question, or, even better, I should ask the Heavenly Father.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of Elohim, to those believing in His Name, who were born, not of blood nor of the desire of flesh nor of the desire of man, but of Elohim.” (John 1:12-13).
Once upon a time, there was a Buddhist who read the Koran every day. The Buddhist prayed to Allah seven times a day, and had become proficient with the Muslim holy tongue, though he spoke no Asian language. When asked what his faith was, he would always answer, “I’m a Buddhist.” One day someone gave more in return more than just a weird look. They said, “Aren’t you a Muslim?” “No!” the man shouted back, “How dare you call me that.” The alleged Buddhist feared that if someone called Him a Muslim, then perhaps people would look down on him, or label him with a stereotype he feared. He refused to be a Muslim even though He followed the Muslim faith.
This may sound funny, or even sad, but it is a true story. Only a few words were changed. Consider this story again, read this story again, but instead of Buddhist, read Christian, instead of Muslim, read Jew, and change the appropriate linking words. What we have are people following a Jew who are too indoctrinated by man to follow the Maker of man.
If you follow Buddha, then you are a Buddhist.
If you follow an atheist, then you are an atheist.
If we believe in the Messiah, then we are Christians.
If we follow the Messiah, then we are Jews. We’d have to be. He is a Jew. The problem is that many have accepted Him as Saviour, but not as a Jewish Saviour.
Jews and Christians claim to love the same King, but then do nothing the same. This is the outcome of a little here and a little there. Little by little, untruths come into our faith. Little by little, our false traditions are placed above His. Little by little, we die by our own choice. Little by little. I am not against you, nor is Yahoweh against you, but rather we are eager for you to find the Truth, and to yearn for it rightly in true happiness, for no man made institution can compare to the Word of Elohim! Praise Yah there is no requirement to fight the idea of true Biblical worship.
The Bible is not Catholic, nor is it Mormon, or Jehovah’s Witness, Baptist, Lutheran, Orthodox, Reform, Messianic, Non-Denominational Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist; it is, indeed, and undeniably, Jewish. You do not have to remain in a religion that is not the same faith as the Messiah. You owe it to no one. The Messiah never authorized or invented a new religion, instead He was upset because of the changes already made, and proclaimed to deaf ears, “Repent, turn back.” Do we really want to boldly profess and obey the Messiah? I feel that I have been deprived most of my life for never having known the truth of what the holy days communicate, of what His Word shows us when we do more than just read.
You do not belong to the Catholic church, nor are you a Methodist or Berean—you belong to Yahoweh, and you are His disciple, not the churches’, or the self. If any Christian has a problem with being this, they are no more Christians than Humanists. But, again, what should we call ourselves?
In Acts 24:5 some were called the Nazarene sect, possibly the Essences. In Acts 9:2, Paul, when he killed the Jewish believers, called them, “the Way.” More often, though, the Jews were called brothers and sisters. I hope that the many thousands of divided groups, calling themselves Christians, will one day call each other dear brothers and sweet sisters in humility, and learn each one according to the Word in the true way of fellowship—not church doctrine.
Let us walk with the Great Nazarene. Let us be known as an adopted brother or sister of His children, the Jews, and welcome His Light to shine through us for Yah’s glory. Let us not be in the way, but rather allow His Way to shine through us.
In Romans 2:17-29 we see that to be a Jew is an inward act—to be grafted into the vine. Some are allegedly born a Jew, but do not love His voice—a pruned branch. To be a Jew is a faith, not strictly a heritage. Hebrew means to cross over. Israel means those who strive with Him, and, being overcome by Him, are blessed in seeking after Him. Have you crossed over in faith to be His? Have you told Yahoweh that you love Him and want to be His? Have we wrestled, not to twist or destroy, but to be blessed? Do you desire the title Yahudi because you know that it means to be one who fervently follows the Messiah and all of His Torah, being led by the Spirit? Pray for this first, for His Spirit, and then do what He has already said through the prophets, checking all that He says to your heart with them. Then, someday, we will be given the title of every prophet; we will be called a Yahudi.
People call themselves gentiles when introducing themselves to a Jew. They acknowledge that the Jew is completely separate from all other religions, as all other religious admittedly blend with each other. If you are a gentile, are you sure that is what you should stay? Or would you rather be peculiar treasure?
I am a Jew, but not in the modern traditional sense. If you are a Christian, but not in the traditional sense, then great, so long as the title “disciple of Yah” doesn’t offend or contradict you, then we are on the same chapter, perhaps just a different page. After all, I am still just a brother who believes and strives to follow the Messiah in His Spirit of love. I am still a sinner saved by grace. I cannot boast save in His Enduring Love.
The Saviour Himself is Sovereign of the Yahudim! Is He your Sovereign? Are we His people? Are we called by His Name? Or do we don the title of all Greek deities? I will not lie: I am not a Christian. I am a Yahudi (Jew). I praise Yah and love His Son. Is the title of Yahudi unfitting for you? Do you have no interest in being known as one who praises Yah? Are thousands of years of anti-Semitism still lingering in your heart? … Were you even aware of it?
“and My people upon whom My Name is called, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I shall hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). One who praises Yahoweh is called, “One who praises Yahoweh.” or, Yahudi.
Always remember that the spiritual life is a race, not a pushing game. If people choose to call themselves Christian, even though they are following a Jewish Rabbi, then that is their choice. Share the Truth, and let them run their race. Do not attempt the impossible by trying to force the Truth, and then push them to the finish line, because if you do, then neither one of you will win the race. We are to carry our cross, not push our neighbor.
In Romans 11 we saw we are not to pride ourselves in this, but rather to not be arrogant; on the contrary, fear Yahoweh! We were grafted in, but we must remember that Salvation is of the Jews (John 4:21-26), for they know Who they worship. Curiously, much of the Christian church has been led believe in replacement theology instead of listening to Paul refute it, which has had grave consequences for the Jews. How odd it is to choose the Jewish Mighty One, but deny the Jew. Even so, we are to show them the Messiah in the Torah and the Torah in the Messiah. One hears little these days about this rule of evangelism found in Luke 24:46-47. Most Christians do not have a ministry to Jewish people, supposing that they have no particular responsibility towards them. This is for the reason that we have not first accepted, in the fruit of the Spirit, their ministry. Believe me, the Jew has more to instruct you in than you think. Especially the Jew Yahoshuah. There is no way to minister to a Jew without a means of provoking them to jealousy. That means is only going to come through the Ruach in His Torah, which is to say: the Spirit placing the desire in your heart, and then you following though with keeping Torah better than the common Jew … just like the Messiah did!
Indeed, this ministry is to the Jew first, for it is my hope, my dream, that many will read this book and become a walking ministry to all people. When we walk as Yahoshuah does, then we show others a truly desirable Way. This is why you were given the Holy Spirit:
“‘And I shall take you from among the gentiles, and I shall gather you out of all lands, and I shall bring you into your own land.
And I shall sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean—from all your filthiness and from all your idols I cleanse you.
And I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. And I shall take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I shall give you a heart of flesh, and put My Spirit within you. And I shall cause you to walk in My laws and guard My right-rulings and shall do them.
And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you shall be My people, and I shall be your Elohim.
And I shall save you from all your uncleannesses. And I shall call for the grain and increase it, and I shall bring no scarcity of food upon you.
And I shall increase the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of scarcity of food among the gentiles.
And you shall remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good. And you shall loathe yourselves in your own eyes, for your crookednesses and your abominations.
Not for your sake am I acting,’ declares the Master Yahoweh, ‘let it be known to you. Be ashamed and blush for your ways, O house of Yisra’el!’” (Ezekiel 36:24-32).
Should we be terrified? Indeed. Should we be blessed? Indeed. How? “Blessed is the man who shall not walk in the counsel of the wrong, and shall not stand in the path of sinners, and shall not sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the Torah of Yahoweh, and he meditates in His Torah day and night. For he shall be as a tree planted by the rivers of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither, and whatever he does prospers.” (Psalms 1:1-3). Will our fruit wither away? Or is our delight in His Teachings? For those who love Him, these questions are easy, but for those not yet certain, the devil whispers his deception of, “Surely it is done away with. Surely you will not die.” Where is your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Where, O soul yearning to be blessed, is His Torah? Do not listen to Satan tell you it is gone. The Living Water is there, ever flowing; all you must do is knell down to drink.
People associate themselves with what they do, so much so that they feel that if they do anything different in their faith, that they will somehow be leaving the faith, and will become someone else entirely. Listen, you could change where you sit in the church, and have the same faith, inasmuch as you could change what day you get together, what you eat, what you wear, and even the name of the religion you are … and not change who you are or even your religion. Sure, the name is different, but in reality there are only three branches of our faith: Cold, Lukewarm, and on Fire.
Cold people don’t want to sing new songs, Lukewarm people are all right with that, but the people who are Fire / Fervent, well, when they see something the Messiah did, they don’t think that walking as He walks somehow makes them any different than their supposed to be.
Each and every one of us has a lot of leftovers in our old life and our baby faith that we need to clean up and get rid of. Old habits that steal our time, and our chance at a real walk with Him. Sure, we may claim we are walking with Him, but folks, if we aren’t walking to celebrate Passover once a year on His appointed time … then we ain’t walking with Him. We know it.
Messyaniacs, Churchianity, and Judaisome are short for messy maniacs, church insanity, and some of Judah is still in Babylon. Stay away from these traps. Do not cling to the rags of dead false traditions. Constantine wanted his religion to be called Universalism, or Christianity, because it means a believer of all Greek anointed (Christ) idols. Constantine’s idol was Mithra (called Christ), whose symbol was the cross, and he replaced the Biblical festivals with traditions of sun worship. Should we be in the orders of a group that speaks against the Torah, when that is the likeness of the Anti-Messiah? No, but nor should we be arrogant. Yahoshuah loved us first, and if that does not define grace, well, what does?
Alas, many who have fruit, also have worms that have cored their fruit, thus removing the Word, the Seed, and this slowly causes the fruit to rot from the inside out. Oh, sure, there is anti-Biblical hybrid fruit out there, but what can you grow with one of those seedless look-alikes? Only if we have the Seed, is our fruit worth anything at all. Only if we have the Seed, can we truly be: Those who Praise Yahoweh!
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light,” (1 Peter 2:9). If the Messiah is a Jew, then why aren’t we? We do not need to be strange foreign gentiles to His Word.
“And having come, He brought as Good News peace to you who were far off, and peace to those near. Because through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim,” (Ephesians 2:17-19).
Be Blessed and be a Blessing
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
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Additional Scripture References:
John 6:63, Genesis 29:35, Matthew 27:37, Romans 9:25-26, Isaiah 52:7, Jeremiah 12:16
