"See The Spinner" 6

Y'shua | יֵשׁוּעַ

... a light for the revelation of the Gentiles.

And a glory to your people Israel.

Isaiah 49:6 CJB| Luke 2:32 AENT

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Malachi 3: (ISR98)

6. “For I am (יהוה), I shall not change, and you, O sons of Ya‘akov, shall not come to an end.

Exodus 6: (TLV)

6. Therefore say to Bnei-Yisrael: I am Adonai (יהוה), and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

7. I will take you to Myself as a people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Adonai (יהוה) your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

8. So I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, and give it to you as an inheritance. I am Adonai (יהוה).”

Numbers 23: (ISR98)

19“Ěl is not a man, to lie; nor a son of man, to repent!

Has He said, and would He not do it; or spoken, and would not confirm it?

"See The Spinner" 6

The Fruit of Replacement Theology

“A People”

In the picture, February 2012, I stand hesitating in the entrance foyer of Hope Lutheran Church, West Des Moines, Iowa; standing a Messianic Jew, looking back through the decades at the Cultural Lutheran I used to be, wondering why after 13 years I would want to enter a Lutheran Church after walking out in disgust in 1999. I had no idea that my picture was being taken. I was asking myself: “What is the world am I doing here? Another topic for another day.

This is how it always happens, divine appointments, that is. A few months ago on my Walk-‘n-Pray, I realized that a person was following me, and a quick look identified a woman. Once we hit a straight stretch with no turn offs, I figured I better alleviate any fear she may have about the person only ten feet ahead of her. I stopped, turned and extended my hand (normatively a Jewish no-no, but a business habit) and said: “My name is Ed and since we are going the same direction we can talk.” She agreed. We talked about the soon to arrive Passover, and Easter, and many other theological issues, such as being a Jew and believing in Y’shua and Y’shua in the Passover Vs. Easter. She responded that she was a Sociology Professor and that she was intrigued that I had used Sociological terminology. I explained that my University of Connecticut BA 1971 was in Sociology, and that I use my degree constantly. Turning it into a joke I said: “The saying is that people who want to understand themselves study psychology. I guess I wanted to understand where I fit in “A People”.” She asked if I would address her class. Having agreed, I awaited a call of invitation that never materialized. That was the one and only time to ever see her. Interesting!

My personal definition of “A People1” is: Deeply shared - Kinship, Genetics, Language, Religion, Beliefs, Norms, Values, Tradition, Culture, Institutions, and Politics. In Sociological terms every society is organized based on five major institutions. One (choose) will be primary (foundational) and the others subservient. They are Religion, Politics, Education, Finances, and Military. The foundation of my life was “Religion”; more specifically “Lutheran”. I was taught from early on “There is Catholic. There is Lutheran. Then there is everybody else.”. In other words, I was Lutheran as compared to Catholic and ignore all the others. Nonetheless reading Scripture and measuring that against what I was taught left a huge number of unresolved questions.

Having abandoned the idea of being a Pastor, and virtually my entire faith, one could call me “Culturally Lutheran”; something like one would call a Jew who no longer believes in YAH is a “Cultural Jew”. The glue of Lutheran Kinship, Genetics, Language, Religion, Beliefs, Norms, Values, Tradition, Culture, Institutions, and Politics, sustained me. Nonetheless there was a yearning to find YAH, and the dual track of being Jewish was, I thought, well hidden. The lengths to which I went to live “Lutheran” (My new ‘People’), and hide being Jewish (my real ‘People’) were extraordinary, and psychologically damaging. I have written elsewhere about just two of the multiple benchmark events in my life. They are extracted below. (A & B)

Living a dual track is dangerous, even Y’shua says so2! Even so, I went about my life immersed in The Lutheran Church, living one mile from Church, an officer (Treasurer, and Financial Secretary) for nine years, and most importantly my business career was totally focused on the 7 Lutheran Churches I served for 25 years as a District Representative of a Lutheran Non-profit Fraternal Benefit Society. My final decision in 1972 was literally: “If I’m not going to be a Pastor then I will serve God’s People financially.” I was immersed totally in “Lutheran”, with hardly a thought for my fading “Jewish”, for which I had given up hope; --until around 1995 when I was shaken awake by two critical events.

I had completely acquiesced to Martin Luther’s “Christian Sunday” theology, transferring all that the Bible says about “The Sabbath” from Saturday to Sunday. Somewhere in the 1995 time frame I went to the monthly New England Agency meeting where the top salesman in the Nation, one of our own agents was speaking. I knew him well and looked forward to his teaching. The meeting was well attended, and the speaker was great. Questions at the end were answered to the rapt attention of all. One question, I will never forget: “What is the best night of the week to make phone calls.” I was shocked at the answer: “Sunday”. I stood up before this gathering of the entire New England Agency, with the General Agent presiding, saying: “Of course B____, that would be the best day – except that it is the Sabbath, a day of no work and rest. Of course you will have a high contact ratio, people are home with their family, and again saying with emphasis – “it’s the Sabbath!” No one cared. In discussions later it was amply apparent that the new agents were going to adopt this new “Sunday Strategy” – with the tacit approval of the General Agent. I was totally demoralized.

One day in the 1995 time frame my family enjoyed a family visit to the home of one of my business associates. The wives were talking, the children were playing together, and we were in his library talking. We had a lot in common. German, Lutheran, lived in Germany. He filled in more detail that day. As he spoke I realized that he was my third friend who had been a Displaced Person (DP)3. He went on to explain that his Father had been a Wehrmacht Officer freed from a Russian Prisoner of War (POW) camp in 1955. Interesting, we came over from Germany the same year, 1955. After that he went on to explain: “You know Martin Luther was highly anti-Semitic.”4 Even though I was, for a lifetime, completely immersed in the Lutheran Church, I had never in my life heard one hint of this book that Luther supposedly wrote, I was intrigued, but also terribly concerned wondering where this conversation was headed. I began looking out the window as he talked to mask my fear. A few minutes later he walked quickly across the room, bending his head down so the top of his head was within inches of my eyes. He then said: “I have brown hair but the roots are blond.” I was puzzled and then it hit me: Übermensch5, the blond, blue eyed, NAZI super race. I was terrorized, and wanted out of that room – now. All that I would say was, as always, under my breath, so that no one would ever dare hear. What I replied was, and of course he never heard it:

“Your People killed my People”

From that point forward I knew that I had nowhere to go, but also from that day forward I knew that “Cultural Lutheran” was not “My People”. All of the “Cultural Lutheran” came crashing down in an instant. Again a benchmark day in my life, in which it will never be the same. How do I unwind this life of mine when it is wound tighter than a golf ball in “Cultural Lutheran”?

What in the world does all this have to do with Replacement Theology? A simple answer is the Lutheran Church is one of the largest Christian denominations, and also happens to be TODAY one of the greatest purveyors of Replacement Theology. The writing of Martin Luther encouraged the NAZI holocaust.6 The more comprehensive answer is that over 100,000,000 Americans, 33% of Americans belong to Churches that teach Replacement Theology. But! The Church is grafted into Israel, and therefore CANNOT Replace Israel, or its people. How do we get that point taught?

Dr. Howard Morgan in his PDF booklet, Which is now a book states:

“Anti-Semitism is more than a mere social, economic, or political human phenomenon focused on the persecution or destruction of the Jewish people. It is a demonically inspired strategy to prevent the second coming of Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah.”

“The Jewish people are Satan’s target not because they are Jews, but because they hold a pivotal place in God’s plan to return Messiah to the earth (Zechariah12:10-11, 14:4; Matthew. 23:39; Romans. 11:15). We must understand this in order to recognize and effectively expose the sources of anti-Semitism and, as God gives us the abilities, stand against its activities and eradicate its effects.”

This restoration has three specific elements.

Restoration #1: The Body of Christ must be restored to its authentic Hebraic roots revealed in Romans 11. We must recognize our “grafted-in” relationship to the “natural branches” of Israel’s “Olive Tree.” From this spiritual connection we are able to receive the impartation provided by its “anointed roots” (Romans 11:17). This anointing imparts understanding and empowerment that enables the Body of Christ to be delivered from centuries of Greek/Roman/Pagan aberrancies and become the mature Bride of Christ (Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 1:28)

Understanding that the Body of Christ is “grafted in among the natural branches of the Olive Tree,” we must, therefore, be restored to our authentic Biblical relationship and responsibility to the international Jewish community and to the nation of Israel. Recognizing the nature of this relationship, the Body of Christ can undertake to fulfill the second restoration.

Restoration #2: The Body of Christ has a responsibility to love and witness to the Jewish people, showing them mercy as we have received mercy and provoking them to spiritual jealousy (Romans11:11, 31).We can fulfill our Scriptural call to the Jewish people by testifying how our life was changed by Israel’s Messiah and by showing acts of loving kindness and supernatural demonstrations of the power of God.

Restoration #3: The Body of Christ must stand alongside the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. We must intercede for them and against their spiritual adversaries. We must also testify to Israel’s human enemies about the purposes of God for the Jewish people and for the land of Israel that are revealed in the pages of Holy Scripture. This testimony must also include a clear proclamation of the Gospel, accompanied by similar acts of loving kindness and supernatural demonstrations of the power of the God of Israel, so that all people everywhere will have the opportunity to come to faith in Jesus.

As I have said, all of this is very, very personal in its effect, and on that issue I will finish next week.

1. Peoples: a body of persons that are united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, that typically have common language, institutions, and beliefs, and that often constitute a politically organized group. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/people

2. THE LETTER OF YA’AKOV (JAMES) 1: (Aramaic English NT –Roth) 7. And let not that man expect to receive anything of Master YHWH, 8. who is hesitating in his mind and unstable in all his ways.

3. The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 (Pub.L. 80–774)[1] authorized for a limited period of time the admission into the United States of 200,000 certain European displaced persons (DPs) for permanent residence.[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displaced_Persons_Act

4. On the Jews and Their Lies (German: Von den Jüden und iren Lügen; in modern spelling Von den Juden und ihren Lügen) is a 65,000-word antisemitic treatise written in 1543 by the German Reformation leader Martin Luther.

5. The Übermensch (German for "Beyond-Man", "Superman", "Overman", "Superhuman", "Hyperman", "Hyperhuman"; German pronunciation: [ˈˀyːbɐmɛnʃ]) is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also sprach Zarathustra), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself. It is a work of philosophical allegory, with a structural similarity to the Gathas of Zoroaster/Zarathustra. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cbermensch

6. Luther's attitude toward the Jews changed over the course of his life. In the early phase of his career—until around 1536—he expressed concern for their plight in Europe and was enthusiastic at the prospect of converting them to Christianity through his religious reforms. Being unsuccessful in that, in his later career, Luther denounced Judaism and called for harsh persecution of its followers, so that they might not be allowed to teach. In a paragraph from his On the Jews and Their Lies he deplores Christendom's failure to expel them.[1] Moreover, he proposed "What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews":[1]

"First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools … This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians …"

"Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed."

"Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them."

"Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb …"

"Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside …"

"Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them …"

"Seventh, I recommend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow … But if we are afraid that they might harm us or our wives, children, servants, cattle, etc., … then let us emulate the common sense of other nations such as France, Spain, Bohemia, etc., … then eject them forever from the country …" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism

7. Standing Against Anti-Semitism, Dr. Howard Morgan

Lakewood High School was predominately Jewish. In my opinion it was it was educationally superior to the other four high schools I attended, and even thought hidden, I felt at home.

Ninth and tenth grades of high school (1964-1966) were in Lakewood, New Jersey. One day I mustered the courage to ask a young lady out. She seemed very interested but her response was? “I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” After a long 24 hours, she came up to me with sad eyes and said: “I can’t go out with you because you are not Jewish.” I literally bit my lip as I said: “BUT I AM!”. She never heard me. Case closed.

A friend, trying to explain why “hiding” was not working once said: “You ooze Jewish". This is only one of a huge host of similar events in my life.

In the early 1970s I was in a major department store in New Haven Connecticut. A Woman walked over and said something directly to me. I said; "I'm sorry I did not understand you." She looked straight at me at close range and slowly repeated her words. I could plainly hear her and said; "I'm sorry I still don't understand you." She looked at me in pure disgust, saying; "Didn't they teach you Hebrew!" With that, not waiting for my answer, she turned and steamed away in total disgust. She did not assume that I was Jewish, she knew I was Jewish and acted on her assumed knowledge! As far as she was concerned my parents neglected to fulfill their responsibility to teach their son Hebrew!

Shim’on | שִׁמְעוֹן | Simeon

In all things..bad or good----Praise YAH!

Netzari Jewish, Walking "The Way" of Y’shua (יֵשׁוּעַ)

Isaiah 11; Acts 24:5,14-15; John 14:6

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