JD: You know for twenty-six years Judy and I had been living in Jerusalem and we’ve been confronted by the term Messianic Jews. But is this a Biblical way for ethnic Jews who believe in Jesus Christ to self identify or is this a problem according to the word of God, David?
DJ: I don’t have a vendetta and I’m not on a crusade against this but I do think it is a problem. I think for one thing it confusing to people in the church. I also think that Biblically the problem is found in Ephesians chapter 2 where Paul says for those who are in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile but one new man. Now of course we don’t lose our ethnic identity but we do change our religious identity. So for you and I for example who are ethnically Gentile religiously in the eyes of God when we trust in Christ we are no longer Gentiles but we are Christians. And I would say that the same thing is true of those who are ethnic Jews.
Up to the time of Pentecost you had believing Jews and you
had believing Gentiles who made up the people of God. But on the day of
Pentecost when the church was born you have a third and new people of God that
will exist until the time of the rapture and then during the the tribulation
period people who come to Christ will not be Christians because they will not
be Baptized into the body of Christ. We return to an Old Testament like era and
so once again you have believing Jews and Gentiles.
So, I think it’s important to recognize this and I don’t
think it’s helpful to call their Pastors Rabbis and so I think we just need to
be as Biblical as possible as we’re thinking through this.
JD: David James with a Biblical response to the term Messianic
Judaism.
We report this information because it is setting the stage
for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Those Jews today who convert to Christianity will sometimes
refer to themselves as Messianic Jews. As David James told us this is not a
Biblical term and in fact it does not describe a people these Jewish converse.
Paul who was a Jew of the Jews a Hebrew of the Hebrews referred
to himself as a Christian, Acts 11:26. In fact, Philippians chapter 3 tells us that Paul referred to his Judaism as human dung, Philippians 3:8.
Only Jews and Gentiles can become Christians according to
Ephesians 2:11-13. These two Gentiles and Jews become one person a Christian.
God has a future for the Jewish people but today the Lord wants us to become Christians
and be ready for the Rapture of the Church that’s I Thessalonians 4:13-18. That
Rapture by the way is the next event on God’s prophetic calendar.
