Introduction: Messianic Judaism

Understand the NT fruit through the OT roots
by means of Messianic Studies

What is "Messianic Judaism"?

Messianic Judaism is a religious movement whose adherents believe that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they call by the Hebrew name Y'shua, is both the resurrected Jewish Messiah and their divine saviour.

As of 1993 there were 160,000 adherents of Messianic Judaism in the United States and 350,000 worldwide. As of 2003, there were at least 150 Messianic synagogues in the U.S. and over 400 worldwide.

Messianic Jews practice their faith in a way they consider to be authentically Torah-observant and culturally Jewish. However, Jews of all denominations and many Christians do not consider Messianic Judaism to be a form of Judaism, but a form of Christianity.

Self Identity

Although words used to identify aspects of Messianic Judaism are frequently disputed and sometimes contradictory, the term itself generally describes a belief that Y'shua is the Jewish Messiah and that obedience of the Scriptures is the proper expression of faith. Adherents are described as Messianic Believers or Messianics for short. Messianic Judaism is a relatively new term, coined as recently as 1895 to help separate the practices of its followers from those of common Christianity as a whole, and in order to more closely align its faith with that of biblical and historical Judaism.

Messianics believe that the first followers of Jesus of Nazareth were called Nazarenes (in Hebrew, Notzrim; "?????") or simply "Followers of the Way."

History

The Messianic Judaism of today grew out of the Hebrew-Christian movement of the 19th century. Hebrew-Christian congregations began to emerge in England; the first of these was Beni Abraham, in London, which was founded by forty-one Hebrew-Christians. This led to a more general awareness of a type of Christianity with a Jewish background. In 1866, the Hebrew-Christian Alliance of Great Britain was organized, with branches also existing in several European countries and the United States. A similar group, The Hebrew Christian Alliance of America (HCAA), was organized in the U. S. in 1915. The International Hebrew-Christian Alliance (IHCA) was organized in 1925 (later becoming the International Messianic Jewish Alliance). Additional groups were formed during subsequent decades.

Modern Messianic Judaism was reborn in the 1960s. A major shift in the movement occurred when Martin Chernoff became the President of the HCAA (1971-1975). In June of 1973, a motion was made to change the name of the HCAA to the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA) and the name was officially changed in June of 1975. The name change was significant as more than just a "semantical expression;" as Rausch states, "It represented an evolution in the thought processes and religious and philosophical outlook toward a more fervent expression of Jewish identity."

When the movement began to become larger, new organizations less mainstream in their beliefs such as the Messianic Israel Alliance, First Fruits of Zion, and the Coalition of Torah Observant Messianic Congregations arose. These new smaller groups usually disagreed with mainstream Messianic Judaism over the issue of Gentile observance, and whether it is obligatory (as in the One Law groups) or not (as in mainstream Messianic Judaism.).

"Open my eyes so that I may behold the wonderful things from Your Torah (Teachings)."

You will embark on your learning experience with us as we continue our journey into the Scriptures on the good old "ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls …" (Jer 6:16)

In Messiah

Prof WA Liebenberg
PhD (Ministry - Commonwealth Univ.)
PhD (Jewish Studies - Commonwealth Univ.)
D.Div (Islamic Studies - Calvary University)
MDP (University of South Africa)
Mech. Eng. (GCC)

Prof WA Liebenberg, in 2008, established the Hebraic Gentile and Jewish Alliance of South Africa (see detail at www.hrti.co.za). He also established the Messianic Judaism syllabus at Calvary University for Torah based students who would like to obtain a more formal qualification in Messianic Judaism.

See Hebraic Roots Web Site

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