Jewish / Hebrew Roots

First, virtually all the writers of the New Testament were Hebrews, the Apostle Paul among them. He was a Pharisee and served on the Sanhedrin, the Hebrew court. The native tongue of Hebrews was Hebrew, not Greek. Any time the writers of the New Testament heard a language from heaven, it was in the Hebrew tongue. These facts alone reveal that the New Testament (Covenant) has a Hebrew base.

Second, the internal evidence shows that the New Testament is filled with Hebraic mannerisms and expressions. These don't make any sense in original Greek, or English, but make perfect sense in original Hebrew. The New Testament has many Hebraic idioms that would never have come out of a Greek original. For instance, what writer in English would use a Spanish idiom like: I asked if the butter is grease (meaning I didn't beat around the bush, or a German idiom like: "To have a bird [in the head], meaning are you crazy? One would not normally use foreign language idioms when communicating in English.

The Hebrew waw consecutive (consecutive sentences beginning with the word "and") is a Hebraism not used in Greek. It is found not only all over the Old Testament, especially in the first five books, but also is abundant in the New Testament, especially in the Evangels and Revelation.

Third, Paul's letters were written by Paul to small Messianic congregations in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. These early Messianics were Jews of the Dispersion, men and women of Hebrew origin. They spoke Hebrew as their native tongue. Paul would naturally write to them in the Hebrew tongue. They would in turn explain his letters to any converts from foreign lands.

Fourth, Greek was not a popular language in the Galilee region nor was it the language of the Apostles or the Temple. First-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote, "Our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations." In fact, the Hebrews detested the Gentile Greeks. And this highly educated priest said he himself had a very hard time with Greek.

We do not subscribe to the two house theory. We are apprehensive about any doctrine that places emphasis on a person's physical genealogy. In this case, the notion that all believers in Messiah are part of the physical ancestry of Abraham. There are three reasons why we reject this belief.

Number one, there were many believers in the New Testament that were gentiles, i.e., non-Israelites. One of the greatest examples of this was Cornelius. According to Acts 10, this man was a gentile: "There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band…." In addition, we also find evidence in Galatians, when a dispute arose between Peter and Paul: "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision." Notice that Peter separated himself from the gentiles when the Jews came unto him.

Number two, according to Paul in Titus 3:9 we're not to focus on genealogies: "But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain." Those who make this their focus often neglect the greater truths of Yahweh and in worse cases, develop a sense of self-righteous preeminence.

And number three, a person's physical descent has no bearing on salvation. All those who are baptized into the Name of Yahshua the Messiah are part of Abraham's seed, whether they be Jew or gentile! In Galatians 3:26-29 Paul states, "For ye are all the children of Yahweh by faith in Messiah Yahshua. For as many of you as have been baptized into Messiah have put on Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Messiah Yahshua. And if ye be Messiah's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Regarding your second question, while we do not hold an official stance on this subject, it is generally believed that the ten tribes of Israel migrated from the Middle East into Europe sometime after the Assyrian captivity. Due to the inability to substantiate this belief, however, we abstain from pressing this beyond a fascinating possibility.

While Hanukkah is not scripturally denounced, we prefer to focus on those days that Yahweh commands within His Word (Lev. 23). This preference would also apply to all other traditional days based outside of the Word. For those who choose to observe Hanukkah, we encourage that they simply remember the historical significance and not to participate in the Christmas-like gift and greeting card exchange, tree/bush decorating, and other traditions, which mirror older pagan customs.

Yahweh made a covenant with Israel only. Others not of Israel can be grafted into that covenant promise, however, as Paul explains in Romans 9 and 11. The issue in Acts 15 was whether the new convert had to first convert to Judaism through circumcision before becoming a believer in Messiah. James explains in verses 19-21 that for now they must quit their worst heathen religious practices. They would in time learn the laws given by Moses as they came together each Sabbath day. They did not need to convert to Judaism first as the Jewish religious leaders were telling them.

We can define Judaism's starting point at four different times throughout history. One, Judaism can be used interchangeably with the faith given to Abraham, even though we know that Abraham was Hebrew and not Jewish and that Judah constituted only one of the 12 tribes. Two, you can define Judaism beginning with the division between Israel and Judah during the reign of Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Three, you can also define Judaism beginning during and after the Babylonian exile. This was the beginning of Talmudic Judaism. Four, the final form of Judaism can be defined as beginning with Yahshua and the apostles. Paul in Romans 2:25-29 defined the uncircumcision (non-Jews/Israelites) who obey the commandments as inward Jews. I pray that this helps.

The Bible does not provide a specific denomination or label for New Testament believers. Many in this walk use the term "Messianic" to describe their beliefs, which refers to a believer in Messiah. While there's nothing wrong with this label, it is very broad and carries with it many different beliefs. Many within the Messianics mix Christianity and Judaism together and believe this is the truth. The problem, though, is that both Christianity and Judaism have added their own man-made traditions and deviated from Scripture. For this reason, YRM does not identify itself with either. We simply say that we're followers of Yahshua.

If you don't care for "Messianic" as a label, there are a few other terms you might consider: the Way (based on Acts 9:2 and 24:14); inward or spiritual Jew (based on Romans 2:28-29); Israel, spiritual Israel, or Israel of Yahweh (Galatians 6:16), saint (Revelation 14:12), Nazarene (based on Acts 24:5); However, as you might find, there are certainly undesirable connotations with these terms. Historically, the followers of Yahshua were probably simply viewed as another form of Judaism, similarly to Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, etc. It's also important to note that as the church grew, it deviates from its Jewish or Hebraic foundation to a more Greco-Roman philosophy to appease its growing gentile base.