TWENTY

Within weeks our business had changed from the store with the largest ‘new age’ music selection to the store with the largest ‘Christian’ music selection. I felt a sense of great relief that I’d finally joined the right club; I was a normal person now, a Christian. I’d be accepted into society now, and be like everyone else. This might have been true in some other part of the country, but here in the so-called 'unchurched' Northwest, I was now doubly shunned. As a Jew and a Christian, people had two reasons to hate me. To be fair, I was no model citizen before getting saved, and now I was pushing it in everyone’s faces and encouraging two other Christian-owned businesses in town to do the same. One of these was the town’s only toy store, owned by an older couple. They simply placed a fish emblem on their cash register, and their business died. The other, a coffee shop, placed a Bible among their reading material; they survived.

At about this time, an amendment was placed on the state ballot to ban special rights for homosexuals. Three businesses in town were selected for boycotting, presumably because of supporting this ban. Besides Loveletters, the other two were not even visibly Christian owned, the local drug store and a restaurant. We were each accused of donating money to the bill’s campaign fund. Protesters hit the restaurant hard, with signs, marching, chanting, the whole deal. The owner wound up leaving town. The drug store publicly denied it. In my case, I couldn’t remember donating any money to this cause, but I did have books for sale in the store that could be construed as anti-gay, particularly one published by Exodus International, an organization of ex-gays that sought to save individuals from that lifestyle. I believed that G-d was calling me to witness in this area in addition to a ministry' to Jews and 'new-agers', as long as it was being done with love.

I was also accused of being anti-Jewish because of my distribution of certain cartoon tracts from a controversial company. I found that many of their other tracts were sound, however, and liked to leave them around town. One declared that Jews, like everyone else, needed to accept Christ as Savior. “Who is more Jewish than I in this town, even closing on the Jewish holidays?”, I replied to my accusers. This accusation dried up pretty quickly.

Having read the Bible cover to cover, it was now obvious to me that the Church was begun by Jews and that Jesus Himself was a Jew. Still, I felt somewhat out of place and uncomfortable at my local church, friendly as it was. There were times that I wondered what I was doing there. I had also run across anti-missionary literature by groups such as Jews For Judaism, and my uncle Shlomo had mailed me a book on the subject that pointed out the supposed inconsistencies of Hebrew Christianity. For example, Jews are promised to become as numerous as the 'sand of the sea' in Messianic times, so how can the Messiah have already come when there are so few Jews in the world? Also, a skeptical friend of mine, although his father had sung in a gospel quartet back in the 1940’s, gave me an article from the L.A. Weekly that purported to point out dozens of examples of contradictions in the New Testament. Even in my Christian 'babyhood', the solution to most of these so-called 'mistakes' in the Bible was glaringly obvious. Mainly they were typically things like the 'two versions' of the death of Judas (both are actually correct when combined), the two different genealogies of Jesus (one is actually Mary’s), and confusion about prophecies that were fulfilled at the first coming vs. second coming predictions so far unfulfilled. Between my uncle’s book and the newspaper article, many of the points were downright laughable, and there were none that could not be explained. Years later, an observant Jewish friend would actually present a more challenging example, which I will deal with later.

My own doubts stemmed not from alleged mistakes or inconsistencies in the Word of G-d, but from the poor spiritual position of my Jewish family and friends that logically followed from the Gospel story. Were they really all damned to Hell because they did not believe Jesus was the Messiah? Were they really all as guilty as the Sanhedrin leaders that committed the 'unpardonable sin of declaring Jesus to be satanic? I examined 'dual covenancy' which declares that Jews and gentiles each have their own covenant with G-d, making it unnecessary for Christians to witness to Jews. But Jesus was speaking to a Jew when He said He was the way, the truth and the life, and that “no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:5-7). Even worse is the satanic concept of 'replacement theology' which many Christians unfortunately believe. This teaches that the Church has actually replaced the Jews as the recipient of G-d’s blessings in His covenants, due to rejection of the messiahship of Yeshua.

The simple truth, as taught by the apostle Paul, is that G-d has not rejected the Jews; all human beings are equally eligible for salvation through Jesus the Messiah, and a future day is coming when all Israel will be saved. Christians are commanded to preach the Gospel message to all the world. Paul’s pattern even included preaching to the Jews first. Personally, I’ve yet to lead a Jew to salvation in our Messiah. It is a daunting task; but it’s one that we are commanded to pursue according to Scripture. No one, Jew or Gentile has to go to Hell; it is our own sin and rebelliousness against G-d that causes damnation. We choose Hell by our own volition, but we don’t have to. G-d desires us all to be with Him in His Kingdom, and that’s why He sent Messiah. It’s an extra and unnecessary roadblock to Jews that the church itself has in many cases become so challenging to the Jewish man or woman. The church has come so far from its Jewish origin, having persecuted and murdered Jews throughout its history, and even today teaches anti-Semitic doctrines as I’ve mentioned above. The particular branch of Calvary Chapel I attended did not teach anti-Semitism, and to be fair, the churches that do may not even realize they’re doing it. The doctrines of preterism and amillennialism actually teach, however, that G-d’s future promises to the Jews have already happened in the past, leaving little reason to support Israel. I’ve heard it said that there are no perfect churches; and if you find one, don’t join it because you’ll ruin it. Truly, human beings are flawed and only G-d is perfect. He has the power to save His people and to lead you to a church, or Messianic synagogue, that loves Him and His covenant people, the Jews.

It’s easy for me to speak like this now after 20 plus years of studying Judaism and Christianity. When I was a new believer, however, I had plenty of zeal but was very short on knowledge. For example, when I ran into one of my former band members in The Whitetones, a few months after being 'born again', I excitedly informed him (a Jewish atheist communist) that I was now attending church three times a week, and was going to Heaven when I died. He said, “let me get this straight, you’re going to Heaven and I’m not because you’re going to church?” I was stumped, unable to answer this simplest of questions. I couldn’t even quote John 3:16 yet; I just knew that I was saved and he was not, but couldn’t put my finger on why and whether or not it was fair. I hoped he could detect my joy and left it at that.

I was introduced to Messianic Judaism (or Hebrew Christology) and the work of Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, through friends Henry and Janet Feinberg, whose testimonies have been published in a Jews for Jesus anthology. They had just returned from one of Fruchtenbaum’s summer Bible study camps and were fired up about sharing his teachings with anyone who’d listen. For a while Henry, who was a radio talk show host, even had a weekly program just reading the teacher’s lessons on the air. The Feinberg’s had been participating in a monthly prayer group for Israel, but now expanded it to a larger gathering meeting in their oversized living room. Each month, one of the lessons, or manuscripts, would be detailed and the following month’s study would be distributed for each person to review for next time. I remember how exciting that first meeting was, being in a room full of other Jews that believed in Jesus/Yeshua, as well as gentile believers with a heart for Israel. Seated right next to me was a man named Bob Plotnik, the same name as a record collector I knew in New York. It turns out, that was his first cousin.

The Plotniks were also business partners with another new church friend of ours, Sean O’Grady, whose wife Shawn was also in attendance. They owned a successful food manufacturing and distributing firm in town that had been started a few years earlier with only a used peanut grinder; now their products were sold worldwide. Previously, they’d attained to being in the marijuana business, but just as the enormous crop they’d planted, worth millions had reached maturity, they were 'born again', destroyed the entire field and bought the grinder with the less than $50. they had left between them. It was Bob who encouraged me that G-d would also honor the sacrifice I had made to Him and that I should just be patient. My sacrifice was rather small by comparison, I thought; who wouldn’t trade demon possession for knowing the loving, compassionate, long-suffering King of Creation!

Messianic Judaism is a movement of Jewish 'born again' or ‘born of the spirit’ believers in Jesus who are part of G-d’s universal and invisible Church. We are the present day 'remnant' of Jews spoken of in Scripture, evidence that G-d is not finished with the Hebrew race and that all Israel will someday be 'saved'. We are not loved by G-d any more or less than gentile believers, nor are we 'more saved', but are brothers/sisters in the flesh with all other believers. Of course I’m speaking of the invisible church, that lofty group of which only G-d knows the membership role. The 'visible' Messianic movement, as with the 'visible' church in general is not so clean cut. While the Bible calls for unity between believers, the visible church, the one you see on the street corner and on TV, the one made up of flawed human beings, divides over any number of things. One faction might believe that the King James Version of the Bible is the only valid one and that the NIV version is from Satan! One faction might believe that the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues is no longer in use today, while in some local churches, tongues are the evidence of whether or not one is saved at all! We divide over the age of the universe, the correct day on which to worship, the role of women in leadership and whether or not to welcome gay pilgrims into the flock.

So, too are Messianics divided, basically over whether or not the Law of Moses is still in effect. Another source of confusion for a few Jewish believers is whether Jesus is G-d or merely a 'son' of G-d. Truly, Yeshua is a rock of stumbling or contention even for some that believe in Him! I’m no leader or pastor myself, as you know, and therefore my book is merely an overview of my life and not a theological study. Please forgive me if I do become a little preachy; even a lay person such as myself is, after all, expected to give and defend the simple Gospel message that Jesus died, was resurrected and ascended to the Father, that His death was in our place, for our sins, and that our resulting salvation is a free gift of grace received by all and any who believe this by faith, and not because or in spite of any good deeds or works of our own. As divided as Christians may appear to the world, praise G-d that we mostly agree on these essentials!