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Statement of Faith
of
“The Rock of Israel”
International Fellowship
Knowing what our Fellowship stands for will allow you better to relate to its mission.
At the core of our faith is Fundamental Beliefs of the Classical Biblical Judaism.
We also believe in the freedom to grow in our understanding of God’s Character, His Spirit, His Will and His Word as we delve into the sacred Hebrew texts.
For the purpose of an enlightening and lively interfaith dialogue, we include our position on the Greek “New Testament” in its relation to the Hebrew Bible!
With that purpose in mind, let it be known that we believe:
I. The Holy Scriptures.
The Holy Bible, namely the Hebrew Scriptures, is the revealed Word of God. Under the inspiration of the LORD’s Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), His servants, the Jewish prophets, faithfully wrote the Word as the only infallible and reliable guide for those who seek God and desire to spend eternity in His glorious presence. The Holy Scriptures are the most complete revelation of God’s will. They are the standard of character, the test of reason and experience, the authoritative source of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history.
The Greek New Testament is only authoritative when its message is found to be in full conformity with the light of the Hebrew Scriptures. Wherever the text of the Greek Testament contradicts or negates the import of the Hebrew Bible, it is to be rejected as the product of Church’s deliberate tampering with the text! (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 30:5, 6; Isa. 8:20; John 17:17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 1 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12.)
1) The Torah of the LORD, (the first Five Books of Moses), has preeminence over and above the rest of the Holy Writings;
2) Just as the Writings and the Prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures serve to bear out the truth of the Torah, so must the writings of the New Testament serve to confirm the veracity of the entire Hebrew Scriptures;
3) The books of the New Testament derive their legitimacy from the Hebrew Scriptures (the “Old Testament”) and, therefore, should never be found to contradict the Word of God revered by Jesus of Nazareth himself.
II. God is One.
The God of the Bible stands alone and in a sharply defined contrast to anybody and anything else: “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.” (I Chr. 16:26) – By no means is He represented by some “compounded unity” or trinity, as the prevailing majority of Christianity have come to believe. God is a complete and total Unity.
This is the concept expressed in the first verse of the “Shema.” The “Shema” is the prayer which expresses the core belief of the only Monotheistic faith on the planet today, called Judaism: "Hear, O Israel, the L-RD is our G-d, the L-RD is One.” (Deut. 6:4)- If the LORD wanted to let us know that He is three-in-one, He would have done it, wouldn’t He?
(Ex. 20:2-3; Deut. 4:35,39; 32:39; I Sam. 2:2; I Kings 8:60; I Chr. 17:20; Is. 40:25; 42:8; 43:10-11; 44:6-8; 45:5-6, 21-22; Hos. 13:4)
1) Although the God of the Bible reveals Himself through many different names on its pages, one of the most distinctive and persistent is that of the LORD or “YHWH” in Hebrew. This is a covenantal Name of the Most High. It is inseparably tied with the notion that He is “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” meaning – the LORD God of Israel. This fact alone sets both our God and His true worshippers apart from the rest of the crowd who worship either a theological idol of trinity or something else, no less preposterous! (Ex. 3:6-16; 5:1; 32:27; 34:23; Josh. 7:13,19,20; 8:30; 9:18; 19; 10:40-42; 24:2-23; Judg. 5:3-5; 6:8; 11:21; . . . Ezra 1:3; 3:2; 4:1; 9:15; Ps. 41:13; 59:5; 72:18; 106:48; Is. 24:15, etc – the passages are too numerous to mention in their entirety!)
2) Limitless in all aspects of His Being, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, etc, God, nevertheless, chose in His infinite wisdom and compassion, to reveal His Name and attributes to the humankind through perceivable and comprehensible means:
a) In the Fire of the Burning Bush (Ex. 3:6-16);
b) Through a smoking oven and a burning torch (Gen. 15:17);
c) As one of the men (angels), who stopped by Abraham’s tent (Gen. 18);
III. Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus of Nazareth was a faithful son of his people and worshiper of the One God of Israel. He had never been a second person of some pagan trinity! He was born a Jew, lived a righteous life in accordance with the Law of Moses and died a painful death on a Roman Cross at the hands of sinful Gentiles.
Even if Jesus were to be the Promised Messiah of Israel, the Word of God, (the Hebrew Scriptures), contain absolutely nothing that would require God’s people to put their faith and trust in the Messiah! In fact, worshipping the Messiah would be an act of idolatry! Worship belongs solely to the Holy One of Israel!
As Israel's true patriot, Jesus lived, fought and died for the sake of his God, the Torah and the well-being of his people Israel. His preaching served to point all to our Father in Heaven, the Only True and Living God, the LORD God of Israel! (Gen. 3:15; 22:8; Is. 7:14; Dan. 9:24; Zech. 12:10)
IV. Ruah HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit).
Our God is Holy and He is Spirit – He is the Holy Spirit! The idea that the Holy Spirit is somehow the third person of the “blessed trinity” is thoroughly pagan in its origin and has nothing to do with the Bible!
Being above and beyond all time, matter and space, God, nevertheless, is able to be in all parts of His vast creation at the same time, for He is Spirit! Thus the presence of the Holy Spirit in an individual’s life is God’s gracious companionship and the act of extending His goodness into the life of that person. There is no need to invent the third person of some “compounded” Godhead to explain how the omnipresent God can be residing in our lives! (Psalm 51:11; Is. 63:10-11; Matt. 3:11; Mark 12:36; Luke 1:67; John 20:22)
V. Creation.
The Holy One of Zion is the Maker of all things, visible and invisible. “May the LORD, Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.” (Ps. 134:3, NIV) He created heaven and earth, seas and all the living creatures upon the face of our planet. The Holy Scriptures contain a genuine account of His creative activity. In six literal 24-hour-long days the LORD completed our entire world and fashioned the living things to inhabit it. When the world came out of the loving hand of our Creator it was “very good” indeed, - sin had not yet entered God’s good creation on this planet! (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Heb. 11:3)
VI. Nature of Man.
The humankind was created in the image and likeness of Adonai (the Lord), Maker of Heaven and Earth. They were created “male” and “female,” free moral agents, endowed with the power and freedom to make their own choices in life.
Through disobedience to the LORD’s Command, our first human parents forfeited their exalted position of direct communication with God and lost their God-given immortality; the image of the LORD was marred in humanity. The sin of breaking God’s Law produced death in Adam and Eve and all the subsequent generations of their descendents.
Only by coming to the LORD God of Israel and living the life of obedience to His Word (Torah) are we able to be reconciled with our Creator. His righteousness is imputed to all those who worship the One True God , accept His salvific provision found in the Word and walk in obedience to His Commandments! (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7; 2:15; 3; Ps. 8:4-8; Acts 17:24-28; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12-17; 2 Cor. 5:19, 20; Ps. 51:10; 1 John 4:7, 8, 11, 20)
VII. Death and Resurrection.
The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed people, to those who worship the One God of Israel and walk in obedience to His Word. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. The belief in the immortality of a human soul is unbiblical and has crept into the Christianity and even Judaism from paganism.
A common assumption that our souls are immortal and go immediately up to God or down to perdition upon the demise of our bodies renders the notion of resurrection absurd and unnecessary! After all, what is the point of “stuffing” the souls back into their bodies if they already enjoy eternal bliss in the Lord’s presence? What about those who are believed to be in Hell? The belief in the immortality of a human soul and the idea of the bodily resurrection at the end of the age are incompatible!
When the Messiah of Israel appears to establish the reign of God’s peace, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. (Gen. 1:26-28; Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 11:11-14; Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:1-10)
VIII. Great Controversy.
All humanity is now involved in a great controversy between Good and Evil regarding the character of God, His Law, and His sovereignty over the universe. This conflict originated in heaven when a created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in self-exaltation became Satan, God's adversary, and led into rebellion a third of the angels. He introduced the spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin.
This act of disobedience resulted in the distortion of the image of God in humanity, the disordering of the created world, and its eventual devastation at the time of the worldwide flood. Observed by the whole creation, this world became the arena of the universal conflict, out of which the God of love will ultimately be vindicated. To assist His people in this controversy, the Holy Blessing One sends the Holy Spirit and the loyal angels to guide, protect, and sustain them in the way of salvation. (Rev. 12:4-9; Isa. 14:12-14; Eze. 28:12-18; Gen. 3; Rom. 1:19-32; 5:12-21; 8:19-22; Gen. 6-8; 2 Peter 3:6; 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 1:14.)
IX. The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ.
The mission of Jesus the Jew was truly manifold. Just as all the faithful prophets before him, Jesus came:
1) To reveal the character of our Loving Heavenly Father through his teachings of love, ethical living and acts of loving-kindness;
2) To present Israel and the Gentiles with an example of a human life lived in perfect obedience to Elohim’s will, even unto death;
3) To lead God’s people into a more intimate knowledge of the LORD’s Torah;
4) To suffer together with God’s Chosen People, Israel, for the sins of the world;
5) To call his people, Israel, from idolatry, apostasy and dissolution into the original faith of God’s elect, becoming once again the Light unto the Gentiles;
6) To establish the assembly of “true Israelites, in whom there is no deceit,” the membership in which is open to all, both Jews and Gentiles, who worship One True God and walk in obedience to His Torah. (Isa. 53; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4, 20-22; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15, 19-21; Rom. 1:4; 3:25; 4:25; 8:3, 4; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; Col. 2:15; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 1:24)
X. Experience of Salvation.
In the final analysis, salvation means restoration of humanity and the rest of creation to their original state of perfection and uninterrupted communion with the Holy God. We lost our immortality and the vigor of God-given life through the act of willful disobedience to the Creator’s Command by Eve and Adam. By the same token, only obedience to the Word of God can bring us back to the same relationship with the LORD.
In His boundless love, mercy and compassion, the LORD has provided the means of salvation for the lost humanity. The Eternal One of Israel places the Seal of Salvation, His Holy Spirit, only on those who acknowledge Him as the One True Sovereign of the Universe and walk in obedience to His Law! If even one of these components is missing in a sinner’s life, s/he is left to fend for themselves in a losing battle of saving themselves. (Deut. 30:15,19; Lev. 18:5; Is. 1:18; Neh. 9:29; Ezek. 20:11,13,21, 36:25-27)
XI. The Remnant and Their Mission.
The idea of the righteous remnant of God’s people is quite ancient and a very Jewish one. In the biblical context of the Hebrew Scriptures, it refers to the faithful few, who remained loyal and obedient to the God of Israel and His Torah in the face of the prevailing idolatry and apostasy. Jesus of Nazareth, was an indisputable part of such remnant.
The fundamental focus of his teaching mission was to proclaim the Kingdom of One God and to call the faithful Israelites out of the large crowd that succumbed to idolatry and moral decadence. In short, Jesus was preoccupied with making the Remnant of Israel the Light unto the Gentiles once again, as they had been all along in the past!
Contrary to the overwhelming and, quite deliberate, misconception that Jesus established something called “the church,” the Holy Scriptures tell us otherwise! When speaking about building his “ekklesia” in Matthew 16, Jesus did not purpose to establish some new religious entity, called “ the church”. The word “ekklesia” comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Word “kahal” and means “the assembly of Israel.”
Jesus the Jew, then, declares that amidst the prevailing apostasy among the people of Israel and their contempt for God’s Torah, he will collect the righteous few, who will cling to the One True God and keep His Commandments with unwavering determination!
The mission of the biblical Remnant, therefore, is to be the LORD’s Light unto the Gentiles of the whole world, be they worshipers of Hindu idols or Church’s Trinity. The goal is the same as that of the Jesus himself: to bring the unbelieving world to the knowledge of One True God, the LORD God of Israel! (II Kings 19:30; Ez. 9:8; Is. 42:6; 49:6; 60:3; Hab. 2:14; Matt. 16:18; Acts 13:17; Rev. 12:17; 14:6-12; 18:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 3, 14; 1 Peter 1:16-19; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Rev. 21:1-14.)
XII. The Coming of the Messiah and the End of Sin.
Although we would not like to be unbendingly dogmatic about how exactly the future will unfold, the Scriptures seem to give us enough details to piece together the following picture: The Bible exhorts us that the Messiah of Israel is coming soon to claim God’s faithful and establish the Kingdom of God upon this Earth. The City of Jerusalem will be the center of his reign; the LORD God of Israel will be worshipped and obeyed.
Together with his people, the Messiah will reign over all the Earth for a thousand years, called Millennium. All the worshippers of One True God of Israel will be citizens of the Kingdom. His Kingdom will proceed to fill the whole Earth, bringing all who are willing into the fold of the people of God, the Commonwealth of Israel.
After the Millennium, the New Heaven and the New Earth will be created. From that point on, the Holy One will dwell amidst His people even as He dwelled with the untainted humanity, Adam and Eve! Let us strive to bring His Kingdom sooner rather than later! (Is. 11; 65:17-25; Zech. 14; Rev. 20; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; Jer. 4:23-26; Rev. 21:1-5; Mal. 4:1; Eze. 28:18, 19.)
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