Alone in a Dark, Strange House
Have you ever found yourself groping and stumbling around in a totally dark, strange house without a light? Many people who have left the Christian church with some vague notion of returning to the Hebrew roots of their faith find themselves in such a house. Welcome to the house of the Messianic /Hebrew Roots Movement!
Many of us have been there asking ourselves questions like: Where are we? Where are we going? What’s next? Who’s out there? Am I alone?
Shifting from a Christian paradigm and lifestyle to that of the Hebrew/Jewish roots of the Christian faith as modelled by the early believers in the Book of Acts and Apostolic Epistles isn’t an easy one. Perhaps knowing the transition zones or spiritual growth stages we all go through might be like someone handing you a flashlight in that dark house.
Even a little light on the subject might save your toe and keep you from doing a nose plant on the floor! Not only that, knowing the stages most inevitably go through when making the transition from a traditional Sunday Christian to a Torah-conscious and Yeshua-loving Hebrew might just…
- help us to stay on course so that we won’t get stuck in one stage of spiritual development and fail to move to the next stage.
- help leaders to see where people are at in their path to spiritual maturity, and help them to the next level.
- help those who have advanced through these stages to be gracious and helpful to those who have not yet done so.
Here are the stages, as I see them. Personal experiences may vary, but I think that most of us have more or less gone through these steps ourselves. Read and see what you think.
The Hearing the Sound of the Shofar/the Call of the Bridegroom
- At this stage, as Christians, we begin to awaken to our spiritual heritage—to the Jewish roots of our faith.
- We begin to develop a love for the land of Israel and the Jewish people.
- We become aware of our need to return to the ancient and good spiritual paths (Jer 6:16), which predate Constantine Christianity and from which we have strayed (v. 19).
The Anger Stage/Our Fathers Have Inherited Lies Stage
- We become aware that our spiritual fathers have inherited lies (Jer 16:19): the church has lied to us; withheld biblical truth; substituted traditions of men for biblical truth. If not careful, anger against the Christian church can set in.
- Some, at this point, will begin to despise and denigrate the Christian church, or worse, turn away from what truth the church does have (e.g., the message of Yeshua, the cross, the basic gospel message, the message of love, etc.).
The Exploratory Our Hebrew Roots Stage
- We begin to search the Bible for truth and knowledge. We want to discover the truths the church system been withholding from us.
- This search leads us to a learning about the Torah (the law of Moses). We begin to fall in love with the Torah.
- At the same time, we become drawn to Messianic personalities, the big name “Torah teachers,” programs and conferences. These celebrities are highly instrumental in introducing newbies to the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith.
The Jewishness Stage
- For many, at this stage the spiritual pendulum begins swinging away from Christianity toward Judaism. After all, one reasons, the Jews have been faithful to the Torah, they can show us the way. Perhaps the Jewish sages can teach us what the church system has failed to teach us. After all, we reason, they have faithfully adhered to the Torah. Right??… Therefore, everything Jewish must be good.
- Some will even endeavor to become Jewish, and outdo the Jews with regard to Torah-obedience.
The Apathy Stage
- Apathy for things Christian develops and unwittingly.
- At this point, many inadvertently put the truths of Yeshua, the gospel message and the New Testament (NT) on the back burner. If not careful, we can grow cold in our love for Yeshua. Some never come back and leave Yeshua and the NT altogether figuring these are inventions of the Catholic church fathers. Some go all the way into Judaism and end up denying Yeshua altogether.
The Torah Legalism Stage
- At this stage as one, begins to learn about the Torah-law with all of its prescriptions and proscriptions (dos and don’ts), some will move from the emphasis of Christianity on the spirit of the law to the strongly emphasizing letter of the law.
- A letter of the law orientation causes us to focus more on religiousity—or the externals of Torah-obedience (e.g., mezuzahs, tzitzits and talits, beards, head coverings, shofars, sacred names, Hebraic dance, paleo-Hebrew, etc.) over the spirit of the law. This makes us feel special and better than others.
- Head knowledge and the how-tos of Torah become the dominant motivator in one’s life. Much time is spent worshipping at the alter of intellectualism. Gaining spiritual head knowledge becomes one’s dominant pursuit. We flock to Hebrew roots teachers who inundate us with a torrent of spiritual—often esoteric—truths from the Word of Elohim. As a result, our mind swells with head knowledge, but our heart remains unfed, and we make very little progress in our personal relationship with Yeshua and our Father in heaven.
- In the mean time, we forget about the love and grace a taught in the church. We spend more time debating doctrine, and, if not careful, can become a pack of arrogant, unloving, legalistic and pharisaical spiritual knit-pickers. Yeshua referred to this as being like a whited sepulchre full of dead men’s bones.
The Leanness of Soul Stage
- With a head of full of Torah knowledge and Jewish understanding, and feeling better than everyone else, surprisingly, we still feel spiritually empty inside.
- At this point, totally disillusioned, some leave the Hebrew roots/Messianic Movement and return to Christianity, convert to Judaism, or just give up on religion all together only. Some will invent their own self-styled form of secular Jewish-Christianity. Others revert to total secularism.
The Spirit and Truth Stage/the Bride and the Bridegroom Dance Together
- Those who are hungry truth seekers realize the spiritual traps and pitfalls outlined above, and they begin to understand these stages of spiritual growth and development, yet they refuse to take their eyes off of Yeshua and his word, and so they press onward and upward.
- One begins to long for the grace, mercy, love and Yeshua-centeredness once experienced in the Christian church, yet in a Torah and Spirit-filled context.
- They seek more of Yeshua, desiring to abide intimately in him, yet in a Hebraic, pro-Torah context.
- At this point, it behooves us to rediscover the glorious and transcendent beauty of the Testimony of Yeshua (NT), and then to find out what the apostles really did teach about the Torah, spiritual life and Yeshua.
- As we begin to walk in more love, tolerance, grace, and mercy toward one another, one accordness along with a desire for deep and heartfelt praise and worship begins to return to our fellowships. The power of the Spirit, the anointed Presence of YHVH are soon to follow. This is the dance of the bride and the Bridegroom, which occurs at that place of anointing before the altar of incense before the veil. The bride is preparing to enter the bridal chamber of the holy of holies,which is the chupah or place of marital oneness or consummation, in preparation for the coming of the Bridegroom.
Coming to this place in our spiritual walk needs to be the goal of each born-again, redeemed Israelite, Torah-obedient, Spirit-filled follower of Yeshua the Messiah.
I can really identify with the pitfalls mentioned on both sides. Having grown up and spending most of my life in the Sunday Christian church and many years listening to those prophets who are in it for themselves, then coming into the knowlege of Hebrew Roots in the last ten years, the excitement in learning so much from the Hebrew aspect but also dealing with the resentment at the church for misleading us and being unwilling to change. I’m so thankful that Father has given us these friends to help us in the struggle and hold us accountable to His word and Ruach! Blessings, Tammy
How apropos for those looking for the ancient paths of our faith (Jer 6:16), a trail map with markers pointing us toward a “pre-denominational gospel” the one which was manifested in the lives of the first century followers of the Messiah. This was the message of discipleship that was to be taught to gentiles coming to the faith without a biblical foundation of Torah.
I’ve stumbled along this path without knowing that this was the path that I was following, but with a humbling retrospect I can now see all the stumbling blocks and how easy it is for one to become “spiritually shipwrecked” in ones faith. How much easier to have been discipled in the “Full Gospel of spirit and truth”, as opposed to being raised in what is called the “Full Gospel” which focus on the Gifts of the Spirit but is still biblical imbalanced .
Yet the path is such, that one has to walk it out– to truly understand the magnetic draw of the extremes edges of the pendulum swings. The allure to turn to the right or the left, rather than remaining on the narrow way is deceptively strong so “..take heed”. (1 Cor. 10:12)
Understanding that when we become a part of the “Family of God” through salvation of the Messianic Covenant, we are also partakers and covenant partners of the Promises, the Blessings as well as the curses of the Mosaic Covenant, and the Covenants with Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Then understanding we are now heirs, that we are blessed or cursed by the terms and conditions of those covenants. (Eph 2:11) Much of the modern day doctrines taught in the church are buffet style of pick and choose, based on what we like or tickles our ears. Thus many struggle and suffer in their “Christian Walk” not understanding that they are bound to the terms and are reaping the curses of disobedience to the Commandments.
The path of unlearning the “lies”–that our Fathers inherited (Jer 16:19) is our trail-head, so we then can begin rebuilding the sound foundations of the faith (Eph 2:20) sifting out the doctrines of demons and man from our belief system. The overseer of the rebuilding work is the Holy Spirit. We have to be balanced or level: Our line upon line and precept upon precept, we have to have Justice as our “line” and righteousness as our “plumbline” (the Torah is our instruction in Righteousness and Justice). Then when shaking comes our house (faith) will not be shaken (Isa 28:16). Regular immersion in the word with a initial strong central focus on the Torah, to bring us back to balance and level ground (line and plumbline) till we have the full counsel of the full gospel. The Torah is the “Rock” on which our house has to be built. The Torah is the “legend” to interpret the blueprints (The Word) of our house (faith). Without the Torah we will errantly exegesis the Gospels, the Apostolic writings and the Testimony of Yeshua (as the book of Revelation refers to the “reNewed Testament”).
Natan, when I first I heard you teach this at Sukkot, I was blown away at how prophetic it was of the path I had trekked on. One could easily feel that they were the person on the path, or being spotlighted in your teaching. It also takes a lot of grace to shepherd those sheep on the “Derek” (the narrow way). Thanks!
While the iterations of this path seemed to be very similar in appearance, and many are called, but yet few “choose” to only follow, just the voice and beckon of the Bridegroom. Truly but for the Grace of Elohim, I would have become previously shipwrecked myself. With His grace: “I will press on toward the goal.” as we read in Phil 3:12-21
12Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Yeshua the Messiah has made me his own. 13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Elohim in Yesuha the Messiah. 15Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
17Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Messiah. 19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a “Kinsmen Redeemer”, the Master Yeshua the Messiah, 21who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Phil. 3:12-21
Shalom – Jonathan
“some will begin to despise and denigrate the Christian church”
Yes, yes … we were here with the anger and resentment; but, with so much happening in the world today we – our family and the small group with whom we worship, all have recognized that there are only two groups in the world! Those YHVH choose and everybody else!
We therefore now look at the ‘church’ and know that they too will understand it’s only YHVH and his whole Word – or – convert to Islam. May Heaven forbid.