I would be long dead, destined to hell and eternal damnation, had He not appeared three times to me the atheist, who had denounced Him as an impostor whenever I had opportunity and used His Name for cursing. He let me see the disfiguring marks in His hands and feet, revealing Himself as my Redeemer, and showed Himself in His glory²⁹. 

He appeared to others as well, showing Himself alive. There are probably by now about 10,000 Jewish disciples of Yeshua in Israel (give or take; nobody knows the exact number), many of them “sabras” - native born -, and a far greater number abroad, mainly in the United States and Canada.

All these Jews have come to realize that Yeshua of Nazareth is indeed the Promised One, that Servant of G-d called “The Branch” in Zechariah 6:12-13, Who shall build the third Temple, Who was cut off from among the living as foretold in Daniel 9:24-26, yet lives forever more as King and Priest after the order of Melchizedek³⁰, in the Kingdom of His Father, His and our G-d. 
 

Yeshua is Ben Adam, Ben Avraham, Ben Yitzhak, and Ben Yaacov, Ben David and Ben Elohim. He is our Sair l’Azazel, our scapegoat of Yom Kippur, upon whom were laid all of our transgressions and infirmities; He is the One whose blood was sprinkled upon the heavenly Mercy Seat for our atonement, and Who was made to hang from a tree to bear the curse of the Law in our [the Jews'] stead, so that we may keep Torah from the heart, her yoke having been made light by Him.

But – we are still in a state of transition. It takes more than just a few decades to bridge over so many centuries of Christianity’s dominion, doctrines and teachings not in accordance with the One True Faith, to reconnect with the early Jewish disciples, whose Jewishness no one disputed. We Messianics do not think of ourselves as being “Christians,” but as Jews who believe, from conviction, that Yeshua of Nazareth is the One G-d promised to us long ago. Many among us who had not been observant before rediscovered Torah, and those who had been observant did not turn away from Torah, as Yeshua never abrogated Torah, not even so much as one single dot or tittle from all of the Law, the Writings and the Prophets³¹.

In fact, it was He Who commanded me, “Return to your people and heritage.” For G-d did not reject His covenant people³², nor did Yeshua introduce a new faith. He became the Messenger of a new covenant, superior to the first, to fulfill the divine promises which are the hope of this very faith, proclaiming the Kingdom of G-d to be at hand.

We are Jews like all those who have Jewish parents or grandparents. We do not believe in an alien god but hold the Jewish faith and hope, the hope in the resurrection from the dead, the coming of the Messianic Reign, and ultimately in the eternal Kingdom of G-d.

Most Jews understand the workings of the Mikve: when, for example, a Gentile who converts to Judaism immerses himself three times in the “living” waters of the Mikve, he dies and is buried there as a Gentile, and is “resurrected”, “born again” as a Jew when he rises out of the waters.

Likewise, when a sinner who has come to faith in Yeshua immerses himself in the Name above all names – which is the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Sprit - three times in living waters, whether that be a Mikve, a river, or pool with an in and outlet, he dies and is buried there as a sinner, and rises out of the water as a “born again” child of G-d. For just as the Gentile was engrafted into the cultivated tree of Israel, into her fold, so is the sinner engrafted into Yeshua’s death, burial and resurrection. 

It follows that this is only attained when done by faith; apart from faith it is not realized. Hence, forced conversions and baptisms are invalid, for only what was done by faith is approved and acceptable before G-d. Yom Kippur's Kol Nidre service renders null and void any imposed conversions, mainly for the concience of the convert, since G-d does not require of a man any vow forced upon him.

Apart from faith no one shall enter G-d's Kingdom, for it is impossible to please G-d without it. For whoever would draw near to G-d must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him.³³

In truth, we have not forsaken our own fold, we have not forsaken Torah, we do not believe in three separate gods but in the One and Only Living G-d Who manifests in three distinct aspects of His One Person – Father, Son and Holy Spirit³⁴. Nobody coerced or bribed us into believing in Yeshua, nobody force baptized us, nor do we Messianics perform such acts of wickedness.

For centuries, anti-Semites have told the most horrific lies about Jews, slandered and maligned them since the days of the Exodus from Egypt, propagated further through the days of Greek Hellenism, then the Romans, and finally Gentile Christianity. Today it is neither of them but rather a rogue people who call themselves Palestinians, who perpetrate the worst of lies and slanders about Israel, Israelis and Jews everywhere.

And now we have fellow Jews among us doing the very same thing – but against their own Jewish brethren. The ultra-orthodox lie, slander and falsely accuse Messianic Jews who believe in Yeshua of Nazareth as our Messiah. In G-d’s eyes lies are lies, slander is slander, false accusations are false accusations, regardless by whom they are made. However, when it is done by Jews against Jews, G-d’s judgment will be more severe than on non-Jews.

It is therefore imperative that we pray for G-d’s intervention both on their behalf as well as on behalf of the trial in Beer-Sheva,³⁵  for the good and blessing of all – for the persecutors and the Messianics, and for the glory of our G-d and Messiah Yeshua. Amen and Amen."

Yours in Him,
Annelore