WE BELIEVE:
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That the BIBLE, consisting of the Tenach (Holy
Scriptures) and the later writings commonly known as the B'rit
Hadasha (New Covenant), is the only infallible and authoritative
word of God. We recognize its divine inspiration, and accept its
teachings as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice
(Deut.
6:4-9; Prov.
3:1-6; Ps.
119:89, 105; Isa.
48:12-16; Rom.
8:14-17; II
Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17).
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GOD - We believe that the Shema, "Hear
O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deut.
6:4), teaches that God is Echad, as so declared: a united
one, a composite unity, eternally existent in plural oneness [Gen.
1:1 (Elohim: God); Gen.
1:26 "Let us make man in our image";
Gen.
2:24 Adam & Eve were created to be as one flesh (basar
echad)], that He is a personal God who created us ( Gen.
1 & 2), and that He exists forever in three persons: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, as mentioned in Romans
8:14-17 (Father, Spirit, and Messiah - Son) and Matt.
28:18-20 (immersing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit).
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GOD THE FATHER (Abba) - John
6:27b; I
Cor 1:3; Gal.
1:1; Rev.
3:5, 21; Jer.
3:4, 19; 31:9; Mal.
1:6; Matt.
6:9, 32; Luke
10:21-22; John
1:14; 4:23; 5:17-26; 6:28-46; Rom.
8:14-15.
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GOD THE SON (HaBen)
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God does have a Son [Ps.
2; Prov.
30:4-6 (cf. Heb.
1); Luke
12:35-37; John
1:29-34, 49; 3:14-18].
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The Son, called Yeshua (Jesus), meaning salvation, came
to this world born of a virgin [Isa.
7:14 (cf. Luke
1:30-35)].
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The Son is God (Deity), and is worshipped as God, having
existed eternally [Ps.
110:1 (cf. Heb.
1:13); Isa.
9:6-7; Matt.
28:18-20; Phil.
2:5-11; Col.
1:15-19; Rev.
3:21 (Heb.
1 - worshipped by angels); Rev.
4:8, 5:5-14].
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This One is the promised Mashiach (Messiah) of Israel
[ Is.
9:6-7; 11:1; Dan.
9 (esp. verses 20-26);
Isa.
53; John
1:17, 40-41, 45, 49; Mark
8:29].
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He is the root and offspring of David, the bright and
morning star (Num.
24:17; Rev.
22:16).
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He is our Passover, the Lamb of God ( I
Cor. 5:7; Rev.
5; John
1:29).
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GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT (Ruach HaKodesh)
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Introduced in Gen.
1:2b.
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In the Tenach, the Spirit of God came upon individuals
during the times of our forefathers, like Moses, David
(see II
Sam. 23:1-3), and the Prophets, for the specific purposes.
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In the New Covenant, the Messiah, Yeshua, promised His
disciples that "the Comforter" would come to
them after He was gone, described as the Spirit of Truth
(John
14:17, 26), who was with them and would be in them.
Yeshua further declared that the Spirit of Truth, would
guide us into all truth and would glorify Him - the Messiah
- not Himself (John
16:13-15). He empowers us (Acts
1:8). He seals us [Eph.
1:13; 4:30 (see NIV and Jewish New Testatment versions)].
If we have not the Spirit, we are not His (Rom.
8:9). He leads us and teaches us (Rom.
8:14-17). His indwelling enables us to live a godly
life. Acts
2:38 says, "Repent, be immersed, and receive
the Holy Spirit."
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MAN
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Created in the image of God (Gen.
1:26-27), but:
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through disobedience, man fell from his first state and became
separated from God (Gen.
2:17; 3:22-24). Therefore, according to the Scriptures,
all men are born with a sinful nature (Ps.
14:1-3; 49:7; 53:13; Isa.
64:6; Rom.
3:9-12, 23; 5:12).
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Man's only hope for redemption (salvation) is through the
atonement made by the Messiah (Lev.
17:11; Isa.
53; Dan.
9:24-26; I
Cor. 15:22; Heb.
9:11-14, 28; John
1:12, 3:36), resulting in regeneration by the Holy Spirit
(Tit.
3:5), which is the new birth (John
3:3-8). For by grace we are saved through faith, it is
a gift of God (Eph.
2:8-9).
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RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT
We believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost:
the former to everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation
from God, a state of everlasting punishment (Job
14:14; 19:25-27; Dan.
12:2-3; John
3:36; 11:25-26; Rev.
20:5-6, 10-15; 21:7-8).
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THE MESSIAH - The Redeemer.
The Scriptures promised two "comings" of the Messiah:
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First coming
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Promised in Dan.
9:24-26.
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Its purpose was to make an atonement for sin (Dan.
9:24-26; Isa.
53; Rom.
3:21-31; Heb.
9-10; John
3:16-17).
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Second coming
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Promised coming in the air to
receive the believers to Himself (I
Thess. 4:13-18; John
14:1-6; I
Cor. 15:51-57).
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Messiah's return to the earth.
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The Redeemer shall come to Zion (Isa.
59:20-21; Zech.
14:4).
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Israel's spiritual redemption (Zech.
12:8-13:1; Rom.
11:25-27; Heb.
9:28; Jer.
31:31-40; the New Covenant).
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Israel's national restoration is to recover the remnant
of His people Israel from the four corners of the
earth, and restore the Davidic Kingdom (Isa.
11 - to re-establish the throne and kingdom of
David, which will last forever) [Isa.
9:6-7 (cf. Luke
1:30-33); Jer.
23:3-8].
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ISRAEL IN PROPHECY
We believe in God's end-time plan for the nation of Israel and
for the world. A central part of Messianic Judaism is the belief
in the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, as taught
in the Scriptures. The greatest miracle of our day has been the
re-establishment or rebirth of the State of Israel according to
prophecy (Ezek.
34:11-31; 36-39; Hos.
3; Amos
9:11-15; Zech.
12-14; Isa.
11; 43; 54; 60-62; 66; Rom.
11:1-34) (see also Scriptures under V.
THE MESSIAH).
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MESSIANIC JUDAISM
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We recognize that Jewish people (physical descendants of
Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, whether through the mother's
or the father's blood-line) who place their faith in Israel's
Messiah, Yeshua, continue to be Jewish according to the Scriptures
(Rom.
2:28-29). Gentiles who place their faith in Yeshua, are
"grafted into" the Jewish olive tree of faith (Rom.
11:17-25) becoming spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham
(Gal.
3:28-29).
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We observe and celebrate the Jewish Holy Days given by God
to Israel, with their fulfillment in and through the Messiah
Yeshua. We believe that true "Biblical Judaism,"
the faith of first century believers, which we seek to practice,
acknowledges the continuity of faith in the one true God,
revealed throughout the Scriptures, and ultimately manifested
in God's Son, Yeshua the Messiah. We believe that salvation
has always been "by faith," and that works of law,
or righteous acts, have never saved anyone (Gen.
15:6; Rom.
2-6; Eph.
2:8-9; Heb.
11:6, 39).
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We acknowledge that the New Covenant body of believers is
composed of both Jews and Gentiles who have received Yeshua
the Messiah as the Promised Redeemer. The "middle wall
of partition" has been broken down and now we worship
the God of Israel together (I
Cor. 12:13; Eph.
2:13-14).
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