Excerpt from House of Covenant

We believe that Jewish people (physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, whether through the mother's or the father's bloodline) who place their faith in Israel's Messiah, Yeshua, continue to be Jewish according to the Scriptures. We believe that Gentiles who place their faith in Yeshua are "grafted in” to the Jewish olive tree of faith, becoming spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham.

We believe in observing and celebrating 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.

We believe that the Renewed Covenant body of believers is composed of both Jews and Gentiles who have received Yeshua the Messiah as the Promised Redeemer. We believe that the "middle wall of partition" has been broken down, and now we worship the God of Israel together.

House of Covenant
Messianic Hebrew Congregation
61690 Pettigrew Rd.
Bend, OR 97702

Phone: (541) 385-5439
Email: adam@houseofcovenant.org

Excerpt from the Harvest

The Church

We believe that the church began with Moses and the call for Israel to come out from Egypt. This Israel, who came out of Egypt, was comprised of both native-born and gerim—"sojourners" whose clan identity was outside that of the tribes of Jacob (Ex.12:38). Together they stood at Sinai and entered into covenant with Yahweh. According to the Exodus account, the native-born along with the foreigner constituted the covenant people who received the Torah at Sinai (Ex. 19). Collectively they, the native born and the foreigner who accepted the covenant, are referred to as Israel. This Israel is what Stephen referred to as the "church" in the wilderness (Acts 7:38). Those who were outside of Israel's descendants could and would be brought into the covenant community (church) by doing what father Abraham (a goy from Ur of Chaldee) did to become righteous—namely, he placed his trust and faith in the promised Seed (the Messiah). Just as many foreigners became part of Israel then, so today many from the nations are being grafted into the olive tree of Israel by placing their faith in the promised Seed of Abraham, Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah of Israel. Just as the prophet Isaiah foretold (Isa. 56), Yahweh is gathering many from the nations to those whom He already gathered (Israel). Together these individuals comprise the universal church (covenant community of Yahweh). These Jews and Gentiles in Messiah collectively are called Israel throughout the Scriptures. There is no other "church" or covenant community; just one new man, one torah, one Messiah, one Spirit, one God. Some of the physical descendants of Jacob have rejected Yeshua and remain cut off from the covenant community of Yahweh, but are still a part of greater Israel and will be grafted back into the church (covenant community of Yahweh) when they turn from their unbelief and place their faith in Yeshua as the promised Seed of Abraham (Rom. 11). Ethnic status is not altered by acceptance or rejection of Yeshua, but covenant status is. Covenant status is determined by faith in Yeshua the Messiah. In the end, it is not ethnic status but rather covenant status that fulfills salvific history.

Mailing Address
PO Box 29993
Thornton, CO 80229

Phone: 303-761-9948

Excerpt from Rock of Israel

God's Promise

All people feel lost deep down in their hearts. They wonder why they are here, why so much evil happens in the world. The Bible explains why: we want to run our own lives and do not accept God's help when we need it. This selfishness affects every person, every family, every nation, the entire human race. But God cares. He promised he would send his servant, the Messiah, to free us from ourselves and give us new and joyful hearts. God made this promise first in the Torah, the books of Moses: a promise not only to the Jewish people but to everyone around the world.

That promised Messiah is Jesus -- Yeshua in Hebrew -- who has has transformed the hearts and lives of millions of people. What is more, God has a plan for his people, Israel: to draw them to their Messiah and help change the world. Everyone is included in this plan: Jews and Gentiles, Israelis and Arabs, Russians or Americans or Europeans or Africans: for Messiah obliterates all the dividing lines between people and unites them in God's love.

Rock of Israel
P.O.Box 15443
Philadelphia, PA 19149

Pastor Ilya Berdichevsky
Phone: (215) 333-7242
Email: ilya@rockofisrael.com

Fred Klett
Phone: (267) 679-2671
Email: chaim@chaim.org

Excerpt from the Association of Messianic Congregations

ISRAEL

We believe Israel is God's special people, distinct from the body of Messiah, chosen by Him to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. The election of Israel is irrevocable. Jewish believers in Yeshua have a unique twofold identity. They are the spiritual remnant of physical Israel and at the same time are part of the body of Messiah. We believe the Abrahamic Covenant is an irrevocable, unconditional covenant God made with Jewish people. This covenant provides title to the land of Israel for the Jewish people and promises a descendant (the Messiah) who would come to redeem Israel and bless the entire world. The spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant overflow to all the nations. God will ultimately fulfill every aspect of the covenant in the Messianic Kingdom, both physical and spiritual. We believe that Israel's eternal covenant relationship with God does not grant atonement to individual Jewish people. Therefore, it is the believer's privilege and duty to tell the Good News of Messiah Yeshua to the Jewish people. (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-21, 17:1-21; Romans 11:1-29; Galatians 3:14-17)


THE ASSOCIATION OF MESSIANIC CONGREGATIONS
5002 East 4th St
Tucson, AZ 85711

Phone: 520-326-2020
Email: bethsarshalom@yahoo.com

Excerpt from Olive Tree Congregation

The Son

God the Son became flesh (Isaiah 9:6-7) in the person of Yeshua of Nazareth, the promised Messiah of Israel (Jeremiah 23:5-6, Micah 5:2), who was conceived by the Spirit of God and born of the Jewish virgin, Miriam (Mary) (Isaiah 7:14). He is both fully God and fully man, united forever without division or confusion.
Messiah Yeshua died as a substitutionary sacrifice for man's sin (Leviticus 16:15-16; 17:11, 2 Corinthians 5:14) and all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His shed blood (Romans 5:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18). The Messiah's substitutionary death (Psalm 22:16, Isaiah 53:4-6; 10-12, Daniel 9:26, Zechariah 12:10) was the purchase price (Mark 10:45) for our redemption and was foreshadowed in the Tenach in the slaying of the Passover lamb, the sin and trespass offering, and the sin offerings on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Messiah Yeshua arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will one day return for all who believe in Him (Romans 3:24-26). Presently He serves as our Cohen Gadol (Great High Priest) according to the priesthood of Melchizedek. As such, He is intercessor and advocate before the Father in behalf of all believers (Hebrews 7:1-25).

Dan Strull
Olive Tree Congregation
203 E. Camp McDonald Rd.
Prospect Heights, IL 60070

Phone: 847.222.1230
Email: info@olive-tree.org

Excerpt from Rock of Israel

Towards a Reformed Israelology

Can one be Covenantal in theology, that is, believe the New Covenant community is spiritually Israel and as such is already experiencing in this age the promises of the prophets to Israel, and yet still maintain in some way ethnic Israel is unique? Let us consider how the term "Israel" is used.
The word is used in many ways in the Scriptures, yet all the uses are interrelated. It means "He who has struggled with God". Ultimately, God is the one who has the right to answer the question as to who or what is Israel. He determines who or what is Israel, not man or men's traditions. Here is a provisional list of some of the uses of the word in the Scriptures.

1. The man Jacob, Genesis 32:28
2. Jacob's Physical Descendants(The Jewish People), Gen. 46:8; 48:28; Ex.1:7
3. All Old Testament Believers(Both Jews and Gentiles), Ex. 12:38,47-49; Dt. 23:8Nu. 15:13-16; Ruth 1:16
4. The Land Josh. 11:16; Jud.19:29, 1 Sam. 13:19; Mt.2:20
5. The Northern Kingdom, Is.7:1, 9:12
6. Citizens of the North, Is. 9:14; Jer. 3:11,17
7. The Spiritual Remnantamong the Jewish People, Rom. 9:6? Rom. 11:1?Rom. 11:26?
8. All Who are in the Messiah(A continuation of #3, that is, all believers, the Church), Eph. 2:11-19; Rom. 4:12-17;Rom. 9:6,7,8,24-26 Rom. 11:17; Gal.3:29, 4:21-31
9. Modern Ethnic or Political Israel (Jews and Gentiles!?), Is. 19:24-25; Acts 1:6 (maybe?)(Israel is certainly one of the nations of Rev. 7:9!)
10. The Messiah Himself, Mt. 2:15; Is. 49:3-6; Gal. 3:16

There are then a number of possible Scriptural meanings of "Israel". But, is there a most ultimate meaning of the word Israel? There is -- it is the Messiah Himself (#10), for all the promises of God have their `yes' in Him (2 Cor. 1:20). Jesus is the ultimate seed of Abraham, (Gal. 3:16).

Ilya Berdichevsky
Rock of Israel
P.O.Box 15443
Philadelphia, PA 19149

Phone: (215) 333-7242
Email: ilya@rockofisrael.com

Excerpt from CRMI Resources

What If ...

So let’s play a game of “what if”. What if the northern kingdom of Israel, the nation taken captive by the Assyrians around 722 BCE, is still waiting to be redeemed. What if they did not return (in any massive way) through gradual assimilation, and the return will be as the prophets seem to write about in the Tanach: at the end of the age the house of Israel will return from being lost among the Gentiles. They will be drawn back from the four corners of the earth to the true worship of God and to the land of Israel.
As the prophet Ezekiel writes, the house of Israel is like a valley of dry bones. It seems to appear out of nowhere. If the house of Israel (the Lost Ten Tribes) is to come back to the land of Israel and be reunited with the house of Judah, exactly how will it come about? How do you know who a member of the lost tribes is? There are no identifying marks. There is no defined history (after all they were “lost”).
The whole idea of a completely “lost” nation, appearing out of nowhere at the end of the age, sounds so unlikely it is easy to dismiss it all as a silly legend. But “What if” … What if it really is to happen that way. What would it look like? What if God began to bring the northern kingdom back from exile, and there was no one to guide them or to assist them along the way.

CRMI Resources
Rick Richardson
P.O.Box 111
Auburn, WA 98071
Phone: (253) 569-6228
Email: Rick@shalom-crmi.org