Messianic Allies
With our Seventh-day Adventist aim of becoming the catalyst of the “remnant of the Woman’s descendants who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” we ought to be looking at the Messianics as potential allies. In some respects Messianics are very much like us; they too are striving to keep the Torah and Jesus together. Like us, Messianics reference themselves in Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 5:17-18.
“Think not that I have come to destroy Torah or the prophets; I am not come to destroy but to establish. Amen, Amen, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away not one yod, not one tag shall pass from the Torah, till all things be consummated.”
Like Seventh-day Adventists, Messianics deplore the way Christianity has abandoned the Torah.
Like us, Messianics are restorationists. They too strongly believe that Jesus’ endtime followers must return to their first love, to their original obedience, to their original communal organization, to their original form of worship. Like Seventh-day Adventists, Messianics believe in primitive godliness. Although I’ve never actually heard Messianics applying Isaiah’s “repairer of the breach, restorer of paths” [58:12] to themselves, I sense they’d be quite comfortable doing so.
But despite our common interests, Messianics and Seventh-day Adventists, don’t act like allies. There’s a great deal of mutual suspicion between us. You’d never guess we’re on the same side. I’d like to suggest that the differences between Seventh-day Adventists and Messianics needn’t prevent us from cooperating and being friends. I’d like to suggest how we can reach out to our Messianic brothers and sisters. Relative to the task of the remnant, the number of persons aspiring to keep the commandments of God and to hold the testimony of Jesus is so small that we can’t afford to ignore any potential partners.
Although both Seventh-day Adventist and Messianics immerged among Conservative Evangelicals in the United States, today our reference groups aren’t the same. Seventh-day Adventists continue to identify with Conservative Evangelical Christians. These are the people we measure ourselves against. These are the people to whose criticism we’re the most sensitive and to whom we feel we must answer. We aspire to be accepted on their terms. Even though we’re outsiders, Conservative Evangelicals are our reference group.
Messianics have a different reference group. Even though they believe in Jesus, Messianics identify with Judaism rather than with Christianity. Messianics are more sensitive to criticism from Judaism rather than from Christianity (By the way, they get plenty from both). Even though Messianics aren’t accepted by Jews, their orientation is Jewish.
In practical terms what does this mean? It means Seventh-day Adventists tend to equate reverence with silence, whereas Messianics equate reverence with the give-and-take of Jewish study. It means Seventh-day Adventists sometimes fast on Sabbath, whereas Messianics would never fast on Sabbath. It means Seventh-day Adventists tend to put on special programs around Christmas time, whereas Messianics will do a special program for the ten days of repentance leading up to the Day of Atonement. It means Seventh-day Adventists tend to decorate their buildings with crosses, whereas Messianics decorate with Jewish symbols such as a menorah or a star of David. We employ different religious language and a different set of religious symbols. A different reference group means that for Seventh-day Adventists, Evangelical Christian behavior is considered normal and that for Messianics, Jewish behavior is considered normal.
Having a different reference group is not an insurmountable obstacle to mutual cooperation. We just need to recognize that some of our behavioral expectations are different. So long as we’re not offended when others express their commitment to God differently from us, we can work together. If we wish to persuade our friends that our reference group is the better choice, we’re certainly free to do so. But we mustn’t allow our particular reference group to be a make or break issue, because it’s clear God has his true worshipers both in the Christian community and in the Jewish community. The endtime remnant will draw on both. Our particular reference group is a matter of group identity. But the gospel isn’t confined to any one culture, tradition, group, or community. The mission of the three angels is bigger than any particular reference group.
Another difference between Seventh-day Adventists and Messianics is how we consider the commandments. When Seventh-day Adventists think of the endtime remnant, they think those who keep the Decalogue and hold to the testimony of Jesus. We normally limit God’s commandments to the Decalogue. Messianics, on the other hand, think of the commandments more comprehensively, rather like Jews. Since we’re formally committed to so few of the commandments, Messianics don’t think of Seventh-day Adventists as commandment-keepers.
We can understand our difference on this point as a subset of the above: Messianics reference Judaism, whereas Seventh-day Adventists reference Christianity. Very early on in Christian history, in order to discredit Israel and the Torah, Christian leaders sought to limit God’s commandments to the Decalogue. We see this tactic already in the writings of Irenaeus of Lyons [Adversus Haereses 4.16.2] during the 2nd century. But when Seventh-day Adventists limit God’s commandments to the Decalogue we’re merely following our Christian heritage. Our intention isn’t to discredit Israel and the Torah. Messianics shouldn’t take it personally. If Messianics wish to broaden our perspective, they’re welcome to engage in persuasion. They’ll find some of us already in agreement that the commandments aren’t limited to the Decalogue. But even if the majority of Seventh-day Adventists should continue to limit the commandments, it doesn’t preclude our fellowship with Messianics. We can rejoice in the few commandments we do share and obey them together. Within the Messianic movement itself there are various understandings of the commandments and their applicability. These are sources of tension, not irreconcilable differences.
Besides respecting the real differences between us, Seventh-day Adventists must be sensitive to Messianic self-definition. Although Messianics all began within Conservative Evangelical denominations, they have fought hard to forge a new identity for themselves. Most of the things they do differently from other Evangelical Christians are about creating a new identity. For instance, Messianics have their own terminology, which distinguishes them from outsiders. Laying so much stress on terminology may seem a bit silly to us, but this is their way of asserting their independence from Christianity and from Judaism. We usually think of language only as communication, but language is also about authority and control. Messianic terminology compels listeners to rethink old perceptions. Let me give some examples of how Messianic terminology works.
Who’s Jesus? I’m talking connotation, not denotation. If you look up front at the windows in many Seventh-day Adventist church buildings you can see Jesus in American pop culture. Jesus ought to be on the Norwegian ski team, except he’s wondering around outside in his bathrobe. He’s about 6’ 4”, athletic build, impossibly slim, blond hair, blue eyes. His physiognomy doesn’t look Middle Eastern. He isn’t wearing anything distinctively Jewish, such as tzitzit and tfilim, which 1st century Jewish men wore.
Who’s Yeshua? Yeshua isn’t a cuss word or the god of the Gentiles. Calling Jesus by his Hebrew name asserts that Jesus doesn’t belong to majority culture. Christians don’t own Yeshua. By calling him Yeshua, Messianics insist he’s a Jew who must be understood in a Jewish setting.
Another example of Messianic terminology. What’s the church? The church is the institutional body of historic Christianity which persecuted Israel and tortured those Jews who converted to Christianity in a moment of weakness.
In Messianic terminology the local assembly of God’s people is termed the congregation. Congregation is neutral; it’s used by Jews and Christians alike. Sometimes Messianics will use the term qhila, which is simply Hebrew for congregation. By calling their church family their congregation or their qhila Messianics are disassociating themselves from the sordid past of the church.
Another example of terminology which forces us to reexamine old assumptions. If you offer me a new car in place of my old one, I’ll go for the upgrade. Old isn’t as good as new. Eusebius of Caesarea coined the current terminology “Old Testament” in order to say that this section of Scripture is obsolete. It’s rather odd that Seventh-day Adventists, who like Messianics also don’t believe the Old Testament is obsolete, should be comfortable with the current terminology. Using the term Old Testament while insisting that it isn’t obsolete is like a good ol’ boy using the “N” word while protesting he’s not prejudiced. He might be right, but nobody’s going to believe him. He’s giving the wrong signals!
In this instance Messianics have borrowed academic terminology. They refer to the Old Testament as the Hebrew Bible or the Bible or Scripture. Messianics sometimes use the Hebrew terms tanakh or miqra. This avoids the pejorative connotation of “old.”
Another example. What’s the connotation of law? The law is a statute book to get me in trouble unless I’m smart enough to evade it.
Now what’s Torah? Torah is the verbal expression of God’s thought, thought by which he brings the universe into existence. Torah is the creative order of the universe. Torah is not an obstacle obstructing me; Torah is my Maker sharing his infinite wisdom and power with me. Unlike the law, Torah doesn’t exist to get me in trouble, but to extricate me from trouble.
The reason Christians have traditionally referred to Torah as “law,” is that they wished to contrast it unfavorably with “grace.” By refusing the traditional terminology Messianics are refusing to play that game.
I think Seventh-day Adventists could borrow a page from the Messianics on this score. In my opinion, Seventh-day Adventists have been overly loyal to traditional terminology to the detriment of being able to say what we wish. Again, this goes back to our reference group. We’re more concerned with how our message will play among Evangelicals than with its clarity.
Admittedly, Messianics have gone overboard with the idiosyncratic terminology. Historically, the Messianic movement is a spin-off of the counterculture of the 60’s. From a spiritual standpoint the Messianic movement was about discontented Jewish young people turning on to Jesus, but from a sociological standpoint the Messianic movement was also about youthful rebellion. When the Jesus Freaks got interested in their Jewishness, they did not get interested in the Judaism of their grandparents. The emphasis was all on discovering their own Jewishness, as they might work it out for themselves on their own terms, not on the Jewishness of the past. Whatever Jewish education had been forced on them as kids had not been a positive learning experience. They were antagonistic toward rules, including grammar rules. Unless it’s a direct quotation from the Bible or the prayer book, the lyrics of Messianic music often flaunt impossible grammar.
When I first heard Messianic music in South Florida, I rather naively suggested to worship leaders, “Why don’t we just say such-and-such instead of this-and-that?” In most cases the lyrics could easily be fixed. I quickly became aware Messianics don’t want their lyrics fixed. This isn’t a matter of lyrics, this is politics. These are the lyrics that belong to them.
Whether or not we concur with their ideology, when we’re around Messianics we have to respect their struggle for self-identity. The quickest way for Seventh-day Adventists to alienate Messianics is to act like they’ve said nothing and insist on traditional Christian terminology.
If we’re going to be serious about making Messianic friends we also have to face the uncomfortable fact that many Messianics are former Seventh-day Adventists. Whenever I’m among Messianics and I identify myself as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, I’m inevitably confronted with sad stories of rejection and wounded souls. Wherever the blame lies we have to be sympathetic with those who’ve been hurt. For whatever it’s worth, and this is only based on anecdotal evidence, Seventh-day Adventists tend to be conformists who are content to sit back and let an authority figure tell them what the world’s like and what they ought to believe. Messianics, on the other hand, tend to be the more curious, questioning sort of individuals. Seventh-day Adventists perceive them as troublemakers. Sometimes it’s an unhappy mix.
The tragedy is that need one another. I hear Messianic families pleading for fellowship. “We feel so isolated. We have nowhere to go on Sabbath. There’s no synagogue in town. The only Sabbath-keepers within driving distance are the Seventh-day Adventists, but they told us anybody who doesn’t accept Ellen White as the culmination of all the prophets has the mark of the beast. All we do on Sabbath is family worship in the living room.”
We as Seventh-day Adventists have the task of educating our own people that we don’t make friends by making ultimatums. People need to be allowed to come to the truth in stages. We need to be open to others who may wish to keep Sabbath with us without accepting the entire Adventist package in advance. Just as Jesus accepted us before we were know-it-alls, we need to accept people for who they are and where they are in their walk with God.
I think in the case of Messianics, we need to be open to the possibility they have something to offer us as well. Learning shouldn't be a one-way street. Of course, we need to exercise discernment. Messianics operate an active rumor mill and are particularly misinformed about the classic documents of Judaism. They lack Jewish education. But their basic point, that Jesus and the apostles were not exponents of Conservative Evangelical Christian culture is very well taken, and has implications for Seventh-day Adventist identity. It is an important point we have overlooked.
If we treated Messianics like brothers and sisters rather than like heretics and kooks, we could make some genuine friends. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of Messianics, both Jewish and non-Jewish, among the endtime “remnant of the Woman’s descendants who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” If we believe we’ll be joined someday, why can’t we be at least friends for now? Some former Seventh-day Adventist Messianics might even be reclaimed. We have a lot to offer too.
