Why Hebrew Roots?
We live in some of the most exciting days in human history! One only has to read the newspapers or listen to the news daily to see prophecy being fulfilled. At the same time, Christians around the world are engaging in the quest to restore the foundations of their faith, that is the Hebraic faith of Yeshua (Jesus). The movement to restore the Hebrew Roots of Christianity is exploding. According to Dr. John Garr, PH.D., publisher of Restore Magazine, “This reawakening is occurring independently in the lives of believers throughout the world. It is bringing the restoration of the knowledge, practice and study of the biblical, Hebraic roots of Christianity into the faith. This renewed interest in the Hebrew roots of Christianity is one of the greatest and most universal works that the Holy Spirit is producing in the church in this generation. This is affecting the way growing numbers of Christians throughout the world are thinking and acting about their families, their community life, their church relationships, and-most importantly-their relationship with the God of the Bible.” And according to Dr, Robert D. Heilder, author, “The Messianic Church Arising!” “The Church is rising up in power and glory that we have not seen since the first century. Jesus is preparing His Bride. The Holy Spirit of God is restoring the covenant roots of His Church.”
When we started our journey studying the Hebrew Roots of our faith, we soon realized that we were only scratching the surface in discovering the treasures hidden in the Bible, and that to better understand the depth and breadth of the Bible’s message, a knowledge of what life was like 2000 plus years ago was a must. The Bible was written with a Middle Eastern mindset and we are typically trained to read, reason and think from a Greco-Roman perspective. “Because Christianity has been excised from its Hebraic matrix from which it emerged, its own self-understanding has been so significantly modified that much of the church now suffers from an identity crisis.” Stated Dr.Garr . This restoration, we believe, will usher in the return of Yeshua for His Bride.
Studying the Scriptures in their Hebraic context not only brings new meaning and deeper understanding, but bridges the gap between Yeshua and where we are today. Realizing this, we set out to understand a culture that no longer exists and is rarely taught in the world today. We studied Israel’s geography, culture, language, family life styles, correct history, Jewish idioms (slang terms), poetry, customs, politics and much more! Our understanding of the Bible was enriched. The perplexing phrases, puzzling actions, the sometimes difficult-to-understand words of Yeshua, the unconventional Feasts and parables came alive with deeper meaning and understanding. We learned about the pattern of worship the LORD wants His people to follow, and the prophetic nature of the Feasts of the LORD. We learned many things that has made the words of Yeshua more meaningful and clearer. As a result, we changed our worship services and lifestyles to become more biblical—the way it was intended. Our whole objective is to bring us into a closer relationship with our Savior by learning as much about Him as we can, through the people and time period in which He lived. It binds the Old and New Testaments together and further shows the relevance of the Bible to today’s modern problems and lifestyles.
Living Word is not alone in this change. We are part of a world-wide Holy Spirit inspired movement and join thousands of other ministries seeking to learn and restore what was originally given to the first century church-Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Jesus as Messiah. We believe that it is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Ephesians 2:14,15—“Jew and Gentile worshiping together in Spirit and in Truth.” In fact, each year thousands of believers from over 100 nations come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles or Succoth. The common thread among this diverse group of people is Hebrew Roots and its restoration to the church. We believe that this is part of the LORD’s plan to prepare the Church for His return. It is the fastest growing movement in the world today.
Does this mean we must become more Jewish and begin practicing the rites of Judaism? Must we wear the garments that are considered holy to the Jewish people? Should we begin to practice the Mosaic Law? No, certainly not! The book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that we are under a new covenant and the laws are now written on our hearts. The prophecy in Isaiah says that the law will go forth from Tzion—Mosaic law springs from Mount Sinai. It is a faith issue, not a performance issue. However, in order to better understand what Yeshua was saying and to gather a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Scriptures, we study them in their original, Hebraic context.
“The wind of the Holy Spirit is truly blowing across the world bringing the Biblical understandings of the Gospels to the forefront and into the hearts of all believers. In these end times, as the church age comes to a close, this reawakening is occurring in lives of believers and cannot be traced to any single identifiable human source.”- Dr. Garr. This worldwide restoration movement of our Hebraic heritage is truly what “the Spirit is saying to the church.” We pray that the Lord will give each one of us “ears to hear and the ability to understand.