If you use FFOZ materials in your home or congregation, we (Todd and Amy) want to be sure you are aware of what they believe. Below are 2 videos and 3 articles you should watch and read in their entirety. They will help you filter and discern.
Podcast “Hebrew Roots is Not Messianic Judaism | Daniel Thomas Lancaster and Jeremiah Michael”
Listen to this podcast. This one was very eye-opening for us. It’s worth a listen.
Quotes from that podcast:
30:30 “So a lot of Hebrew roots people will just open the Torah and they’ll pick out commandments and they’ll just do it. And this manifests weirdly.”
31:30 “Why don’t we encourage Gentiles to go tie tzitzit onto all their garments? Yeah, it is something that does come up all the time. I’m sick of talking about it. Jeremiah, how about you? I’m sick of talking about it too, but just real quick, the reason we don’t encourage Gentiles to take on Jewish sign commands is because it’s against the Bible. Boom.”
34:40 “The Torah was given through Moses to the Jewish people, to the Israelites, and people just cannot seem to get their head around that they’re not Israelites.”
37:25 “Because they don’t care what Jewish law says about what it means to keep the Sabbath because they have their own private interpretation of what it means to keep the Sabbath.”
37:42 “So it’s like we’re back to the same issue here, which is these people [in Hebrew Roots] tossed out Judaism, and that’s the primary symptom. Like that’s a distinguishing symptom of Hebrew Roots is there’s no regard for Judaism.”
1:01:34 “I’m hoping that we can offer some direction, that there is a way out of that, a way forward. There’s a brighter future for you. You don’t have to be stuck in the Hebrew roots movement.”
1:03:40 “So that’s the big difference between Messianic Judaism and Hebrew roots. You want to be on the team of love? Come on over, friends.”
Article: “The Biggest Mistake Is the Biggest Opportunity”
Quote from that article:
“We don’t need to “look Jewish” to be faithful. In fact, trying to do so often leads us into a new form of replacement theology, not by excluding Israel, but by absorbing her identity. Ironically, this too is antisemitic at its core.”
Podcast “FFOZ, Messianic Jews, and the Gentile Problem”
Quotes from that podcast:
22:05 “And in fact, it’s fulfillment of messianic prophecy for Gentiles to remain members of the nations and as they turn to Israel’s God through Messiah. They don’t need to be circumcised, nor do they accept the obligation of the entire Torah that Jewish people uniquely have.”
42:45 ””Oh, the Sabbath seems important. Should I be doing something about it?” Well, Exodus 31 says pretty clearly that the Sabbath is a unique covenantal sign for Israel. And so we don’t instruct Gentile disciples to observe it in the way that Jews are required to do.”
1:22:20, “Okay, one law theology that describes the perspective that all believers, whether they’re Jew or Gentile, are equally obligated to keep all the commandments in the Torah. In other words, that Gentile disciples should keep the Torah the same way that Jews do. And yeah, many years ago, First Fruits of Zion held a belief that, like this, a view like this, but we saw the error in it. And at great cost. And despite enormous outcry from our constituents, we corrected our thinking on it.”
Article: “Should Christians Keep Any Biblical Dietary Laws?”
Quotes from that article:
“The apostles taught that Gentile followers of Jesus are not obligated to take on the full scope of the biblical dietary laws. The Torah, the first five books of the Bible, gave these laws specifically to Israel, and the apostles upheld that distinction.”
“Jewish disciples maintain their covenantal identity through Torah observance, while Gentile disciples become fellow heirs but do not adopt the full yoke of the Torah, particularly those commandments that mark Jewish identity, such as circumcision.”
Article: “Does FFOZ Teach Gentiles to Observe the Torah?”
Quotes from that article:
“At one point, we did teach a universal obligation. Back in those days (circa 2003–2009), we believed that Gentile disciples are in exactly the same boat as Jewish believers when it comes to the Torah’s mandates. So, how do we answer the question now?”
“To be clear: First Fruits of Zion no longer advocates one law theology.”
Shalom,
Todd and Amy Hickerson