God’s Church thru History
The downloadable pdf document at the bottom of this page is still under construction, but complete enough to be useful. (Comments and suggestions are appreciated.)
The document “God’s Church thru History,” represents the core issues regarding the distinctions between Judaism, Christianity, and the current Hebrew Roots Movement. The study is based on the two Olive Tree diagrams shown below from the book entitled: Restoring The Jewishness of the Gospel, by David H. Stern. This book gets to the heart of the issues as to what happened in the first three centuries to remove everything “Jewish” from Christianity. Stern’s book is an excellent summary of the major significant points taken from his larger book, Messianic Jewish Manifesto.
The purpose of this study is to identify what historically happened to divide God’s chosen people by expanding Stern’s two diagrams shown below. I will attempt to complete the story of separation of God’s people in order to understand what will be the major issues God is dealing with in the days in which we live – as we approach a time of trouble ahead. As you will see in the study, the two diagrams will be expanded to include the reality of what happened historically. The diagrams represent a historical template in which you can place your own knowledge of history into a chronological framework. I am hoping the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” will apply to this study also.
Download the pdf file below to look deeper into God’s plan to unite “All Israel”.
[Olive tree diagrams: Olive Tree_1_3.JPG , Olive Tree_2_3.JPG, etc.]
Fig. 1 – Split then United
Figure 2 represents the current state of separation between Jews and the Christian Church.
Fig. 2 – Current Separation
Modifying Stern’s diagram shown in Figure 3 reveals the two major splits that occurred between God’s people. The first occurred in 722 BCE when the Northern Kingdom consisting of 10 tribes under the leadership of King Jeroboam, separated from the Southern Kingdom of two tribes, and some of Levi, led by King Rehoboam (1 Ki. 12; 2 Chron. 11). After the Northern Kingdom of Israel was dispersed into the Assyrian empire, the second split came when Jewish leaders of the Southern kingdom rejected their Jewish Messiah (Yeshua/Jesus).
Fig. 3 – Two Major Splits
For a complete explanation download:
Judeo-Christian Path thru History
Gods_Church_Thru_History.pdf