POSTED 15 APRIL, 2003

Torah and the Politics of Israel

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

In 2003, the State of Israel had its fourth election in eight years. Since 1995, five men have held the position of Israeli prime minister, while there have only been two American presidents, two British prime ministers, two German chancellors, and one French president. In the political science community, of all the Western democracies, Israel and Italy are usually topped to be the ones that are most “unstable” because they frequently change governments and leaders. There is no consistency other than the fact that once you get to the top position of prime minister, it is guaranteed that you will not last very long.

How does this effect us as Believers?

The Apostle Paul writes the non-Jewish Believers in Ephesians 2:11-12, “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” He states unequivocally clear that Believers are part of tēs politeias tou Israēl (thß politeiaß tou Israhl). Politeia (politeia) is a term from which our English word “politics” is derived.

This is extremely important for us to grasp because one definition of politics, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is “Intrigue or maneuvering within a group.” While Paul’s admonition of Believers in Yeshua being part of the Commonwealth, meaning the people of Israel, is imperative to understand—sadly in the Messianic community today it seems that we are more part of a group where individuals, groups of individuals, or entire organizations and ministries maneuver for power via intrigue. As many have observed, the Messianic movement is a proverbial mess.

The distinguishing factor between mainstream Christianity and the emerging Messianic community is our emphasis on the importance of the Torah. For the most part, modern Christianity or today’s Church downplays the importance of the Law of Moses and teaches that Yeshua the Messiah came to abolish it. The Messianic movement, contrary to this position, does not believe that Yeshua came to do away with the Torah, but rather fulfill it for us by showing us how to live it properly (cf. Matthew 5:17-19). Likewise, we believe that Christianity has largely mishandled the words of the Apostle Paul.

Or is this really what Messianics believe?

While most of you reading this probably classify yourself as “Messianic” and believe that the Torah is for today, there are many who claim to be “Messianic” and do not believe this. Hard as it may seem to some of us, there are people who say that they are “Messianic” and they believe that the Torah was “nailed to the cross” and “abolished” the same as most Christians. Consider the following quotation from Arnold G. Fructenbaum, author of the book Israelology:

“The clear-cut teaching of the New Testament is that the Law of Moses has been rendered inoperative with the death of Christ.”[1]

This statement may seem appalling or disturbing to some Messianics, and it rightfully should, but there are most definitely people in the Messianic community—or are at least claiming to be members of the Messianic community—who believe that God’s Torah has been abolished.

Using the Israeli political system as a frame of reference, we will examine the handling of the Torah within the Messianic community. Rather than mention organization or ministry names, we will compare characteristics of certain sectors of the Messianic movement to Israeli political parties. Hopefully, when you finish reading this article, you will see the strong need for us to get beyond the petty politics of Israel, which Biblically is not a democracy, and start focusing on the King of Israel, Yeshua the Messiah, and His Torah obedient example laid forth for us in the Scriptures.

Who and What Israel Stumbles Over

It has been said that both Houses of Israel, Judah and Ephraim, have stumbled. This is very true and the Tanach attests to this:

“It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. Then He shall become a sanctuary; but to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (Isaiah 8:13-14).

These verses tell us that all Israel has stumbled over their God. More specifically, all of Israel has stumbled over Yeshua the Messiah, who is the Son of God and the Redeemer of all mankind. We see this having occurred in two distinct ways. The Jewish people have failed to corporately recognize Yeshua as the Messiah. And, many Christians have failed to see that Yeshua came to uphold, not abolish, the Torah.

These concepts are admittedly very difficult for many people to accept—especially among many non-Jewish Believers. There are many who acknowledge the reality that all Israel is in the process of being restored, yet there are those who want to do nothing about God’s Torah. These people would prefer to go on as if just saying that they are a part of Israel is enough. But saying that you are a part of Israel is not enough. If you say that you are a true American and you do not respect the U.S. Constitution or celebrate the Fourth of July, what kind of an American does that make you? If you say you are a part of Israel but do not honor or respect Israel’s constitution, the Torah, and Israel’s national holidays and appointed times—but instead do what you want—how does that reflect on your claiming to be a part of Israel?

But it is much more than being a part of Israel as to why we must give God’s Torah due respect. Consider the fact that we are told that Yeshua the Messiah is the Word:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

In the Hebrew Tanach, the term for “word” is devar (rbD). The Psalmist states in Psalm 119:16-18, “I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” From the Psalmist’s perspective, God’s devar or Word is the Law or Torah.

The Greek Septuagint word used to translate devar is logos (logoß), which is the same used in John 1:1 for “Word.” When the Apostle John says that Yeshua is the logos—Hebraically understood to be the devar of God—what is being communicated? He is communicating that Yeshua is not only the Word, but the Torah made flesh!

Of course, as it could be observed here, if Yeshua is the “Torah,” then when people reject the validity and importance of the Torah for their lives—are they denying the Messiah? While we doubt that people who deny the importance of Torah are denying the Messiah, per se, it does impact why our Jewish brethren, by-and-large, have rejected Yeshua. Why does Judaism reject Him? Because according to the Messianic prophecies when the Messiah comes He will uphold the Law and not abolish it:

“And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).

Now some might say that this is just speaking of the Millennium and not of today. But Yeshua Himself plainly says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). If we believe that Yeshua is God then the commandments that He is speaking of here are God’s commandments contained in the Law of Moses.

All Israel has stumbled over the Torah in their own ways. Scattered Ephraim, possibly found in today’s Christianity, has falsely taught for many centuries that Yeshua abolished the Torah. The Jewish people, when comparing the messiah often presented by Christianity to the Tanach, has rejected him because he does not uphold the Torah. Hopefully, non-Jewish Believers will stop stumbling over Yeshua, the Living Torah, and will begin to present our Jewish brethren with a Messiah who came to uphold it—not abolish it. And hopefully, all of us will obey God’s commandments because Yeshua said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments.

The Root of the Divisions

It is a sad reality, but the Messianic community is extremely factionalized, ranging from Messianic Judaism to independent Messianic groups and ministries, many of whom advocate some belief in the Two Houses of Israel. While on a broad scale the Messianic community is extremely factional, within the small Messianic community is the small independent Two-House movement which itself is very factional. We would think that among such a small group of people, where many of the leaders and teachers have met one another face-to-face at some point, that there would be more unity.

One of the reasons why there is a substantial amount of division among Two-House advocates is because of varied applications of the Torah. It is very true that once you call yourself a part of Israel, that you obligate yourself to live as Israel. A critical part of living as a Biblical “Israelite”—if one can be called this—is obeying the Lord’s commandments contained in the Torah. And not only is this important to living as a part of Israel—it is likewise just as important to follow the Torah because following the commandments is how God expects us to live a holy and set-apart life, and Yeshua Himself lived this way.

As should be expected, the fact that most of us believe that the Torah should still be followed today makes us extremely controversial. We are controversial because mainstream Christianity does not believe this. In fact, many in mainstream Christianity today are opposing not only the Torah, but also the Ten Commandments that were written with the finger of God! Many of us have family, friends, and colleagues involved in today’s Church, and because of our Torah obedience we are often criticized.

Only a handful realize this, but a critical component of Torah obedience is love toward one another. Yeshua says in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

This admonition is commonly rendered as “a new commandment I give to you.” However, the admonition to love one another is very clearly emphasized in the Torah:

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall reprove your fellow and do not bear a sin because of him. You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your fellow as yourself—I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:17-18).

So what is Yeshua communicating? The Greek word that appears in John 13:34 is kainos (kainoß). This word can mean, according CGEDNT, “new; of new quality; unused; unknown, unheard of.”[2] It has been validly argued that in the First Century the command to love one another was not something readily emphasized by the religious leaders of the time due to the Roman oppression of the Jews that made life extremely difficult for many.

Many of us forget the fact that the Torah tells us that we are to love our neighbors. It is in that love that we must present them with the forgotten Biblical truths that are now being restored by the Holy One of Israel. It is for their own well-being and growth as Believers in Messiah Yeshua that they should be presented with the message of Torah obedience—not because we want to prove our “superior sanctity.” But not everyone feels this way. Some believe that hatred and animosity are better ways at restoring truth.

The Present Polarization

This is where the factionalism in the Messianic community begins. The factionalism begins because some people do not present the truth in love. On the contrary to just standing on the Word of God and letting Scripture provide answers, many believe that they should add insult to injury in presenting people with the truth (sometimes improperly capitalized as “the Truth” as though it were a person). These people readily harp on the wrongs of the Church, perhaps calling it “the kirch”—without emphasizing many of the good things Christianity has indeed accomplished. Many of them will likewise say that Christians worship “Gee-Zeus” and perhaps even that if they do not use God’s proper name that He does not hear their prayers. Many of the people that use these unjustified insults present the truths of the Torah in a very unfair and condemning manner, with little or no grace and mercy. They can be extremely legalistic, which turns many off to the truths that the Lord is restoring to His people.

In response to this Messianic “Right-Wing extremism,” a Left-wing backlash has been created. This Left-wing of the Messianic Two-House community does not readily emphasize Torah obedience, but instead gives a higher priority to the Two-House teaching, specifically of “Ephraim’s (so-called) identity.” We have another problem here. With the Leftists, it seems that almost any criticism of their Torah disobedience is unacceptable. The idea that scattered Israel/Ephraim “has rights,” insomuch that he is allowed to continue in disobedience, is essentially allowed. And, even though some lip-service to the reunification message of Judah and Ephraim is given, many Jewish traditions that are good are put down in favor of new “Ephraimite” practices (whatever they are). Sadly, developing a love for God’s commandments as they have been traditionally observed by Judaism is not something emphasized by the Left. Because of intimidation from the extreme-Right, the Leftists consistently fail to establish proper protocol for following the Torah—essentially leaving people in error.

Where does this polarization leave people like us who want to obey God but not be extremists? How do we get beyond the polarization?

Interestingly enough, the best point of comparison that we can use for possibly devising a solution comes from the Israeli political system.

Understanding the Parliamentary System

Before we begin analyzing Israeli politics, it is appropriate that you understand that the parliamentary system that Israel and most other democracies have, is not the same as the American system. While both the U.S. and Israel have free elections, the way people come to power is different. In the United States, we vote for a presidential candidate, and for the candidates running in our state or district for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The same is true of our state governors and state senators and representatives.

In Western Europe, where the parliamentary system evolved, the way governments are formed is substantially different. While there are some variances, we will briefly discuss four Western European governments so you can better understand the challenges that the Israeli government faces.

Great Britain

The Westminster parliamentary model is the oldest of them all, as it was used as the basis for the U.S. Congress. It is a bi-cameral legislature with two houses. The upper house is the House of Lords and the lower house is the House of Commons. There is substantial debate in the U.K. right now what to do with the House of Lords, which is made up largely of hereditary appointments or peers, but the House of Lords is mostly a debating chamber. The real political action takes place in the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is made up of 659 seats, each of which represent a district in the U.K. The U.K. is divided up into single-member districts, where each MP or Member of Parliament is elected by receiving the highest number of votes. This system is called first-pass-the-post. While it will never happen, feasibly one political party could receive 51% of the votes in each single-member district, and take 100% of the seats.[3]

Each political party in the U.K. elects its own leader. When parliamentary elections occur, the party which has the majority of seats in Parliament is the one that governs, with the party leader becoming prime minister, and then the prime minister appoints cabinet positions.

First-pass-the-post has created political stability in Britain, insomuch that the two dominant parties in Parliament are Labour and the Conservatives. However, a unique feature of the British system to the U.S. is that there are various third parties in Parliament, notably the Liberal Democrats. Very seldom in British history have political parties had to form coalition governments to keep another party out of power.

Germany

The German system is slightly different from that of the British, because unlike the British system which has remained relatively unchanged for centuries, the Federal Republic of Germany has existed since the end of World War II—and was specifically designed to create political stability. The German parliament is divided into two houses, the lower house or Bundestag, composed 669 members. The upper house or Bundesrat, has 69 members who are elected from the sixteen state or Länder governments of Germany. The German parliament is specifically designed to be a working parliament, as legislation proposed in the Bundestag must be reviewed by the Bundesrat.

The majority party in the Bundestag, like the British House of Commons, is the one whose responsibility it is to form a government. However, unlike the British first-pass-the-post system, the Bundestag is proportionally represented. While there are two major political parties, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU), there are smaller parties such as the Liberals and the Greens. Seldom in recent German politics has one party had a majority, and the SPD and CDU have usually had to join in coalition with a junior partner.

What makes the German system very unique in Europe is that the German people are very keen on seeing political stability, especially given Germany’s violent past. There have been times in the history of the Federal Republic where the rival SPD and CDU have joined together in a “grand coalition” to keep smaller parties out of power—specifically smaller parties with either Marxist or neo-Nazi type agendas.

The one major difference between the German Bundestag and other European parliaments who have proportional representation, is that the German system has a rate of threshold that political parties must attain to be given seats. A political party wanting to be represented must receive at least 5% of the votes. If a party only has 4.9%, then it does not receive any seats. Consequently, this has weeded out many small or fringe parties.

France

France, often considered to be a torchbearer for European democracy, actually has a very turbulent history of government. Since the French Revolution in 1789, France has had five republics or democratic types of government, whereas the United States has had only one. The two most recent democratic forms occurred after World War II, first with the creation of the Fourth Republic. The Fourth Republic was so unstable that parliamentary government coalitions were falling on an average of every nine months from 1946-1958.

The Fifth Republic was created in response to a potential breakdown of French society, including a possible military coup coupled with the Algerian independence movement. General Charles de Gaulle was called out of retirement to help, and because of his widespread popularity the French supported him. The system that he created was one of a strong French president who stood above the fray of parliamentary politics and who had a wide scope of powers. De Gaulle did not believe the Westminster model would work for France, and while France continued to have a parliament, which was vastly divided between conservative Right and socialist and Marxist Left parties, final approval would rest with the president.

Under the Fifth Republic, the French president appoints a prime minister from the party with the largest number of seats in the parliament. It is prime minister’s job to form a cabinet which regularly meets with the president. The prime minister handles the day-to-day politics of France. While the prime minister is usually from the president’s political party, there have been instances where this has not been the case and cohabitation has had to occur where the president is from one political party and the prime minister is from another.

It is notable that the French president has a wide array of powers that a U.S. president does not. Interestingly, because of the divides in French society, there are two presidential rounds of voting. The first election has all the candidates, from which it can be expected that no one person will receive a majority of votes. In the second election, the candidates with the first two highest number of votes run against one another and the winner of that election becomes president.

Compared to Britain and Germany, the key to French political stability has been with a strong excutive that stands watch over the divisions of day-to-day politics.

Italy

Post-World War II Italian politics is substantially different than the rest of Europe’s major powers. Following the war, the Italian political spectrum was extremely broad with Communists and Socialists on the Left, to the Center-Right Christian Democrats, to the Rightist Facists. The major party in politics has been the Christian Democrats, which has a wide base of support from Roman Catholics, but the party has usually had to form coalitions, and has been rocked with scandals and corruption and bribery. There have been attempts to move from proportional representation to first-pass-the-post, but they have failed.

During the Cold War, the major thrust of Italian politics was to keep the Communists out of power, so many fragile coalitions would be formed, which could last as little as a few months. It was only after the end of the Cold War and with Italian entry into the European Union that some stability to Italian politics seeped in. This is due largely to the fact that many Italians trust the institutions of the E.U. more than those of their own government. Because of the E.U., Italy has been forced to make changes to its system, and particularly its pattern of the state running deficits and purchasing companies.

Only in recent years has relative political stability come to Italy. This is on account of the European Union and the fact that Italy wants to be a major player in Europe. Had this not been the case, we would still see Italian governments changing far too frequently.

Why Israel Does Not Have Stable Governments

Now why have we taken all this time to describe Western European parliaments? We have described them so you can properly understand how the Israeli system works. The Israeli Parliament or Knesset is composed of 120 seats, and has pure proportional representation. If a political party in Israel receives 1% of the votes, it receives 1% of the seats. Never in Israel’s history has a political party ever had over 50% of the votes. There have always had to be coalition governments—and many of these coalition governments have not lasted very long. Unlike Britain, there is not a first-pass-the-post system with single-member districts, nor a 5% rate of threshold like there is in Germany. Consequently, there is a substantial amount of factionalism in Israeli politics. In Knessets, there have averaged anywhere from 14 to 17 political parties with representation.

The Parties

The following are a brief description of some of the major Israeli political parties, and their platforms in the last election.

Labor: A Leftist party whose leader Amram Mitzna campaigned for resumption of negotiations with Palestinian Authority as if there were no intifada or terrorism occurring. Labor has strong socialist roots.

Shinui: A Centrist party that advocates an entirely secular Israeli government devoid of religious influence. While its leader Tommy Lapid thinks the religious Jews in Israel have the right to practice their religion, he believes in equal rights for all, including homosexuals.

Likud: A center-Right party commanding the support of many religious and non-religious Israelis who believe in taking a tough line against the Palestinians. While its leader Ariel Sharon has been pressured by the U.S. to give into the idea of a Palestinian state, most Likud members like Benjamin Netanyahu oppose it with vehemence.

National Union Party: A Right-wing party composed mainly of break-away Likud members opposed to a Palestinian state.

National Religious Party: A Right-wing religious party advocating religious control of Israel’s social institutions and religious law enforced in Israel. The NRP is mostly made up of Ashknazic Orthodox Jews.

Shas: Shas holds to many of the same views of the NRP, but is mostly comprised of Sephardic Jewish members of Israeli society.

These are just a few of the major parties in Israeli politics. There are many political parties in Israel that do not even get into power, because they are so extreme either on the Left or the Right and do not get enough votes. And, there is no way to predict the creation of new political parties and the further fractionalization of the Israeli political scene.

The Messianic Movement and the Government of Israel

There are some stark parallels that can be made between the government of Israel and the Messianic movement. The Israeli Knesset is made up of only 120 seats. The Messianic movement is extremely small. Anywhere between 14 to 17 political parties have usually had Knesset representation, with many more competing. There are many congregations, ministries, and denominations vying for power in the Messianic community—and many of them vary in their handling of the Torah. Some hold to an extreme-Leftist position that the Torah was abolished by Yeshua, and others hold to an extreme-Rightist position and literally try to “cram it down” people’s throats.

“Messianic” Political Parties

Are there “Messianic” political parties? Oh yes!

“Messianic” Labor: “Messianic” Labor wants good relations with mainstream Christianity, as if there are no problems with Christian theology or practice. “Messianic” Labor only follows the Torah to evangelize Jewish people, not because the Lord requires it.

“Messianic” Shinui: “Messianic” Shinui says that it wants equality for all in Messianic community, but is willing to make serious compromises. In their quest for “equality,” those who are Torah obedient are usually shuffled off to the side.

“Messianic” Likud: “Messianic” Likud is a collection of those who believe in the Torah’s validity and in following it, but may not see eye-to-eye on every Torah issue. There are a few in “Messianic” Likud who are pressured from the outside, but most of “Messianic” Likud’s members remain faithful on the importance of the Torah.

“Messianic” National Union: “Messianic” National Union is hard-pressed about the validity of the Torah, but is substantially more outspoken than “Messianic” Likud.

“Messianic” National Religious: “Messianic” National Religious force feeds the Torah in a very Ashkenazic Jewish manner.

“Messianic” Shas: “Messianic” Shas force feeds the Torah in a very Sephardic Jewish manner.

The Messianic Community Needs Stability

Unlike the government of Israel, which if it wanted could alter its political system to adapt the components of stability offered by European parliamentary systems, the Messianic movement does not have this option. We do not operate as a democracy. We operate as a theocracy under our King, Messiah Yeshua. As you see the various “factions” of the Messianic community as compared to Israeli political parties, and also understand that members of these various factions are evident in Messianic congregations and in various Messianic denominations, you understand why there is little stability in the Messianic movement today.

What party do you belong to? Or is your party even listed? How can you as a Messianic be a major player for good in the world, without succumbing to the extremes of either the Right or the Left?

Fairness Without Compromise

If I classify as anything, it would be somewhere within the realm of a “Messianic” Likudnik. I believe in the importance of the Torah, but also recognize that there are many who have differing interpretations of how the commandments are to be followed. This is alright with me as long as people do not ignore the commandments outright. If we have differing interpretations such as how tzit-tzits are to be tied or how long a person’s beard can or cannot be, to me these are nominal and not worth getting divided over. Paul writes in Titus 3:9 to “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” However, in order to have fights about the Torah—you must first believe that it is to be followed! And thus, as a “Messianic” Likud member, most of the problems that I have are with the Leftist “Messianic” Labor and “Messianic” Shinui members.

In recent days, “Messianic” Labor and “Messianic” Shinui, both of which do not emphasize the importance of following the Torah and the set-apart lifestyle, have done significant damage to the Messianic movement. This is because many non-Jewish Believers do not see the importance of living the life of Messiah Yeshua, and are instead either placing limits on their Torah obedience, or flat out ignoring it and remaining in error. And, in a few cases, members of “Messianic” Likud or “Messianic” National Union are defecting.

I especially take issue with “Messianic” Shinui and their platform on “equality” for all in the Messianic community. I believe in equality for all Believers. I believe in the equality that the message of Judah and Ephraim should bring to God’s people. All Believers, be they Jewish or non-Jewish, are equal in the sight of God. There are no second-class citizens. But this equality is not an equality where all can do what they want. This is an equal equality as guaranteed by God’s Torah, which is the Instruction for all citizens of Israel. This is an equality where we encourage all to follow the Torah and follow the example of Yeshua, but recognize the reality that not everyone is going to follow the Torah exactly the same way, often because we have different individual callings and spheres of influence. But there is a clear difference between not following the Torah the same way—and virtually ignoring it altogether!

The Jewish Sages offer a very interesting commentary on the Sixth Commandment, the prohibition against murder (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17). In addition to physical murder, “[T]he Sages describe many things as tantamount to murder, although their perpetrators are not liable to the death penalty. Among them are: provide food and safety for travelers, causing someone to lose his livelihood, ruling on halachic matters for which one is not qualified, and refusing to rule when one’s wisdom is needed. In this sense, the Ten Commandments are not only very broad, their breadth depends on the stature and sensitivity of the individual.”[4]

Of these applications of the Sixth Commandment, the one that is glaring to me is “ruling on halachic matters for which one is not qualified, and refusing to rule when one’s wisdom is needed.” Because of much of the extreme-Right wing legalism that exists in the Messianic movement, there are many in the extreme-Left of the Messianic movement that are doing exactly this. They are ruling on halachic matters of for which they are not qualified, or they are refusing to make the difficult rulings that are needed. Too often, they fail to take positions on the Torah where needed.

Getting Beyond Petty Politics

I pray we can get beyond this. I sincerely hope that through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and with the guidelines laid forth for us in the Torah coupled with Yeshua’s Earthly life as our example, that we can rise to the challenges before us. We need to be fair to other people, but fairness does not always mean “sugary sweetness,” nor does it mean mean-spiritedness. Fairness means that we treat one another the way that we expect ourselves to be treated.

Friends, let us set the proper example for others around us. Let us show those in error that the Torah can be followed without staunch legalism, and great blessings come from it, but at the same time remembering that obeying God is not optional. After all, if the Torah were optional, why would the Apostle John write “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4)? Lawlessness occurs when we violate God’s Torah, and violation occurs both on the Left and the Right. Let us not be in the extremes, but be in the balanced middle.

Torah and the politics of Israel: Are we part of a group of people that is known for cunning, intrigue, and genuine instability? Or will we be known by the unity of the Holy Spirit and comradeship that is available only in Yeshua? Let us dedicate ourselves to unity and to rallying around the Torah as the constitution of who we are as God’s people, not shuffling it to the side, and not forcing it on people mercilessly. May we be obedient subjects of our Eternal Lord and King, who embodies love!

J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A. Student, Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is author of several books, including: The New Testament Validates Torah, Torah In the Balance, Volume I, and When Will the Messiah Return?. He has also written many articles on the Two Houses of Israel and Biblical theology, and is presently focusing on Messianic commentaries on various books of the Bible.

NOTES

edited for spelling/grammar; theological fine tuning
28 January, 2007

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