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Who Is a True Jew?

We received this question:

... Please could you explain something to me, if possible?

What/who is ...

a Gentile
a Christian
a Jew
a Hebrew
a Spiritual Israelite
a Child of God?

Thanks so much.
Warm regards
Beryl

Victor’s reply:

Hi Beryl,

A Gentile in the flesh is one, such as I, who was not born by blood into the lineage of Abraham through Isaac. I believe I came through Japheth, son of Noah, according to historical records.

A Gentile in the spirit is one who doesn’t believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I am not one of those, though I was one, until the Lord apprehended me and gave me His Spirit.

A Christian in the Biblical definition is one who has genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, one who has repented of his or her sins and counts Jesus Christ as the One True God worthy of worship. A Christian is one born by the will of God:

“But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name, who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God” (John 1:12-13 MKJV).

Then there are many other definitions of Christian, partly by denominations, partly by doctrine, partly by religious affiliation, partly by simply professing to be Christian or believing in God or Jesus Christ, partly by purely imagined and irrelevant means altogether, but none of these is a Christian.

A Jew in the flesh is one who is born into the lineage of Isaac.

Romans 9:6-9 MKJV
(6) Not however that the Word of God has failed, for not all those of Israel are Israel;
(7) nor because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children. But, “In Isaac shall your Seed be called”
(8) That is, not the children of the flesh are children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for a seed.
(9) For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”

There are those who will argue that Jews only come from the tribe of Judah, one of Isaac’s grandsons. Jacob, Isaac’s son, had twelve sons, each becoming a tribe of Israel. While it is true that descendants of Judah are a certain Jew in the flesh, named after their father, Judah, the Bible and general history of the world are full of references to all tribes of Israel as Jews or Hebrews.

For a time, after Solomon, Israel was divided into two parts, Israel with ten or more tribes, and Judah, with two or more. Yet, as you read the Scriptures in both Old and New Testaments, you will find that both were known as Israelites, Hebrews, and Jews.

So a Hebrew is a member of the nation of Israel, otherwise known as a Jew, in the flesh.

But being a Hebrew didn’t begin with Jacob or Israel. Abram (Abraham) was a Hebrew, a descendant of Eber, descended from Shem (Genesis 10:21), son of Noah:

“And there came one who had escaped. And he told Abram the Hebrew, for he lived in the plains of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. And these had a covenant with Abram” (Genesis 14:13 MKJV).

In Egyptian bondage, centuries after Abraham, as well as throughout all their history, the children of Israel, or Jews, were known as Hebrews:

“Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ‘When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live’” (Exodus 1:15-16 ESV).

The apostle Paul said he was an Israelite and a Hebrew, as well as a Jew:

“Are they Hebrews? I also! Are they Israelites? I also! Are they the seed of Abraham? I also!” (2 Corinthians 11:22 MKJV)

He was born into the tribe of Benjamin, one of Jacob’s sons by Rachel.

A spiritual Jew is one who is a true Biblical Christian, one who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or if you will, Yeshua HaMashiach, Son of YHWH. I am now a spiritual Jew and have been for nearly 40 years, ever since Jesus Christ revealed Himself to me.

So, in the flesh, I am a Gentile, but in the spirit, a Jew. God looks on the heart – recognizing only the new creation; the flesh means nothing to Him in terms of the Kingdom of God.

Paul Cohen was born a Jew in the flesh, but because he was in unbelief concerning the Messiah Yeshua, which almost all physical Jews have been, he was a Gentile in the spirit. In 1978, Paul became what has been called, rightly or wrongly, a completed Jew, in that Jesus Christ made Himself known to Paul, and Paul became a Jew in spirit. Then he was a Jew in both flesh and spirit, that is, descended from Abraham both physically and spiritually.

The apostle Paul declares that insofar as God is concerned, the true descendants of Abraham are not the physical, but the spiritual, Jews.

Romans 2:25-29 MKJV
(25) For circumcision [being a physical Jew] truly profits if you keep the Law, but if you are a transgressor of the Law, circumcision becomes uncircumcision [a Gentile].
(26) If then the uncircumcision [a Gentile] keeps the ordinances of the Law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision [being a true Jew in God’s sight]?
(27) And the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the Law, shall it not judge you, who through letter and circumcision become transgressors of the Law?
(28) For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that outwardly in flesh;
(29) but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart; in spirit and not in letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.

Apostle Paul points out that it was not circumcision or bloodline, but faith, that was counted to Abraham for righteousness:

Romans 4:1-13 ESV
(1) What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?
(2) For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
(3) For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
(4) Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
(5) And to the one who does not work but trusts Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
(6) just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
(7) “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
(8) blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
(9) Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
(10) How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.
(11) He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
(12) and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
(13) For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Those who enter into the faith of the Messiah are the true descendants of Abraham. This fact annoys many Jews of the flesh to no end. Why? Flesh is proud and haughty, thinking to have virtue in itself and especially if it “worships” God. But God cares nothing for these things, nothing at all. Faith makes all the difference. To the unbelieving flesh and blood (Gentile) Jews, Jesus said:

John 8:37-59 MKJV
(37) I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill Me because My Word has no place in you.
(38) I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you, then, do what you have seen with your father.
(39) They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus answered them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
(40) But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth which I have heard beside God; this Abraham did not do.
(41) You do the deeds of your father. Then they said to Him, We are not born of fornication; we have one father, even God.
(42) Jesus said to them, If God were your father, you would love Me, for I went forth and came from God; for I did not come of Myself, but He sent Me.
(43) Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My Word.
(44) You are of the Devil as father, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
(45) And because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me.
(46) Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe Me?
(47) He who is of God hears God's Words. Therefore you do not hear them because you are not of God.
(48) Then the Jews answered and said to Him, Do we not say well that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?
(49) Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
(50) And I do not seek My own glory, but there is One Who seeks and judges.
(51) Truly, truly, I say to you, If a man keeps My Word, he shall never see death.
(52) Then the Jews said to Him, Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham and the prophets are dead, and you say, If a man keeps my word, he shall never taste of death.
(53) Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets are dead; whom do you make yourself?
(54) Jesus answered, If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father Who glorifies Me, of Whom you say that He is your God.
(55) Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I should say I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I know Him and I keep His Word.
(56) Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and He saw and was glad.
(57) Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?
(58) Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I AM!
(59) Then they took up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus hid Himself and went forth out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and passed on by.

A spiritual Israelite is a true Christian, a Jew circumcised in the heart, a true descendant of Abraham, a child of God. Such are Paul and I and those with us.

A child of God is a descendant of Abraham by faith, a true Christian, which is a true Jew, a member of the Kingdom of God – “an Israelite indeed,” as Jesus referred to Nathanael, who spoke truth. Such are Paul and I and those with us.

We are Hebrews, Jews, Israelites, Christians, children of Abraham, children of God, by faith, which is the true essence of the Nature and Character of God, made only possible through Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of kings.

Victor Hafichuk

- January 11, 2011

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The Birthday Celebration of the Anti-Christ

We’ve been familiar with the true nature and origin of Christmas for many years now. Besides having written That Devilish Spirit of Christmas, now in 2011, we are announcing the ultimate diabolical reality of that event. Not only does Christmas have pagan trappings, which is bad enough, it is all pagan in origin and nature, which is worse. What is still worse is that it is celebrated in the Wonderful Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As if those factors aren’t enough (here’s the kicker now – wait for it), Christmas (“mass of the anointed one”) is the celebration of the birth of the anti-Christ.

Yes, it is perfectly true, and I submit to you the historical facts, as a matter of record, gathered by responsible, educated, and godly men, to prove it. Many men have paid the price to bring forth this knowledge, so that we might be spared His wrath.

This breathtaking revelation came to me some months ago, having been stirring in me for some time. I was about to post the fact of Christmas being the express birthday celebration of the anti-Christ, when my wife, Marilyn, found an article that agrees with what we have learned and which God has graciously revealed to us. It also furnishes some confirming details. Read The Shocking Pagan Origin of Christmas.

Decades ago, God made known to me that His wrath rests, indeed, weighs heavily, on this event as well as on those who partake of it (albeit according to their degree of knowledge), like no other event I know of. I’ve seen with His eyes that which is hidden to men. Given the facts, it’s no wonder it grieves Him so!

Please take the time to read the article without assuming you’ve heard it all, as many of us are inclined to do. My desire for you and all is the blessedness that comes from the freedom of knowing the truth in all its facets.

A note of caution: We’ve come across several good writings on many subjects. Invariably, though they may be doctrinally sound and good for the most part, we find things we don’t agree with. That’s why we rarely recommend others’ works. If we share them, we feel the need to point out those things we disagree with. Furthermore, while the article itself may be flawless in our judgment, the source website may well be in error in terms of doctrine, practice, expression, and religious affiliation. Our concern is that people don’t make the mistake of swallowing the bones with the meat.

We haven’t investigated the historical material in this webpage in detail, but generally we have found it accurate and confirmed by various sources. We will mention one thing we think not only the reader should understand to be in need of correction, but the authors and editors of the document as well. After all, they seem to have displayed a good measure of sound reason.

Furthermore, while we may agree on much of the general doctrinal stance and conduct of their website, there is that with which we disagree. Reader, don’t assume we agree on all points or that we have a religious affiliation with anyone whose materials we recommend. Take the article and what we say about it and leave it at that. Don’t go assuming beyond the material we offer. Most importantly, it’s incumbent on us to look to the Lord for a witness of truth.

In this article, there may be more mentioned that we disagree about, but for now, we disagree with this rather minor matter. The writer/editor says:

“The word ‘Santa,’ rearranged, spells ‘S-A-T-A-N,’ and ‘Claus’ is reminiscent of ‘Claws’ -- in other words, ‘SATAN’S CLAWS’! Do you want Satan, the arch-enemy of mankind, to get his ‘claws’ into your children?”

The words in that paragraph before and after these sentences are fine by us. But why entertain juvenile speculations such as these? The word “Santa” originally means “Saint,” as in Santa Barbara or Santa Monica or “Santa Lucia,” the classic song. “Klaus” has about as much to do with claws, as the “Tor” from “Victor” has to do with Thor, or “Bill” from “William’” has to do with debt. “Klaus” is simply the abbreviated form of “Nicholas/Nicklaus,” as in “Saint Nicholas.” Let’s not fall into specious logic and play on words that rob us of credibility.

Victor Hafichuk

- December 11, 2011

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What's Wrong with the Little Mosque on the Prairie?

Some years ago, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation introduced a television sitcom, Little Mosque on the Prairie, produced by Zarqa Nawaz (a Muslim of Pakistani origin born in England, with Canadian citizenship). To unsuspecting spectators, the show could seem playful, humorous, and innocent enough. However, it is evident to those informed of essential Islam that this production serves to persuade an unwitting audience of something quite untrue, that Islam is benign to Western standards and way of life.

To determine whether or not Nawaz and company is deliberately intent on deceiving Westerners is not our intention here. However, if people were to learn of Islam’s foundations and history, read the Koran and Islam’s “holy” books, and responsibly inform themselves of Islam’s basic tenets and goals, as dictated by Muhammad their prophet and their present day mullahs and leaders throughout the world (including in Europe, Canada, and the U.S.), they would soon come to an inescapable and unpleasant conclusion. Devoted adherents of Koranic Islam aren’t here to make themselves friends in the Western home on Western terms, which include our democracy, religious beliefs, and Western culture.

To become a part of Western society is heresy to Islamic religious, cultural, and political aspirations, according to the Koran and the hadiths of Islam. Islam’s intent and, indeed, solemn duty to Allah and his prophet is to take over the home, to ultimately dispossess us of it, and convert it into their home, a home radically different from, and indeed antithetical to, ours. Islam is not here to renovate or improve our home, but to tear it down, by direct or indirect “peaceful” or violent means, and replace it entirely, establishing itself as the new owner.

Purposely or otherwise, Little Mosque on the Prairie serves to accomplish that Islamic agenda. How? Read what Clare M. Lopez has to say about a “reality” program with similar themes now introduced to the U.S., All-American Muslim, and how these popular shows serve to subtly undermine Western values and freedoms. Clare Lopez is one of many eloquent and knowledgeable people who are sounding the alarm about this ominous, frightening reality. When will the leaders and our society wake up and realize they have great danger within their house, both on the prairie and in the city?

"All-American Muslim": A Little Taqiyya on the Prairie

More from Clare Lopez:

Muslims Use "Taqiyya" to Deceive Non-Muslims About Islam

Others who bravely, unequivocally speak out about Islam:

Walid Shoebat

Wafa Sultan

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Victor Hafichuk

- November 27, 2011

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The Sin of Jeroboam

We receive the Aish HaTorah (“Fire of the Torah”) email newsletter, which has some interesting articles on a range of subjects regarding the orthodox Jewish experience and perspective. On occasion we respond to an article on their site (aish.com), where they publish letters from subscribers in the comments section linked to the article. Oftentimes they don’t post our letters because we challenge the lies they believe and promote in the name of their religion.

They prefer to hide the truth they can’t refute, in order to maintain the illusion of the lies they collectively believe. The Truth isn’t going anywhere, however; sooner or later all must face Him. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, hasn’t come to condemn Israel, but to save her.

Here is a rejected letter from this week’s newsletter, written in response to an article (My Long Road Home) by a so-called “Christian” convert to orthodox Judaism:

“Yehudah,” the author of this article, is greatly misinformed and mistaken, if not outright lying. He writes: “...the New Testament says that God created a new ‘Israel’ out of Christians and canceled the Torah.” It doesn’t say that, at all.

Jesus Himself said:

“Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).

The apostle Paul said:

“Do we then make the Law void through faith? Let it not be! But we establish the Law” (Romans 3:31).

And:

Romans 11:25-28
(25) For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, lest you should be wise within yourselves; that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nations has comes in.
(26) And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, “There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
(27) For this is My covenant with them, when I have taken away their sins.”
(28) Indeed as regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes. But as regards the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

Every line of the article could be debunked. But this should suffice. A relationship with the God of Israel doesn’t come through tradition. All the servants of God in the Tanakh heard directly from Him. Neither the author nor his handlers have this relationship. It hasn’t even occurred to them that without this relationship, they have no credibility.

Aish is like King Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin. He didn’t want them going up to Jerusalem (to Jesus), so he made them idols of gold (Torah made into manmade customs, as with the Talmud). He also “made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people…” (1 Kings 12:31). “Yehudah” is the lowest of people, a fool Aish uses to support their false claim to represent God.

Paul Cohen

- November 21, 2011

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Why the Truth Hurts

A reader asks us:

why does the truth hurt so much

Victor and Paul’s reply:

Hi Lizzie,

Truth is at first hurtful because we are all contrary to it. Truth is contrary to falsehood and lies. When Truth comes, it begins by dealing with our falsehood and wrongness. Truth is reality that exposes unreality. Truth is light that dispels darkness. Truth is the great fire that cleanses. Truth is a healer, come to do away with sickness, disease, death, hell, and their causes.

Truth is a friend that first comes appearing as an enemy, while the lie comes as a friend that bites in the end. Truth begins in the innermost being and works its way out to complete its mission of deliverance to freedom, whether in this life or in the world to come.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6 KJV).

Human beings in their natural fallen state are prone to believe and tell lies, no matter how preposterous. Seldom, if ever, are they interested in believing the Truth and acknowledging the way things really are (they crucified Him, didn’t they?). Yet, recognizing the reality is the first step to wholeness, to victory, peace, rest, and fulfillment. There is no other way but the Truth to have true Life. Without the Truth, we perish, but in the Truth, we are invincible – nothing can harm us.

The Truth can hurt whether we are for it or against it. It can hurt because of pride, when we are confronted with the fact that we are contrary to the Truth and resist change. It can also hurt because if we do embrace the Truth and the change it brings, we are separated from other people (those who continue to be contrary to the Truth) and the things we have loved (which aren’t in harmony with, or expedient in, our pursuit of the Truth).

Jesus Christ, the Truth Incarnate, said this:

Matthew 10:34-39 MKJV
(34) Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword.
(35) For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
(36) And a man's foes shall be those of his own household.
(37) He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
(38) And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
(39) He who finds his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find it.

This is painful. We know, having experienced the sword of the Lord. But here’s the difference: When we receive and believe the Truth, though we suffer the pain of loss and separation for a while, much better things come - better than any human being can imagine. After all, the sole purpose of truth is betterment, to make us free and alive to God.

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him’” (1 Corinthians 2:9 EMTV).

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalms 30:5 MKJV).

But when we don’t love God - when we hide our faces from Him (the Truth) because we don’t want to suffer the hurt that is necessary to rise above our earthly troubling, then we sow for more pain that has no reward. In rejecting the Truth, there may be a respite from our pain for a time, but that is only the interlude before a bitter crop comes to harvest. We do reap what we sow. It is never good or profitable to reject the Truth, particularly about ourselves, no matter how painful it may be at first.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge [acknowledging that which is right and true]: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7 KJV).

“You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you. Always obey the LORD and you will be happy. If you are stubborn, you will be ruined” (Proverbs 28:13-14 GNB).

We have only given you some general facts about Truth and how it relates to us. Can you tell us more specifically about how you find the Truth painful, Lizzie?

Victor and Paul

A recipient, Delia, appreciated this note and wrote:

Hi Victor,

I praise the Lord for this letter, you know how painful the truth was for me, but I also have experienced the freedom that comes with it . When I was confronted with the truth, I experienced everything you wrote to Lizzie.

I am thankful for the wisdom the Lord gave you to explain the truth.

I thank the Lord for The Path of Truth.

It hurts because it is like a surgery, this Scripture comes to me:

Hebrews 4:12-16
12 For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
14 Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we do not have a High Priest Who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted just as we are, yet without sin.
16 Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Delia

Victor’s reply:

“And when the Son of Man makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Have a blessed Sabbath rest, Delia!

- November 6, 2011

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