Who Needs To Repent? And Who Can Forgive?

7 Tishrei 5778

Some well-meaning Jews who do not understand the depth of the depravity of Christianity and who accept what Christian-Zionists tell them at face value without listening to the subtext which is ever there with every word they speak, are hailing Tommy Waller's plea for forgiveness from the Jewish community as a "watershed event."

JPost headline: CHRISTIAN LEADER CALLS TO STOP PROSELYTIZING JEWS

Quoting from the video...

"...My appeal is to my Christian brothers and sisters: Please stop any missionary attempt to take away Jewish identity from those whom God chose to carry His name." 

So, did he really say "stop proselytizing"? Absolutely not! He said stop "trying to take away Jewish identity." He believes, as many other Christians, that Jews will be more willing to accept their man-god messiah if they are allowed to continue asserting their identity as Jewish, more specifically as "messianic Jewish." (See my post from yesterday for further elucidation.)

In fact, Tommy Waller is trying to walk a fine line which is really two parallel lines. When he is with Jews, he's on one line and when he speaks to Christians he's on the other. He's not going to be able to keep this up forever. At some point he'll have to make a choice or the choice will be made for him. Already, he was forced to come out with this video because of negative feedback from the Jewish side. But, all this kind of thing does is bring concomitant negative feedback from the Christian side.

Note the following comment in response to this JPost article on Tommy Waller's facebook page today:

I Don't agree with you in this matter. The Jews need to be saved as also the Gentiles need to be saved. All humans must Come in God's Kingdom through Yeschua Hamaschiach.

To which Tommy Waller replied:

My statement in the video was not about who is saved and who is not saved. ...My statement is about repentance.

Tommy has become a master of the word games missionaries play with Jews to keep them unsuspecting. Back in May, I shared a letter written by one of the HaYovel volunteers which demonstrates this nicely.

It concerned a haskamah that Rabbi Melamed issued on behalf of Tommy Waller and HaYovel in which the rabbi said the following: 

In the course of our conversation, I asked him: “If a Jew were to come before you and ask you whether it is better to be a Jew or a Christian what would you tell him?” He responded: “I would tell him to be a Jew!” Tommy added that he had not always thought this way. Originally, like other Christians, he was interested in everyone becoming Christian, but eventually he realized that this earlier position was the result of ignorance. Now, following his exposure to the Jewish renaissance in the Land of Israel, he wishes for all Jews to observe the Torah and mitzvot.

Apparently, this did not set very well with the Christian supporters back home, because one of the volunteers felt the need to offer some kind of explanation:

...I want to be careful to not put words into Mr. Tommy's mouth, but I can tell you how I understand this comment. It has a lot to do with definitions. To a Jewish mind, to become a Christian is to reject the majority of God's word. Anything that is clearly Jewish in observance is rejected - the Shabbat, the Holy days, eating kosher, etc. In the past (as I mentioned before) during times of persecution, when Jewish people did convert to Christianity under force, they were not allowed to do those things under threat of death. They still understand that to be "Christianity" today. They don't understand yet that someone can live a life as an observant Jew and believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah.

I understand Mr. Tommy's quote here to mean that he would never encourage a Jewish person to leave his Scriptural lifestyle, his observance of the Bible, (as they understand it) to become a "Christian" who leaves behind his love and obedience of God's word. 

I say again that Tommy Waller's well-publicized plea to the Jewish community for forgiveness is nothing more than a recently-invented ploy to be used as an evangelism tool.

In addition to the loss of Jewish identity, Christians are being told that past antisemitic actions by Christians is one of the stumbling blocks to Jews coming to faith in Yeshu. Ergo, this silly, unBiblical (for Jews OR Christians) public proclamation of repentance on behalf of past generations and the seeking of forgiveness by present-day Jews on behalf of past generations of Jews. Both actions require the exercise of will from the parties involved. Neither repentance nor forgiveness can be given on behalf of another.

This is all tied up with Jewish evangelism as demonstrated by this article written over two years ago:

(Excerpt) Grant Berry - Below is the prayer that Pastor Glenn Harvison wrote for himself and the church that he pastors. As he read it to me, all I could do was weep. My response and prayers of forgiveness on behalf of the Jewish people to the church are on the video.

My Personal Act of Identification Repentance

Grant, in the presence of God, I would like to address you as a representative of the Jewish people, and as a representative of Jewish believers in Y'shua.

I speak, today, representing myself, representing my present family and representing the past generations of my family.

In the presence of God, I want to confess my sins, and the sins of my family, in the area of racism and especially anti-Semitism.

I ask God for His forgiveness, and I humbly ask for your forgiveness, on behalf of the Jewish people, for any and every anti-Semitic prejudice, thought, word, gesture and deed on my part, and on part of the members of my family, present and past.

I ask God for His forgiveness, and I humbly ask you for your forgiveness, on behalf of the Jewish people, for any and every failure to show the love and dignity due to the Jewish people as fellow human beings, and, especially, as God's beloved covenant people.

It goes on, but you get the idea. Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like what Tommy Waller just released via youtube, facebook, JPost and BIN (may they be accursed along with any other Jew collaborating with Christians). 

In the same vein, another article from last year recounts all the persecution perpetrated upon Jews by Christians in the past and remarks...

Would you as a Christian, want to be associated, much less believe in such a person – in whose name, such grievous acts were done? The sad reality is that Christians have done all of the above and much worse to our Jewish brothers and sisters for close to 2000 years, and all in the name of Christ.

The author then opines...

...an even more grievous act has been done to our Jewish brethren by Christians. And that is the stealing of the Jewish Messiah-Yeshua (the real Hebrew name of Jesus) and disfiguring Him and His teachings, so that no Jew would even want to know about Him.

Which brings us to the re-Judaization of Yeshu along with his Hebrew apellation and the re-identification of Christianity with its so-called Hebrew roots. It's all about claiming Jewish souls for Yeshu. 

As long as there is a Christianity, Jewish souls will be sought for Chr*st. As long as Jews don't fall for their tricks, they won't succeed.

RELATED: How to Share the Gospel with Your Jewish Friends