The Hebrew Roots Movement
The acceptance of premillennialism and Dispensationalism tends towards a Judaizing influence in the Christian Church. Placing the resurrection of National Israel in the centerpiece of prophetic interpretation in the place of the resurrected Christ has resulted in a new movement to Judaize the Church. Satan wants to take Churches out from under the Covenant of Grace and get them back under the curse of the Law. One such movement to do so is the Hebrew Roots Movement.
In an online article, Francis Xavier gives a basic overview of the Hebrew Roots Movement and their beliefs:
The Hebrew Roots Movement is not just a religious trend; it’s an earnest quest to rediscover the foundational Jewish context of Christianity. This movement pushes for a return to the original teachings and practices of the early church, as seen in the Acts of the Apostles.
Central to its beliefs is the idea that the entire Bible, including the Old Testament, is relevant to believers today. Romans 3:31 boldly states, “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” This verse, among others, is often cited to emphasize that the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) remains significant.
However, it’s not about legalism but understanding the spirit of the Law. The movement posits that by embracing the Hebraic roots of Christianity, believers can experience a more profound, enriched relationship with God. It’s akin to appreciating the roots of a tree to better understand the fruit it bears.[i] (emphasis in the original)
The Movement was not started by a particular “founder” but sporadically appeared during and after the Reformation. There were major resurgences of it during the 19th and 20th Centuries. While its history was sporadic, Dr. Tim Chaffey does manage to connect the dots:
It is difficult to document the movement’s history because of its lack of organizational structure, but the modern HRM has been influenced in some ways by Seventh-Day Adventism and the Worldwide Church of God during the lifetime of its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong. Additionally, the HRM has been influenced by the practices of Messianic Jews, but the similarities between the groups are superficial and should not be conflated.[ii]
It is no coincidence that the Hebrew Roots Movement grew out of Seventh Day Adventism and other Premillennial Movements of the Nineteenth Century. The Judaizing of the Seventh Day Adventists and other Sabbatarians, and the spreading of Premillennialism in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (accelerated by John Nelson Darby and C.I. Scofield) led to other Judaizing movements that focus on the works of the Law instead of the finished work of Christ. Dr. Chaffey writes: “Broadly speaking, followers of the HRM believe that all believers in Christ are obligated to follow Jewish laws and practices from the books of Moses. In some groups, extrabiblical rabbinic teachings and traditions are elevated (if not in official doctrinal beliefs then in practice) to the same level as Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.”[iii]
The Hebrew Roots Movement has had a major uptick within the last few decades and shows no signs of slowing down. Christian Churches are being taken out from under the Covenant of Grace and are going back under the condemnation of the Law.
Dr. Chaffey notes that the movement is accelerating. He further observes that the movement back to Old Testament Judaism is ultimately leading its adherents to deny basic Christian doctrine – especially about the person of Christ:
The past few decades have witnessed a growing influence of this movement among conservative Christians. It is not unusual to see some HRM proponents give themselves Hebrew names, identify as Torah observant, write “God” as “G-d,” eat only kosher foods, claim that the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew (or at least several books were), condemn numerous Christian traditions as pagan, and dismiss teachings from Paul’s epistles. Some have gone so far as to challenge orthodox Christian beliefs such as the Trinity and even the deity of Jesus Christ. Fundamentally, the HRM teaches that many modern Christian beliefs and practices were introduced to the church by pagan Greeks. This is why they generally do not like to be identified as Christians. Instead, they believe that they need to recover the first century Hebrew roots of Christianity.[iv]
Do not miss what Dr. Chaffey is saying. Many adherents to the Hebrew Roots Movement “do not like to be identified as Christians.” The Lord Jesus Christ said: “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). They do not like to be “identified as Christians” because they are not Christians. Many of them deny the Trinity and deity of Jesus Christ. To do so makes one a non-Christian:
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also (1 John 2:22-23).
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (1 John 4:1-3).
For example, the Hebrew Roots organization The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven states: “All religions including Christianity are the invention of the devil or Ha Satan and are man-made--he supplanted them all--all founders of religions are proxies of Ha Satan.”[v] So the Hebrew Roots “churches” see Christianity as being an invention of the Devil. Dr. Chaffey was not exaggerating; the Hebrew Roots Movement is against Christianity. It is antichrist!
Many within the Hebrew Roots Movement end up invariably denying the Trinity and deity of Jesus Christ. The Hebrew Roots organization The House of Yahweh states: “It is a Scriptural fact that Yahweh is immortal, that He cannot die. So if Yahweh and Yahshua are the same being (as Christianity teaches) how could one die and the other live to raise the one who died? This simply makes no sense, but neither does any Christian doctrine.”[vi] They forget the Incarnation– The Word, which is God (John 1:1) became flesh (John 1:14). Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. When He died on the cross, His humanity died, but His deity could not die. Jesus Himself said that He was omnipresent: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” (John 3:13). Jesus was on earth talking with Nicodemus. Yet He admitted He was also in heaven. His humanity was constrained to the earth; His divine nature was omnipresent. It is noteworthy that the Hebrew Roots Movement uses the exact same arguments as the Jews and Muslims against the deity of Christ.
The Hebrew Roots Movement insists that we are to follow the Mosaic Law: not just the Moral Law (the Ten Commandments which are in perpetuity) but also the Ceremonial Law (which was nailed to the cross) including the Jewish Feast Days, circumcision and the Jewish dietary laws (no pork and shellfish).
In one of their newsletters, the House of Yahweh follows in the footsteps of their Seventh Day Adventist forefathers and state:
The Sunday resurrection teaching is used to teach another falsehood, mainly the breaking of the true Sabbath Day.
Yahweh’s Sabbaths are a sign or mark of obedience to Yahweh, the Heavenly Father and Creator of the heavens, the earth and mankind. The Sabbaths are a sign that Yahweh sanctifies the person who keeps them and sets that person apart from the world for a holy use. Yahweh’s weekly Sab- bath is the seventh day of each and every week. It’s the same day on which Yahweh Himself rests.[vii]
Hebrew Roots advocates do not just insist on the observance of the Saturday Sabbath; they insist on following all of the Old Testament Feast Days. According to the House of Yahweh: “Not only are we to keep Yahweh’s seventh day Sabbath, we are also to keep His Feast day Sabbaths.”[viii]
According to the House of Yahweh, keeping the Law saves: “It’s plain to see, and should be obvious to any honest-minded person, that obedience is required for salvation and for the great authority that Yahweh intends to give to mankind.”[ix] Yet Paul told the Galatians: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16).
Yet the House of Yahweh, which claims to uphold the Scriptures, actually contradicts the Scriptures and claims that the way to salvation is by keeping all of the Law (which we know from Galatians is impossible)! They state: “If the religions believed the inspired Scriptures they would be keeping the holy Sabbath and the rest of Yahweh’s Laws. For there is no salvation without these Laws.”[x] In bold lettering, their newsletter states: “Life Eternal Will Only Be Given To Those Who Repent And Convert To Yahweh’s Laws.”[xi]
Much of the insistence on following the Law was refuted in the prior article relating to Sabbatarians. The same arguments against Sabbatarianism also hold true for the other Feast Days and Sabbaths.
Many within the Hebrew Roots Movement go a step further and follow the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament. They do not eat pork and shellfish and make this binding on all of their followers. There is a reason why God commanded the Israelites to not eat pork or shellfish (and also not wear mixed fabrics). The unclean animals symbolized the Gentiles; they were to consider the heathen nations unclean for their paganism and remain separate from them. They were not to mingle the holy religion of God with the pagan worship of the Gentiles, which is why they could not wear mixed fabrics.
Jesus tore down the divisions between Jew and Gentile as He died for both. His atonement was not restricted to just the Jews; He included the Gentiles as well (John 3:16). Ephesians tells us that there is no more difference between Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ. Jesus made a new body of both believing Jews and Gentiles, uniting the two peoples together in Him:
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-22).
Contrary to the Dispensationalists and the Hebrew Roots Movement, there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile any longer this side of the cross! Jesus slaid the enmity between the Jews and Gentiles. He made them one new man! He made peace between the two people. The Gentiles were far off, alienated from the Nation of Israel and its covenants during the Old Testament. But now they have been made nigh to Israel by the blood of Jesus. Gentile Christians are no more strangers and foreigners, but they are fellowcitizens with the Jewish believers. The Gentiles have been grafted in to the olive branch of Israel (Romans 11). Jesus has made a new body which is made up of His elect – both Jew and Gentile.
Let me repeat – Jesus tore down those divisions!
Why is this important as it relates to the Jewish dietary laws? Because again – the unclean animals were symbols of the Gentiles! The mixed fabrics were symbols of mingling Israel with the Gentiles! During that time the Gentiles were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Yet, according to the New Testament, they were made nigh by the blood of Jesus; and if Jesus tore down the walls of division and united Jew and Gentile into one body – are those dietary laws still in effect? How can they be when the Gentiles are no longer considered "unclean"?
We see this Acts 10. Cornelius was a Roman centurion of the Italian band who believed in the God of Israel and was a patron of the Jewish people by financially helping them and building them a synagogue (Acts 10:1-2). Peter was hesitant to enter his house because he considered Cornelius an unclean Gentile (Acts 10:28).
Before he met Cornelius, Peter had a dream on the rooftop of a house in Joppa:
On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven (Acts 10:9-16).
Peter was hesitant to eat the meats he saw in the dream because they were unclean. Yet the angel told him not to call unclean what God had made clean. God had made the “unclean” animals to be clean. Why? Because the Gentiles were now made clean by the blood of Jesus; Jesus created a new body of believers (Christians) that are completely cleansed by His blood.
As Peter mused over the meaning of the vision, Cornelius sent three men for him. Cornelius desired to hear the Gospel. As he was going to enter Cornelius’ house, he was hesitant because Jews were not allowed to enter the house of an unclean Gentile. That was when Peter understood the meaning of the dream:
And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean (Acts 10:28).
By telling Peter that the unclean animals were now clean and he was free to eat them, God was showing Peter that the Gentiles were no longer unclean. They were sanctified by the blood of Jesus. No man is unclean any longer. The Old Testament dietary laws and forbidding of wearing mixed fabrics were in effect to remind the Jews to remain distinct from the Gentiles. But now the Gentiles have been made clean by the blood of Jesus. Those dietary laws are no longer in effect because they symbolized the Gentiles. If the Gentiles are made clean, then the food that represented them is also made clean.
Is there any difference in God’s view of Jews and Gentiles? No longer: “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34-35). Peter then boldly preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all that were in attendance – Jew and Gentile alike. The Holy Spirit descended upon them and they became believers in the Lord Jesus and were baptized (Acts 10:36-48).
It was at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 that the decision about circumcision was decided. Peter told all in attendance of Cornelius and of his vision. The Gentiles are no longer unclean:
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they (Acts 15:7-11).
God no longer puts any difference between the Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles’ hearts are purified by faith! They are clean! And if they are clean, the foods that represent them are also clean! Not only that, Peter denied that circumcision is necessary for salvation. Circumcision was essential in the Old Testament as it was a sign between Israel and God. Yet Peter calls it a “yoke” that they and their fathers could not bear. Salvation is not by the Law; it is not by keeping it; it is not by circumcision; it is only by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does all of the work of salvation! According to Romans 5, salvation is by the obedience of one man, Jesus Christ! He is the One Who obeyed. If we must obey the Law to be saved, then salvation is by the obedience of two – in direct contradiction to Romans 5!
If circumcision, which was one of the chief signs of ownership and covenant between God and Israel, does not save then none of the other laws of the Old Testament save. The Ceremonial Law is nailed to the cross – it is Nehushtan!
The Attack on Jesus’ Name
The Hebrew Roots Movement does not just object to Christianity. They object to the name of Jesus – period. It is true that Jesus’ Hebrew name may very well have been Yeshua (Joshua); His name Joshua translitered from Hebrew to Greek and then to English results in Jesus. The name of Jesus and Yeshua are the same; they are interchangeable. If Christians would like to call Him by the name of Yeshua, I have no problem with that. I use the name of Jesus because the English Bible does – it is an accurate rendering of His name. Because I believe the Bible is inspired and preserved by God, I believe that the name Jesus is entirely accurate and is the name God would have us use in English. That being said, I do not condemn those who use the name Yeshua.
That same charity is not returned by the Hebrew Roots Movement. The Hebrew Roots Movement insists that anyone using the name of “Jesus” is unsaved – they refuse to accept “Jesus” as His Name. The problem is – there is incredible division within the Hebrew Roots Movement over just what Jesus’ Hebrew name actually is! It is Yeshua – but they object to that as well! Instead, they all come up with different Hebrew-sounding names that are derivatives of Yeshua, but they all disagree on what the true Hebrew name for Jesus is.
The House of Yahweh states: “The name Jesus is an invention of man which in no way carries the meaning of the true Name of this Man mentioned in the New Testament. The simple fact (which is easily proven from authoritative sources) is that this man was born a Hebrew and He had a Hebrew name. There is no such name as Jesus in the Hebrew language.”[xii] So what does the House of Yahweh say that Jesus’ real name is? “The Name Yahshua follows the common practice among the true worshippers of Yahweh, in forming and using compound names which brought glory to Yahweh’s Name.”[xiii]
Yet the Hebrew Roots group The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven states: “The Son of the Most High was born a Hebrew to a couple from the tribe of Yudah. His Name is YaHVaHShooa Ha MASHIYACH.”[xiv]
So the one Hebrew Roots group, the House of Yahweh, says that the true Hebrew name of the Savior is “Yahshua.” Yet another Hebrew Roots group, The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven, states that it is “YaHVaHShooa.” So which is it?
Wait – it gets better!
EliYah Ministries says that: “Yahushua is the True Name of the Messiah.”[xv] Tower of Power Ministries says His name is “Yahawashi.”[xvi] According to James A. Robinson of the Hebrew Roots group called End Time Issue Ministries, His Hebrew Name is actually “Yahooshua.”[xvii]
What is going on? For people so fixated on ancient Hebrew names and the Old Testament Ceremonial Law, why so much disagreement? Why can’t they agree on what should be one of the most basic issues in their religion – the Hebrew name of the Messiah?
Here is part of the problem. Most historians agree that Jesus and the Apostles spoke Aramaic – not Hebrew. The ancient Jews of the First Century wrote in Aramaic but using the Hebrew script. Ancient Hebrew had no vowels. As such, translating Hebrew and other Semitic languages results in some challenges as one can imagine.
Modern Hebrew and English are just that – modern! English lacks the phenomes to fully express ancient Hebrew’s sounds. We can only approximate that Jesus’ Name in Hebrew is “Yeshua”, but that still cannot be said definitively. It is an approximation. The Hebrew Roots groups end up with different names for the Messiah because they are also “approximating” from Hebrew into English. And yet Jesus and the Apostles spoke Aramaic … therein lies the fallacy of attempting to use Jesus’ Hebrew Name. That is why there are so many different ideas for what His Name is among adherents to the Hebrew Roots Movement.
While there is vast disagreement among the Hebrew Roots Movement as to what the Messiah’s Hebrew Name is, they all agree: His Name is not “Jesus.” The Hebrew Roots groups do not just refuse to call Him “Jesus” – they blaspheme by saying that the Name of “Jesus” is “satanic” (and they can’t agree on what Satan’s name is either).
For instance, James A. Robinson of The End Times Issue Ministries argues that the Roman Catholic Church created the name “Jesus.”[xviii] That is a genetic fallacy. Should we deny monotheism too since the Roman Catholic Church also teaches it? This becomes a recurring theme among Sabbatarians and the Hebrew Roots Movement. Rome = the antichrist; so therefore they prop up Rome as the “boogeyman” source for any doctrine they want to undermine. For the Seventh Day Adventists, it’s the Saturday Sabbath (they claim Sunday worship came from Rome so therefore Sunday is bad). And the Hebrew Roots Movement argues Rome “invented” the Name of Jesus (which is untrue) as a way of poisoning the well.
Such groups do not oppose the Papacy for Scriptural reasons. They only accept him as the antichrist to prop up their pet doctrines such as the Sabbath and their version of Jesus’ Hebrew Name. They do not criticize Rome because of it’s salvation doctrines – because they believe in Rome’s salvation doctrines as well! These Judaized “churches” teach that salvation is by adherence to the works of the Law as opposed to the biblical Gospel of monergism – salvation is a free gift entirely by the Lord Jesus Christ alone apart from the works of man. They hold to the same doctrine as Rome – works righteousness. By condemning Rome, they condemn themselves. They are a harlot daughter of the Mother of Harlots (Revelation 17) whether they will admit it or not.
Hebrew Roots teacher James A. Robinson blasphemes Jesus. He claims that: “Jesus is an Anglicization of the Greek Iesous which is derived from Zeus.”[xix] It gets worse. According to Robinson: “It is now sin to use the name ‘Jesus’ and prayers to Jesus are now largely answered by demons who have taken on that name.”[xx]
The House of Yahweh echoes the arguments of the “Jesus Mythicists” such as Kercy Graves and D.M. Murdock by claiming that Constantine created “Jesus” as a composite of Yahshua and the Hindu god Krishna, the Egyptian god Horus and the Greek god Zeus.[xxi]
The House of Yahweh admits they do not worship the same Messiah as Christians. “If Christian scholars would conduct a truly unbiased study of the Holy Scriptures concerning the prophesied Savior, they would find, as many who seek Scriptural truth have, that the prophesied Savior is NOT the savior proclaimed by the Christian world today.”[xxii] (emphasis added) That is an amazing admission by a Hebrew Roots Group that their Messiah is different than the Messiah proclaimed by Christianity!
That same sentiment is echoed by The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven: “Jesus Christ is a fake, false and strange name given by the world to replace YaHVaHShooa Ha Mashiyach, so man could be sidetracked from Him and die.”[xxiii] They consider Jesus to be a false Messiah and their YaHVaHShooa to be the truth:
YaHVaHShooa Ha MASHIACH was born a Jew of the tribe of Yudah. He said, "Salvation is of the Jew." He should therefore have the Jewish name. Jesus on the other hand is a combination of Medo-Grecian name; a combination of IEU and Zeus; a marriage between paganism and christianity--Jesus did not exist till the 1700 AD. YaHVaHShooa is the Truth, the true name of the Son of YaHVaH, ELOHIM. Jesus, on the other hand, is a fake, false and strange name popularised and propagated by religion, a counterfeit--a combination of IEU+ZEUS=IESUS, in AD1700 became Jesus.[xxiv]
According to The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus is a counterfeit. They admit in their own words that Jesus and YaHVaHShooa are different Messiahs. Their term is not simply another name for “Jesus” – they reject Jesus. Period.
YaHVaHShua and Jesus are not one, nor the same—One came from the FATHER, came in the FATHER'S name and bore the FATHER'S name, the other did not; One was born a Jew of the lineage of David, the other is dubious, he's probably Greek and English; One was born around the passover, the other on December 25th, the day of the feast of the sun god, Saturn; One kept the Seventh-day Shabat according to the fourth commandments and taught man so, the other, according to Christian Leaders, changed the Seventh-day Shabat from Saturday to Sunday, the day of sun worship. So, you tell me if YaHVaHShooa and Jesus are One and the same. If not, those of you who cried about the Jewish Jesus or put YaHVahShooa and Jesus together, had better search your heart and free yourself from the idolatries and profanities of your Christian brothers. Therefore, there is no such thing as the Jewish Jesus, but YaHVaHShooa, Who is the Lion of Yudah and the Lamb of YaHVaH combined. YaHVaHShooa is the Truth, Jesus is the counterfeit, the false or a lie sown by Satan. It is high time for those who are the true disciples of YaHVaHShooa to take a stand on this, there is only ONE MASHIYACH; YaHVaH did not send two. Therefore, one must be a counterfeit Satan uses to deceive the entire Christian world.[xxv]
This is not a matter of simple nomenclature. It is not a matter of semantics. The Hebrew Roots Movement considers not just the name but the person of “Jesus” to be satanic. They replace Him with a Judaized “Messiah” that they argue was crucified and rose again. But their version of the Messiah is not the Biblical and True Messiah.
The Biblical Messiah is God. Even the Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah would be God Himself:
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young (Isaiah 40:1-11).
The prophecy above was fulfilled by John the Baptist who was the one to prepare the way for the Lord:
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Luke 3:1-6).
According to Isaiah 40, who was the One that John the Baptist would prepare the way for? The Lord! He would make a straight highway “for our God.” The Messiah would be God based on Isaiah 40!
Isaiah 9 prophecies of the birth of the Messiah. Again, who does Isaiah tell us the Messiah would be?
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Yet again, Isaiah tells us that the Messiah would be God!
What was Jesus called at His birth? Emmanuel – God with us! “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
The Bible makes very clear that Jesus Christ is God incarnate in the flesh. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16). “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 1:9).
Jesus’ disciples knew Him as God. “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Paul knew Jesus was God – he said that it was God Himself who shed His own blood upon the cross. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). “Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 9:5).
In spite of the clear testimony of Scripture that Jesus is God in the flesh, the House of Yahweh denies that the Messiah is God incarnate. “One of the greatest pagan deceptions ever passed off to this world as truth by the Roman Catholic Church is that of a pre-existent God-savior who is part of a trinity of Gods. This very idea is pagan in origin.”[xxvi] They go on to say: “It is a Scriptural fact that Yahweh is immortal, that He cannot die. So if Yahweh and Yahshua are the same being (as Christianity teaches) how could one die and the other live to raise the one who died? This simply makes no sense, but neither does any Christian doctrine.”[xxvii]
Yet the Scriptures very clearly show us that the Messiah is God. The Hebrew Roots Movement says that “Jesus” is a different Messiah from their “Messiah.” Their “Messiah” has a Hebrew name (Yahshua, YaHVahShooa, etc.) and is not God. They speak truly when they say their Messiah is not the Christian Messiah. They believe in another Messiah, a Messiah who is not God. They believe in a different Messiah than the One revealed in Scripture. Paul warned us about such a deception:
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him (2 Corinthians 11:1-4).
According to the House of Yahweh: “There is nothing recorded in Volume Two of the Holy Scriptures that ever quotes Yahshua as saying He was either an equal part of a trinity with Yahweh or that He pre-existed with Yahweh.”[xxviii] That may be true for their heathen Yahshua, but it most certainly is not true for the One True Messiah, Jesus Christ. He most certainly did identify Himself as Yahweh (or Biblically “Jehovah.”) That was why the Jews attempted to stone Him. They understood what He was saying in John 8:58.
Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by (John 8:52-59).
In Exodus, God told Moses that His Name is “I Am” and that He was to be known as “I Am”:
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you (Exodus 3:13-14).
In John 8, the Jews asked Jesus who He was. They asked how He could have seen Abraham when He was not yet 50 years old. Contrary to the House of Yahweh, Jesus admitted His pre-existence. He was before Abraham (v.58). He called Himself “I am.” Jesus was very clearly telling them of His 1) pre-existence and 2) that He is “I Am” a.k.a. God (Jehovah). The House of Yahweh is wrong to assert that Jesus never mentioned His pre-existence, deity or the Trinity.
The Hebrew Roots Movement does not just reject Jesus’ Name; they reject the Biblical Jesus period. They deny the Trinity, His pre-existence and His deity. They deny He is God though the Bible very clearly tells us that He is. Their false “Messiah” is a different Messiah from the One found in the pages of Scripture. He is not God, is not pre-existent, does not save by Himself (Romans 5, Hebrews 10:14), and requires obedience to the Law for salvation rather than faith (John 3:16). Like all works righteousness religions (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Methodism, Arminianism), their Messiah simply cannot save man in and of Himself by His actions alone. He is such a pitiful “savior” that he needs man to add sacraments, works, obedience to the Law - all to allow him to save them. But the Biblical Jesus is an invincible Savior Who by Himself saved His elect fully by His own actions without their works, sacraments, law, cooperation, etc. (Romans 5, Hebrews 10:11-14). Salvation is by the obedience of one man per Romans 5 - Jesus Christ. If we have to add our works, sacraments, or obedience to the Law to be saved, then Romans 5 is a lie - we are really saved by the obedience of two.
It is not true that “Jesus” is a pagan name, i.e. Zeus. That is a fantasy concocted by the Hebrew Roots Movement. It is a Jewish fable (Titus 1:14). It is an attempt to subvert Christianity and return us to the curse of the Law. It is an attempt get Christians to deny Jesus and the Trinity. It is an attempt to attack the preservation and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures in English which clearly state His name as “Jesus.”
James Patrick of the Christian Research Institute researched the “Sacred Name” doctrine of the Hebrew Roots Movement and refutes the idea that “Jesus” is not the name of the Messiah. First, he explains how the name of Jesus was transliterated into English:
To begin, we need to explore how we got from the Hebrew name Yehoshua to the English name Jesus. Despite the difference in English, Jesus is the same name as Joshua, which is the proper name of the Old Testament figure who led Israel after the death of Moses. The meaning of Joshua/Jesus in Hebrew, Yehoshua, is “Yahweh is salvation.” (Another variation, Yeshua, is a later contraction of Yehoshua.) This reflects the construction of Jewish names as divine patronymics, or names based on the name of God (Yahweh) as a divine father figure. So, for example, Jehoshaphat (the name of a Jewish king in the Old Testament) means, “Yahweh has judged.”
From the Hebrew Yehoshua, the next step is to the Greek variation, Iesous. Greek rendered the Hebrew Y as an I, and formed masculine names with an –s at the end. Iesous was the standard way that the name Yehoshua was rendered in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The next step was the Latin rendering Iesus. The final important shift occurred with the use of the letter J as a variant of the letter I. This was a later development in Latin, and brings us to the form now also used in English, Jesus.[xxix]
The Hebrew Roots Movement will argue that the letter “J” did not exist before the 1700’s AD. That is a moot point. The letter may not have existed, the sound and pronunciation of the letter “J” for the letter “I” sure did! Iesous in Greek was not pronounced (Eye-sous) – it was pronounced (Je-sous). His name in English is Jesus!
What of the claims of the Hebrew Roots folks that Jesus’ Name is derivative of Zeus (Hail Zeus)? James Patrick Holding reveals their error:
The claim that behind Jesus there lies the hidden meaning, “Hail, Zeus!” displays a fundamental lack of knowledge of biblical Greek. The superficial similarity in the way both names end, with -s, reflects, as noted, the construction of masculine nouns in Greek. Male Greek names such as Linus and Eubulus (2 Tim. 4:21) nearly always ended with an S. There is therefore no unique tie between an –s ending and the Greek deity Zeus. The allegation that (e.g.) Tarsus means “sweat of Zeus” is also incorrect. Tarsus means flat basket, derived from the city’s location in a fertile valley in the mountains.
Yeshua-onlyists also fail to account for non-English renderings of the Savior’s name, such as Yesus (Indonesia), Iesu (Japan), or Ihu (Maori). Obviously, none of these could in any way be construed as hidden messages to “Hail Zeus,” since they either do not share a similar pronunciation, and/or come from cultures where Zeus was unknown. They also fail to account for Zeus being widely recognized by his own Roman variation, Jupiter.[xxx]
Jesus is the Name of the Messiah. The Hebrew Roots Movement is wrong. Their doctrine attacks the Name of Jesus Whose Name is the Only One that saves!
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:10-12).
[i] Francis Xavier, “The Basics of Understanding the Hebrew Roots Movement,” October 24, 2023, https://www.loveinbible.com/the-basics-of-understanding-the-hebrew-roots-movement/
[ii] Dr. Tim Chaffey, “Dangers of the Hebrew Roots Movement,” Answers in Genesis, March 17, 2018, https://answersingenesis.org/presuppositions/dangers-hebrew-roots-movement/
[iii] Op. cit.
[iv] Op. cit.
[v] The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven, “Torah Truths,” http://www.assemblyofthekingdomofheaven.org/fundamental_truths.aspx
[vi] The House of Yahweh, “The True Name of Our Savior and It’s Importance For Use”, https://yahweh.com/the-name-of-yahshua.html
[vii] Overseer Yisrayl Hawkins, The House of Yahweh, “For Salvation You Must Seek the House of Yahweh,” The Prophetic Word, February, 2007, https://yahweh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/2-2007-PW.pdf
[viii] Op. cit.
[ix] Op. cit.
[x] Op. cit.
[xi] Op. cit.
[xii] The House of Yahweh, “The True Name of Our Savior and It’s Importance For Use”, https://yahweh.com/the-name-of-yahshua.html
[xiii] Op. cit.
[xiv] The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven, “The Lies About Jesus Christ”, http://www.assemblyofthekingdomofheaven.org/messages/LiesAboutJesusChrist.aspx
[xv] EliYah Ministries,” Yahushua is the True Name of the Messiah”, https://eliyah.com/yahushua-is-the-true-name-of-the-messiah/
[xvi] Tower of Power Ministries, “Christ Name in Hebrew”, https://www.towerofpower.co/christ-name-in-hebrew
[xvii] James A. Robinson, “The TRUE name of the prophet from Nazareth is ‘Yahooshua’ NOT ‘Jesus’”, End Time Issue Ministries, https://www.eti-ministries.org/-yahooshua-not-jesus
[xviii] Op. cit.
[xix] Op. cit.
[xx] Op. cit.
[xxi] The House of Yahweh, “The True Name of Our Savior and It’s Importance For Use”, https://yahweh.com/the-name-of-yahshua.html
[xxii] Op. cit.
[xxiii] The Assembly of the Kingdom of Heaven, “The Lies About Jesus Christ”, http://www.assemblyofthekingdomofheaven.org/messages/LiesAboutJesusChrist.aspx
[xxiv] Op. cit.
[xxv] Op. cit.
[xxvi] The House of Yahweh, “The True Name of Our Savior and It’s Importance For Use”, https://yahweh.com/the-name-of-yahshua.html
[xxvii] Op. cit.
[xxviii] Op. cit.
[xxix] James Patrick Holding, “Is Jesus’ Name Used in Vain? Answering the Sacred Name Movement,” The Christian Research Journal, April 9, 2017, https://www.equip.org/articles/jesus-name-used-vain-answering-sacred-name-movement/
[xxx] James Patrick Holding, “Is Jesus’ Name Used in Vain? Answering the Sacred Name Movement,” The Christian Research Journal, April 9, 2017, https://www.equip.org/articles/jesus-name-used-vain-answering-sacred-name-movement/