Clifford Denton discusses the first Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire and the resulting fall of Jerusalem and the razing of the Temple in 70 AD.

In the last study, we considered how the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD contributed to the early separation of the Christian Church from its Jewish roots. This week we continue to look briefly at the background history that preceded and followed this fall, bringing into focus what have come to be called the First and Second Jewish Revolts. We do this both to focus on this important aspect of Israel's history, and also to establish a sense of the context into which Jesus and his followers came.

Background: the Road to Separation

In the last few studies we have been assessing the reasons for the separation of the Christian Church from its Jewish roots, focusing especially on the early years. We have been seeking to establish a balanced understanding, noting that it was not so simple as an exclusion from the Synagogue associated with a curse against Christians. There was initially a more gradual assessment of the new movement within Judaism.

Nevertheless there was also a distinct theological difference caused by the proclamation that Jesus was the expected Messiah. Misunderstandings, as well as theological differences, led to the early Christian Church being kept at arm's length. Elements of separatism from within the Christian Church also began to develop.

Misunderstandings, as well as theological differences, led to the early Church being kept at arm's length by the Jews.

The background to this was Israel's national oppression by Greece and then Rome, and the reactions against this by various Jewish leaders and factions who sought to bring about deliverance by physical force (these attempts then magnified themselves later, when Israel was in the Diaspora and the Christian Church had found new roots within the Gentile world).

In particular, the First and Second Jewish Revolts against Rome help us to understand the response of the nation of Israel to the colonial domination of foreign powers. Despite Israel as a whole rejecting Jesus as Messiah, these revolts continued to express the Jewish Messianic hope. They expected that the Messiah would bring physical deliverance for the nation. This mindset contrasted greatly with the message of Jesus and the apparent 'otherworldliness' of his movement, and further contributed to the separation of the Christian Church from its Jewish roots.

The Messianic hope of the Jews, especially in the face of Roman colonial domination, contrasted Jesus' otherworldly message and forced Christians and Jews further apart.

The First Jewish RevoltHalf Shekel from the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (see Photo Credits)

The First Jewish Revolt was from 66-74 AD. This was the revolt that led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. One of the main historical sources for this event is the historian Josephus who was an eye witness and participant (see quotes from Josephus included in last week's study). Modern historians warn us that there may be some bias in Josephus's description of the revolt because of his own need to protect his status in the eyes of Rome. Nevertheless, we have detailed accounts of the years when Israel rose up against Rome and of the catastrophes that followed.

Among the reasons for the revolt was hatred toward the corruption and bad government of various Roman procurators, as well as a general resentment towards the occupying forces. Add to this the social, economic, national and religious restraints that Rome put on this covenant nation and here was a fermenting situation ready for eruption at any time.

The First Jewish Revolt, which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, was born of resentment towards the occupying power.

Discontent eventually led to a dispute between Greeks and Jews in Caesarea when some of the Greek population chose to build too close to a Synagogue. This was in the year 61 AD, and Nero ruled in favour of the Greeks, but discontent continued and flared up into street fighting in 66 AD. Coincident with this, the procurator Florus ordered that seventeen talents be taken from the Temple treasury, causing an aggressive response from some of the Jews and resulting in his ordering Roman soldiers to punish the population. The resistance grew, however, causing Florus to make a temporary retreat to Caesarea.

The remaining cohort of troops in Jerusalem failed to enforce law and order and this also became the spark for groups of revolutionaries including the Sicari and Zealots to begin more open fighting with the Romans. Fervour that had been pent up for years erupted, and soon the majority of the population of Judaea and Galilee joined these revolutionary groups. By the year 67, the Idumeaeans and Samaritans had also joined the growing revolt.

Roman Intervention

Agrippa II came from Alexandria to Jerusalem to try to quell the revolt but failed to get the support of Florus for mediation. In the early days of the revolt, the High Priest and leaders of the parties of the Sadducees and Pharisees were concerned to maintain peace and the Temple rituals, so were keen to bring a peaceful end to the uprising. However, the Zealots conquered a number of fortresses including Masada. They occupied the Temple and put an end to the daily sacrifice to the Emperor of Rome.

Agrippa summoned three thousand troops but failed to eliminate the Zealots. This led to an escalation of the conflict with Rome. The Zealots set fire to the palaces of Agrippa, Berenice and the High Priest. This was by way of a statement against the disparity between the wealthy in Jerusalem and the poverty of other members of the nation. The Antonia Fortress was captured and then the whole city was liberated from the Romans. This was accompanied by bloodshed in other parts of the land.

The conflict escalated and even the intervention of 3,000 Roman troops failed.

Cestius Valus, the Roman Governor of Syria, brought an expedition to Jerusalem in the autumn of 66 but was caused to retreat and suffered major defeat near Beth-Horon, where most of his army was massacred. This resulted in a growing support for the revolt, including from the priests in Jerusalem who needed to preserve their popularity.

The Arrival of Vespasian

The Romans re-grouped in Galilee. Meanwhile, Nero sent orders from Greece to his general, Vespasian. He arrived in 67 and took the city of Sephoris, then advancing with three legions into Galilee, putting many of the Jews to flight. The prominent fortress of Jotapata was taken, followed by Tarichaea, Gamla (see left) and Mount Tabor. At the end of 67, and after great bloodshed, Galilee was under the control of the Romans.

The loss of Galilee was dispiriting to the occupants of Jerusalem. Some would have negotiated with the Romans at this point. There was inner conflict among the Jewish factions and the Zealots eventually took full control of the city. In 69 AD, however, further disputes arose and three factions emerged in Jerusalem. The Roman troops marched on Jerusalem, by which time the three factions had divided the city into three fortresses.

When the Romans laid siege on Jerusalem in 70 AD, inner conflict had led to the city being divided into three fortresses.

The death of Nero in 68 called Vespasian back to Rome in the summer of 69, where he was proclaimed Emperor. Titus, his son, took command of the Roman troops in the land of Israel (as an important aside, within the time-frame of this conflict: it is likely that Johanan Ben Zakkai fled from Jerusalem and was given permission by Vespasian to settle in Jabneh, which later became a school for the study of Torah and the centre for the development of Rabbinic Judaism). Nevertheless the siege of Jerusalem was begun early in the year 70 by Titus and the horrific consequences of the fall of this great city and of the Temple followed, as we outlined in the last section.

One can read Josephus and come to the conclusion that divided factions among the Jews contributed to an almost self-destruction at the end of this conflict. The glory had indeed departed from the Temple.

For Reflection and Comment

Read Matthew 24:2 and Deuteronomy 28. Does this help us understand the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70? Read Luke 19:41-44 and refer to the Book of Lamentations. What should a Christian's attitude be to the fall of Jerusalem?

Next time: The Jewish Revolts (Part 2)

Clifford Denton continues to examine the early separation between Christianity and Judaism, looking at their theological conflicts.

One of the main factors contributing to the early rift between the Christian Church and the Jewish community was a theological conflict that emerged as biblical prophecies were interpreted through the revelation of Jesus as the expected Messiah. We will consider here the beginnings of this theological separation.

Parting of the Ways

In Chapter 4 of Our Father Abraham, Marvin Wilson considers the parting of the Church from the Synagogue. This parting of the ways was a gradual process over many centuries, but the beginnings are found in the biblical account. In Acts 5:40 we read, "They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go." Wilson writes:

The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)...was an alpine event. Its decision would have profound implications for both Church and Synagogue in the years to come. By calling this council, the Church took a clear stand on the issue of gentile circumcision (Acts 15:5, 28-29). This most ancient of all covenant rites would not be a prerequisite to join the still fledgling messianic community which had rapidly expanded into the gentile world. (p52)

In later years, Christian theology would be the subject of many councils, and the creeds of the Christian Church would be crafted. New divisions would begin to occur in the Christian Church itself as various denominations and sects emerged. It was inevitable, however, that the separation of Christians from the sects of Judaism would occur in the early days of the Apostles.

Dr Wilson continues:

The picture of the Church which we are able to draw at this mid-century juncture is composite. It comprised essentially three main groups. One segment was made up of traditionalists from the circumcision party. They were conservative Jewish believers, most likely from the sect of the Pharisees, and were closely tied to Temple worship and Jewish Law...the Ebionite sect probably represented the remnants of this movement, a group which did not die out until the fourth century. A second distinguishable group was the free-thinking Hellenistic party. The Hellenists had one foot planted in the turf of Judaism.

But the other, more firmly set in Greek soil, caused this group to lean to the West. A third segment held to a middle or mainstream position. It reflected the thinking of the council and presumably also the majority of the Jerusalem church (see Acts 15:22). Some of its leading voices were James, Peter ("an apostle to the Jews"), and Paul ("an apostle to the Gentiles" cf. Gal. 2:8). Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28), this influential group sought to be open to Gentiles and yet sensitive to the Jews. (emphasis added)

The Christian movement began so powerfully, and the zeal of the early believers was so great, that it could not avoid drawing attention to itself. It was recognised as a heretical sect of Judaism and so caused response from the leaders of the Jewish community who foresaw coming division. The followers of Jesus were seen as emerging from the background of Jewish life, interpreting their message from the Hebrew Scriptures, continuing to visit the Temple, preaching their message among the Jews and interpreting their faith out of Jewish symbols and traditions.

Thus the first points of division can be seen in the Bible itself, before ever a Church Council emerged in later generations.

Theological Issues

Church creeds and doctrines crystallised over the centuries as a response to many issues of contending for the faith, but this began with the Apostles. We have already mentioned the meeting in Jerusalem (Acts 15) that has come to be known as the Council of Jerusalem. As further issues came up, so discussions took place and positions were taken. The New Testament writings introduced many statements of faith, even before systematic creeds were drawn up. Paul highlighted issues of doctrine that had to be made clear as congregations in the Gentile world faced various questions. Paul's writings, in themselves, marked a separation point from other forms of Judaism.

The New Testament writings introduced many statements of faith before systematic Christian creeds were ever drawn up.

In the Introduction to the Mishnah (translated by Danby, OUP, 1933) is an interesting confirmation of this separation based on the writings of the New Testament. The sects of Judaism codified the oral traditions while the Christian Church received the New Testament, signifying the theological parting of the ways. The Mishnah became the foundation of the Talmud and the New Testament became the basis of future creeds of the Christian Church:

The Mishnah may be defined as a deposit of four centuries of Jewish religious and cultural activity in Palestine, beginning at some uncertain date (possibly during the earlier half of the second century B.C.) and ending with the close of the second century A.D. The object of this activity was the preservation, cultivation, and application to life of 'the Law' (Torah), in the form in which many generations of like-minded Jewish religious leaders had learned to understand this Law. These leaders were known in turn by the names Soferim ('Scribes') and Tannaim (lit. 'repeaters', teachers of the Oral Law).

The latter taught the religious system of the Pharisees as opposed to that of the Sadducees. Until the destruction of the Second Temple in A.D. 70 they had counted as one only among the schools of thought which played a part in Jewish national and religious life; after the Destruction they took the position, naturally and almost immediately, of sole and undisputed leaders of such Jewish life as survived. Judaism as it has continued since is, if not their creation, at least a faith and a religious institution largely of their fashioning; and the Mishnah is the authoritative record of their labour. Thus it comes about that while Judaism and Christianity alike venerate the Old Testament as canonical Scripture, the Mishnah marks the passage to Judaism as definitely as the New Testament marks the passage to Christianity. (emphasis added)

First Century: the Separation Begins

The Apostolic Council of Jerusalem was around 49 AD. 1 and 2 Corinthians was written around 54-55 AD, Romans around 55 AD and Hebrews in the 60s. Peter and Paul's martyrdoms were around 64 AD. Matthew was written in the 60s, Revelation in the late 80s or early 90s. Thus the date of the destruction of the Temple (70 AD) is embedded in the dates surrounding the significant writings and formation of the doctrines of the Christian Church.

Already the ministry of Jesus had been pivotal in the Jewish world, his crucifixion being around 30 AD. His followers then became living witnesses to their faith and so the Christian community was noticeable in the world of Judaism, it being inevitable that their beliefs would be scrutinised by the leaders of the Jewish community.

The destruction of the Temple in 70 AD is embedded in the dates surrounding the New Testament writings, and followed the pivotal ministry of Jesus, so the Christian community was already well-known in the world of Judaism.

Other early Christian writings give indications of the way theological ideas began to form among believers. For example, around 95 AD Clement, secretary of the Roman Church, wrote to the Corinthian congregation. He viewed this congregation as what we might consider to be on a par with the Essene community of Qumran, fulfilling what was prefigured in the Old Testament. Later, in his second letter, we see him treat Paul's writings on an equal footing to the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Others such as Ignatius of Antioch have left letters which build up clues to the early theology of the Christian Church.

Statement of Faith

What emerged is called the kerygma. It is a Greek word meaning, 'proclamation, announcement, preaching'. CH Dodd (The Apostolic Preaching, 1936), and others, examined early Christian writings to discover the core of Christian preaching in the early days of the Apostles. The ancient kerygma as summarised by Dodd from Peter's speeches in Acts was:

1. The Age of Fulfillment has dawned, the 'latter days' foretold by the prophets.
2. This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
3. By virtue of his resurrection Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as Messianic head of the new Israel.
4. The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ's present power and glory.
5. The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Christ.
6. An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and salvation.

Jesus Christ, of course, was the center of this ancient kerygma. The cross and resurrection are crucial to the kerygmatic preaching of Jesus. Another useful summary is found in Chronological Charts of the New Testament (Zondervan, 1981, p120) by H Wayne House:

1. The promises by God made in the Old Testament have now been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus the Messiah (Acts 2:30; 3:19,24; 10:43; 26:6-7, 22; Rom 1:2-4; 1 Tim 3:16; Heb 1:1-2; 1 Pet 1:10-12, 2 Pet 1:18-19).
2. Jesus was anointed by God at his baptism as Messiah (Acts 10:38).
3. Jesus began his ministry in Galilee after his baptism (Acts 10:37).
4. He conducted a beneficent ministry, doing good and performing mighty works by the power of God (Mark 10:45; Acts 2:22; 10:38).
5. The Messiah was crucified according to the purpose of God (Mark 10:45; John 3:16; Acts 2:23; 3:13-15, 18; 4:11; 10:39; 26:23; Rom 8:34; 1 Cor 1:17-18; 15:3; Gal 1:4; Heb 1:3; 1 Pet 1:2, 19; 3:18; 1 John 4:10).
6. He was raised from the dead and appeared to his disciples (Acts 2:24, 31-32; 3:15,26; 10:40-41; 17:31; 26:23; Rom 8:34; 10:9; 1 Cor 15:4-7, 12ff.; 1 Thess 1:10; 1 Tim 3:16; 1 Pet 1:2, 21; 3:18, 21).
7. Jesus was exalted by God and given the name 'Lord' (Acts 2:25-29, 33-36; 3:13; 10:36; Rom 8:34; 10:9; 1 Tim 3:16; Heb 1:3; 1 Pet 3:22).
8. He gave the Holy Spirit to form the new community of God (Acts 1:8; 2:14-18, 33, 38-39; 10:44-47; 1 Pet 1:12).
9. He will come again for judgment and the restoration of all things (Acts 3:20-21; 10:42; 17:31; 1 Cor 15:20-28; 1 Thess 1:10).
10. All who hear the message should repent and be baptised (Acts 2:21, 38; 3:19; 10:43, 47-48; 17:30; 26:20; Rom 1:17; 10:9; 1 Pet 3:21).

It was impossible for the differences in theology to go unnoticed as being a divergence from orthodox Judaism. Christianity, nevertheless, grew out of the Jewish background with common roots in the Tanakh, not as a new religion in the Gentile world, where it might have gone unnoticed. The centrality of Jesus the Messiah made it impossible for the Apostles to be silent and the fact that the oral traditions of Judaism (later codified as the Mishnah) made different emphasis, made it impossible for theological conflicts to be avoided.

It was impossible for Christianity to be ignored as a simple divergence from orthodox Judaism. The centrality of Jesus the Messiah made it impossible for the Apostles to be silent, and the difference between Christian doctrine and the Jewish oral traditions made theological conflict unavoidable.

Jewish Symbols

It was for the very reason that Christianity emerged from the background of Judaism that conflict occurred. On the one hand these are two branches of the same tree and, on the other hand, they are conflicting interpretations of the same Scriptures. On page 55 of Our Father Abraham, Dr Wilson presents Christianity as a radical reinterpretation of Jewish symbols and therefore ready to spark off reaction and potential parting of the ways:

The two Testaments exhibit strong continuity, but also a discontinuity. Many Old Testament institutions and themes are radically reinterpreted in the New Testament, often in ways – despite their foreshadowing – that the majority in New Testament times was unable to discern. In addition, the embodiment of the Torah in Jesus created a major tension. Jesus subordinated many of the central symbols of Judaism to himself, and the New Testament writers continued that subordination.

Thus, Jesus became the Temple (John 2:19-21) and the atoning sacrifice ("the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" – John 1:29). At Passover the matzah, "unleavened bread," represented his body (Mark 14:22); likewise, the lamb sacrificed at Passover symbolized Jesus' sacrificial death (1 Corinthians 5:7). In addition, Jesus declared himself Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28). He also distinguished the ritually clean from unclean (Mark 7:1-23). In sum, in early Jewish Christianity the "Sabbath, Temple, Law, sacrifices are christologically reinterpreted by the One who is greater than them all." (quoted from P. Richardson, Israel in the Apostolic Church, CUP, 1969). The overall effect was that the first-century Jewish community largely considered these teachings strange and antiritualistic, a threat to established religious beliefs of the day.

On the one hand, Christianity and Judaism are two branches of the same tree. On the other, they are radically conflicting interpretations of the same Scriptures.

For Reflection and Comment

How might the Christian Church, without compromising the Gospel, restore theological balance and heal the rift with Israel and the Jews?

Next time: Exclusion from the Synagogue.

'Peace in Jerusalem: But the battle is not over yet!' by Charles Gardner (Olive Press, 2015, 241 pages).

Clifford Denton continues the study of Acts 15 by considering the context and conclusion of the meeting of apostles and elders in the First Century.

Recap

In the first part of our study, we argued that the Acts 15 meeting of apostles and elders was according to Jewish tradition for settling disputes, whose origin can be traced to the time of Moses. It was perhaps the first council of its kind in the emerging Christian community. We can adopt this view providing we maintain a balanced perspective of continuity from biblical origins rather than a breaking away to form a new religion. The apostles and elders were responsible, as are Church leaders today, to shepherd the body of disciples, including both Jews and Gentiles, to be the authentic manifestation of the covenant community of faith.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit had begun in the Gentile world and the leaders met in Jerusalem to consider together what the God of Israel was now doing, and what he was expecting of his people.

The apostles and elders met in Jerusalem in accordance with Jewish tradition, to consider what God had begun in the Gentile world and what he was expecting of his people."

All this was happening in the context of the Jewish world of the Sanhedrin and the Rabbis, who to that time had interpreted biblical teaching into a set of rules for living. This was the world into which Jesus came, challenging the Rabbis but recognising their authority – that is until the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples in a new and living way.

Let us consider a little more of the rabbinical teaching of the day to further understand the need for the council of Acts 15.

Rules and Obligations

Jewish tradition has it that there are two aspects to Torah: the Written Torah, recorded by Moses, and the Oral Torah passed on from Moses through reliable men. The Oral Torah was codified (developed in written form) in the Second Century into what is known as the Mishnah. This was some time after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD when concerns arose as to whether oral traditions would be remembered with the Jewish nation scattered throughout the world. Once the teaching was passed on orally, but now it was codified for fear that the teaching would be lost to future generations.

In our own generation, we can read the Mishnah to study these oral traditions. Here we find much of what was taught by the Rabbis at the time of Jesus and his Apostles. A study of the Mishnah gives us information that helps us to understand the basis of Jesus' challenges to the Rabbis. For example there is an incident recorded in Matthew 12 concerning the rabbinic definition of work and its relationship to the Sabbath Day. The disciples of Jesus, in the eyes of the Pharisees, contravened a number of their definitions of the work of harvesting when they ate grain as they walked through the fields. This incident and others are understood most clearly through reference to the Oral Traditions recorded in the Mishnah.

In Jesus' day, to be a Jew implied obedience to the authority of the oral traditions and extra rulings of the Rabbis."

Jews were expected to govern their lives through obedience to oral traditions and other rulings of the religious leaders. The different schools of Rabbis formulated rules by which their disciples were obliged to live – the legal halakhah of the day. To be a Jew implied that such obligations were authoritative. Circumcision for men was the entry point into the Jewish family and everything else followed. This is the background to Acts 15.

The Perceived Authority of the Mishnah

In the introduction to Danby's translation of the Mishnah (OUP, 1933), there is a passage that relates the chain of the Oral Torah's passage down through the centuries. Because the Oral Torah was considered to go back to Moses it was considered just as authoritative as the written Torah.

Recall that Jesus referred to the teaching of the Rabbis sometimes as, "You have read" and sometimes, "You have heard it said", reflecting both the written and oral nature of rabbinic teaching:

The Mishnah's own account of its origin and history of the Oral Law is given in the tractate Aboth. At the same time that the Written Law was given from Sinai, the Oral Law, too, was delivered to Moses, and handed down (orally) in turn to the leaders of successive generations – to Joshua, to the Elders (Joshua 24:31), to the Prophets, to the 'Men of the Great Synagogue' (the body of teachers who administered and taught the Law after the time of Ezra), to Simeon the Just (c.280 or 200 B.C., one of 'the remnants of the men of the Great Synagogue'), to Antigonus of Soko; then, in turn, to the five 'Pairs of leaders' – Jose ben Joezer and Jose ben Johanan (c.165 B.C.), Joshua ben Perahyah and Nittai the Arbelite, Judah ben Tabbai and Simeon ben Shetach, Shemaiah and Abtalion, and Hillel and Shammai. Thus the chain of tradition was brought to the threshold of the Christian era.

On account of this chain of reliable men it is considered that the Oral Torah is of equal authority to the Written Torah in Judaism. As the Introduction to the translation of the Mishnah states, after the above paragraph:

The Mishnah, in other words, maintains that the authority of those rules, customs, and interpretations which had accumulated around the Jewish system of life and religion was equal to the authority of the Written Law itself, even though they had no place in the Written Law.

Students of the Rabbis

Along with the culture of oral traditions went the zeal for the Scriptures of every student from a Jewish background. The abiding issue was to know just what was expected in how to live in every part of life. The Mitzvot (Commandments) were obligatory and binding and it was a person's duty to apply them into his or her life.

Even though both the Written and Oral Torah were assumed to have been passed on flawlessly they still needed to be interpreted in every generation. Hence the Councils of Elders determined halakhah, whether in the Synagogue Bet Din at local level, or through the Sanhedrin, on more weighty matters, at national level. Though the origin of the term halakhah (also spelled halachah) is to walk out one's duty to God, it became a legal term meaning, to a Jew, those things that were legally binding on his life.

As each generation interpreted the Torah into halakhah, to know just how to live, halakhah became less about relationship with God and more an expression of legal duty."

On matters of Torah, a member of the Jewish community should seek guidance from his Rabbi on matters which needed interpretation. There were also rules for whose interpretations were binding. For example, in Popular Halachah: A Guide to Jewish Living (edited by Avnere Tomaschoff and sponsored by the World Conference of Jewish Organisations, 1985) it states:

The halachic decision of a contemporary Rabbi is binding upon the person who poses the question; he may not attempt to receive a more lenient opinion by bringing the same question to another Rabbi unless he advises the second Rabbi of the opinion that he had previously received.

This was the background to the Jewish world of the Apostles in Jerusalem at the meeting recorded in Acts 15. They met as a Bet Din to discuss how the Gentiles coming to faith should be brought into the community where the laws and traditions of Torah were to be interpreted and it was to be discovered what was obligatory and binding.

This was the background of the Bet Din in Jerusalem in Acts 15: how should Gentiles be brought into the community steeped in the interpreted laws and traditions of the Torah?

The most prominent issue was whether circumcision was necessary for Gentile converts, but implicit in the deliberations was every aspect of the Torah, since to be circumcised in the flesh implied coming under the authority of the teachers of Judaism according to the current traditions.

Freedom to Learn

With these thoughts in the background, we realise that the Acts 15 meeting was simply a meeting in Jerusalem of those with authority from Jesus, guided by God's Spirit (in the continuity of Covenant history and Jewish tradition), to see how Gentile converts should approach Torah. Was there a new way or should Gentile converts come under the authority of the rabbis?

An inspired conclusion was reached. A letter was sent out to new believers in the Gentile world, after which the Gospel continued to go out into the Gentile world with spiritual power. The four things that are mentioned in the letter were not binding in the sense of normal Jewish halakhah, but very important and necessary, nevertheless, for the good of every believer:

The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law" -- to whom we gave no such commandment -- it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. (Acts 15:23-29)

Both the content of the letter and the spirit of the letter are important. The four things mentioned are also known as the Noahide Laws, principles traditionally thought to have been given to Noah after the Flood, and so for all mankind. This does not mean that these are the only four things relevant to believers from the Old Testament. Noah was a man of faith and fellowship with God, just as Abraham was; faith was the major principle of the Old Testament as well as the New. Neither Noah nor Abraham knew the Torah ('Law') in the sense that it was given through Moses, but they both had a heart to walk closely with the living God (the true halakhah, one might say).

In all generations, the one thing of which a person must be careful in seeking to walk with the true God is to avoid those things that might be a seduction towards following false gods. The four injunctions contained in the letter were typical of the traps to avoid if one was to not be seduced into idolatry. Thus the letter, the ruling from the Acts 15 meeting (so to speak), warned new believers to beware of following false gods so that they might learn to walk out their faith in fellowship with the One True God of Israel.

Each of the four Noahic principles given to new believers referred to typical traps which might seduce them into following false gods. They were intended to protect and support their faith and fellowship with the One True God."

Secondly, we see in the spirit of the letter that was foreseen by Jeremiah of the New Covenant:

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. (Jer 31:33-34)

The reason why other aspects of Torah were not specifically mentioned is that the Holy Spirit inspired the elders in Jerusalem to see that, in future, Torah would be studied in terms of New Covenant revelation, in which the Holy Spirit would be the agent of such revelation. The emphasis was to be on teaching those with a heart to learn more than through externally imposed obligations.

The remainder of God's law would not be externally imposed, but written on the hearts of believers through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, as Jeremiah had previously prophesied. "

Relevance Today

It was not that a new religion was beginning, but that the faith and walk of Abraham was to be brought to the Gentile world by the power of the Holy Spirit. This was nevertheless a continuity of Covenant history within the context of the Jewish traditions of authority and searching out the interpretation of Torah for the emerging sect of the Jews into which Gentile converts were grafted.

We continue to live in the flow of Covenant history. We are connected to our history through the Council of Jerusalem of Acts 15. Through this Council, or Bet Din (as we now understand it), we learned not about the departure from the Jewish Roots of our faith but how Torah and halakhah would be taken to the Gentile world by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Through Acts 15, we learn not about departing from the Jewish roots of our faith, but how Torah and halakhah - the faith and walk of Abraham - would be taken to the Gentiles through the power of the Holy Spirit."

With freedom to learn for everyone who is a disciple of Yeshua, our Jewish and Hebraic roots are as secure as for anyone in the Covenant community, right through from Abraham's day to our own.

For Study and Prayer

1. In the light of what we have considered concerning the context and interpretation of Acts 15, how should Christians approach study of the Old Testament?
2. Do you see any parallels with the way the rabbis exercised authority through tradition with what happens in some branches of the Christian Church today?

Next time: Paul and the Torah

These studies are developed from the course Christianity's Relationship with Israel and the Jews, first prepared for Tishrei Bible School.

In the first part of a study of Acts 15, Clifford Denton considers the pivotal moment in the First Century when the apostles and elders met to consider conditions for membership of Gentile converts in the covenant family of Israel.

Acts 15

Acts 15 records a decisive moment in the First Century Church. The gospel was going out into the Gentile world for the first time, and many were coming to faith. The New Covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit was a new experience. These rapid developments were raising many questions amongst Jewish believers in Messiah: how did they relate to the accepted teaching of 'the Law' according to rabbinic tradition? What were the obligations on new believers in Israel's Messiah?

In Jerusalem, the apostles and elders gathered to consider these questions. Not only was this a significant moment for the Christian Church, but it also marked a point of separation between Jews and Christians. But do we have a clear understanding of what was going on at the so-called 'Council of Jerusalem'?

Councils have played a prominent role in Church history, but what was happening in Acts 15? Was this the first Church Council, or was it a typically Jewish way of resolving disputes? Indeed, was it even a biblical way of resolving disputes? Let us consider how the meeting of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem was an application of an already-existing principle, through which those in authority met to consider issues of importance, leading to rulings on behalf of the community.

The 'council' held in Acts 15 was a significant moment for the early Church. But was it a point of separation and departure, or unity and continuity?

A Church Council?

In Our Father Abraham (Eerdmans, 1989), Dr Wilson describes the Council of Jerusalem as "the watershed for the entire book of Acts" (p48). He continues:

The council handed down its decision: Non-Jews entering the Church should not have the Jewish rite of circumcision imposed on them. In its decision the council emphasized the principle of God's free grace in Christ. Gentiles were to know that to stand in the liberty of Christ meant no preconditions or potentially entangling qualifications. So stated, the council ruled out any theological necessity of circumcision for righteousness.

Gentiles should be clear on this point: salvation was a gift of God; one could not procure or obtain it by mere conformity to any ceremonial ritual. [emphasis added]

Separation or Continuity?

What was the background to this meeting of the leaders in Jerusalem? Was this a new thing breaking out to launch the principles by which a fledgling Christian Church was to live? Were the implications that Jewish law was now replaced? It is possible to read this chapter of Acts and filter it through a mind-set that the Christian Church was a completely new thing separate from Judaism. It is therefore possible to fuel the view that grace now replaced law and that the Church replaced Israel.

However, with careful consideration, we see that there is continuity and not separation. Indeed, what was happening goes back to the time of Moses. When we look at it this way we might even challenge the traditional terminology that Acts 15 was a Church Council. This is particularly so when the idea of a 'Church Council' has generally been applied to later meetings of Church leaders which led to much greater and unnecessary separation from Jewish roots. One such council was the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, at the time when Christianity was being merged into the Roman Empire!

It is easy to filter Acts 15 through a mind-set that the Church was a completely new thing, separate from Judaism and replacing Israel. However, more careful consideration shows continuity in Acts 15, not separation."

The Tradition of Elders

It can be argued that the tradition that led to the coming together of apostles and elders in Acts 15 had its origin with Moses. This goes back to the time when Jethro, his father-in-law, gave him some sound advice:

Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God, and you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.

Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. (Ex 18:19-22)

This appointment of elders is comparable to the instruction that Paul gave to Titus:

For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you - if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. (Titus 1:5-9)

From the time of Moses, authority for giving rulings on how to apply Torah was delegated to reliable leaders of the community – the older and wiser men. Up to the time of Jesus this authority was with the Sanhedrin for the major decisions, and the local synagogue would have its own elders who 'sat in Moses' seat'. Thus when Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders it was from this tradition that he was drawing.

The tradition of appointing elders to judge how God's law should be applied in different circumstances goes back to the time of Moses."

In this regard, one of the functions of the elders in the Synagogue was to hold a 'Bet Din' ('House of Ruling') on new issues that came up for decision. This was a place of authority comparable with law courts today. The Bet Din took Torah as the foundation of all ruling and interpreted the principles into 'halakhah' for the people (rulings on the way they should walk/live their lives).

Acts 15: a 'Bet Din'

Thus, when we come to Acts 15, it may be seen as a Bet Din, where those in a position of authority met to discuss a new issue that had arisen among believers. The new issue was that many were becoming believers from among the Gentiles by the power of the Holy Spirit, but without any particular knowledge of the Torah and the way it was being taught by the Rabbis of the day. So a Bet Din was formed in Jerusalem.

The Council of Jerusalem was a 'Bet Din', a traditional meeting of those in authority to discuss a new issue that had arisen among believers. It was not a new thing- simply the first major one since the beginning of the Gentile harvest."

This must be seen as the natural thing for the apostles to do, going back to the time of Moses, rather than as a new thing in the Christian Church. It would not have been the first time these leaders met to discuss matters of Torah and halakhah, but it was the first major meeting regarding the role of Torah among those converted from a Gentile background. Unlike most Church Councils in later centuries, when Christianity had largely separated from its Jewish roots, this Bet Din was embedded in, and flowed out of, its Jewish heritage.

New Authority Structure

Whilst the Bet Din recorded in Acts 15 was not a unique concept, it was unique in its being led by the new Church leaders- the apostles and elders –rather than by the traditional Rabbinical hierarchy of Judaism. As the only 'Church Council' recorded in Scripture, in it we see a new authority structure coming into being for the New Covenant community, instituted by Jesus.

Jesus entered a world in which, through Moses, God had already delegated authority to community leaders. Jesus did not challenge the delegated authority, though he did challenge the leaders' interpretation of the Torah, especially in their own lifestyles:

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. (Matt 23:1-3)

After recognising the delegated authority of the existing leaders, Jesus later confirmed that as the Son of God, all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him (Matt 28:18). Before his ascension into heaven, he then gave authority to his apostles to minister in his name on earth. He also told them:

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matt 18:18-20)

"In my name", in this sense, can be understood as being according to Jesus' authority. Jesus confirmed that he would uphold the decisions of those in authority and also be among them, by the presence of his Spirit, as they sought agreement in his name.

The Bet Din in Acts 15 displays the new authority structure of the New Covenant Church, being led by elders and apostles, not the traditional Rabbinic hierarchy.

The Fig Tree: a Symbol of Authority to Interpret Scripture

Another relevant symbol here is the cursing of the fig tree, when Jesus spoke to a fruitless fig tree and caused it to wither (Matt 23:21-23):

And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?"

Why did Jesus respond in this way towards a fig tree? Under the shade of a fig tree was a common location for Torah students to study and pray. Hence, the fig tree had become symbolic of sitting under the authoritative teaching of the Rabbis, and therefore the authority of the Rabbis to interpret Torah. By cursing the fig tree, Jesus was hinting about the removal of authority to teach from those who were not interpreting God's word correctly. This can be tied in with Matthew 21:43:

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

Here the word 'nation' is the Greek 'ethnos'. This has a range of meanings but from the context, we can say that it means another group of people, implying that authority would be taken from those presently interpreting Torah to another group whom Jesus would designate.

New Authority Structure

This does not mean that Israel would now be cast out as a whole and the Church in the Gentile world take over with a new plan, but that a new authority structure would be defined among God's people. This authority was given to Jesus' disciples, as already promised in Matthew 16:19:

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Thus, when the apostles and elders met in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 15, we see the new authority structure coming into being for the Covenant Community. The Holy Spirit was among them to confirm what Jesus had promised and the phrase, 'it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us' (Acts 15:28), is significant in this respect. It is a confirmation that authority to interpret the teaching of God (Torah) had been passed on to the leaders of the New Covenant community.

At the Jerusalem council, the elders and apostles of the New Covenant community led under the guidance and confirmation of the Holy Spirit."

That new authority structure was operating at the Jewish elders meeting in Jerusalem. It was a continuity of the authority structure first given through Moses by God, now confirmed through Jesus for the new move of his Spirit into the Gentile world.

For Study and Prayer

If the meeting of the apostles and elders in Acts 15 is a continuation of the traditions handed down from the time of Moses, does this have implications for meetings of church elders today, and for the relationship between Jews and Christians in the New Covenant community?

Next time: We will continue to consider the meeting of Acts 15.

These studies are developed from the course 'Christianity's Relationship with Israel and the Jews', first prepared for Tishrei Bible School.

A Tribute by the Revd Dr Clifford Hill

Lance Lambert has had an outstanding ministry of huge significance for relationships between Jews and Christians. His father was a member of an aristocratic family in Italy but as a Jew, he feared for his family when Mussolini joined forces with Hitler. He sent his wife and two children to England, where she changed her name in case Hitler won the war and persecution reached these shores. As a Messianic believer, Lance was in a unique position in Jerusalem where he was accepted as a wise counsellor by many in leadership in Israel. He kept a kosher household so that his orthodox friends would always feel comfortable in his home.

Lance Lambert has had an outstanding ministry of huge significance for relationships between Jews and Christians."

I've known Lance since the days of his ministry at Halford House in the Richmond area of London back in the 1970s in the early days of the Charismatic Movement, when he was already an established leader. His ministry at Halford House was always biblical and even in those days showed his interest in the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith - which was long before he made Aliyah to Israel. He also had a considerable interest in the prophetic ministry which grew out of his love for the prophets of ancient Israel and their role in the history of the nation.

Journey to Faith

After he settled in Jerusalem, my wife and I often spent time with him in his home on our visits to Israel. He talked about his family and how his father was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. They never heard from him again. His mother rarely spoke about their Jewish family background. Then one day, there was a tent mission near their home and Lance's sister went with some friends and responded to the call for salvation. She came home full of it and Lance's mother reacted strongly, forbidding her to go again. Lance was so intrigued by his mother's reaction that he went to the mission the following day and he also responded to the gospel which was the beginning of his Christian life. It was only after this that he learned about his Jewish past and it wasn't really until he was pastoring the church in Richmond that he began to take it a particular interest in his family history.

Lance's ministry was always biblical, and even in its early days showed his interest in the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith."

His home in West Jerusalem (near the Windmill) was full of antiques and I remember over the stairs there was a wall hanging that he said was of great historical interest and was of the same era as the Turin Shroud. Having a conversation with Lance in his home was usually in competition with two very noisy parrots but it was always worthwhile to listen to his scholarship and to benefit from his great knowledge of Israel and the contemporary Middle East.

A Word about Syria

He lived in the area where most of the ruling class of Israeli politicians and businessmen lived, so he knew most members of the Cabinet and he was always well-informed on contemporary issues. On one occasion my wife and I were enjoying a Shabbat meal at his table and I told him that I'd had a strong word of warning which I believed to be from the Lord that there was an imminent attack coming from Syria within a few days. It was Friday 13 April 1984, which was just prior to Passover. It was not long after the bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut and most Western forces were being withdrawn from Lebanon, leaving Syria the dominant force in the Middle East.

Lance thought it highly unlikely, as there was no special alert and Israeli military intelligence was usually very efficient. We returned to England the following day and we listened to every news bulletin over the next day or two but there was no incident, so we concluded that I must have been mistaken in the word that I thought I had heard. But a month later Lance came to London and telephoned asking me to meet him. He sounded excited and I arranged to go to Richmond the next day. This is the remarkable story he told me.

Early on the Saturday morning, Lance called to see one of his neighbours who was the Minister of Defence in the Government, who dismissed the suggestion of an impending attack from Syria but promised to check with the military. Two hours later he came to Lance's house and began asking numerous questions about me; who I worked for and questions about my background. The Minister was convinced that I must have high-level contacts in Syria as satellite information revealed the massing of military forces in southern Syria moving towards the Golan Heights with an imminent invasion possible. Within hours Israel was on full military alert so Lance began calling Messianic leaders inviting them to meet in his home on Sunday afternoon. They concluded that if God had revealed this to them they should do something about it.

Saved in the Storm

They began a time of fervent intercession for the protection of Israel. By 6 o'clock that Sunday evening a storm swept across the land and struck Jerusalem with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain. Storms in Israel at that time of year are very unusual and this was a storm of great intensity. Lance said the noise was so great that they had to shout to hear each other praying and he expected a tree in the yard to come crashing through the window at any moment. The storm continued right through Monday 16 April and through to Tuesday 17, covering the whole of Israel, southern Lebanon, southern Syria and parts of Jordan.

On Wednesday 18 Lance met the Minister, who quietly said "Lance, the storm saved us". He reported that intelligence indicated that there was to have been a missile attack followed by a full-scale assault by tanks and troops, but the ground was so soft that heavy armoured vehicles would not have been able to make progress. Once the surprise element was lost the planned assault had been cancelled. He also told Lance that Israeli intelligence had been checking his friend in London but that so far they had been unable to identify my source of information! Lance thought that was hugely funny and he said that he hoped they would soon find out.

Lance was wise, generous and loving. He will be greatly missed for the hugely influential ministry that he exercised."

This incident firmly established my friendship with Lance. I learned a lot from him: he was wise, generous and loving and he will be greatly missed for the hugely influential ministry that he exercised. After that incident in 1984, Lance gladly agreed to be one of the leaders of the prophetic gatherings at Mt Carmel and in Jerusalem, some two years later in 1986. He played an important part in both these meetings. At Carmel he received an important prophecy which is still quoted today (click here for a full transcript). It spoke of the shaking of the nations which he believed began with the First World War and was about to escalate in line with the prophecy of Haggai 2 and Hebrews 12 and the warnings that Jesus gave concerning the end times.

As a Messianic Jew, Lance was in a unique position as a bridge between Christians and Jews in Israel. He was a man with a mission, raised by God at a special time in history. He was surely a forerunner of what St Paul in Ephesians describes as "the one new man" – fully accepted by both Jew and Gentile – a very precious brother.

Long may his influence continue!

Helen Belton looks at the history and significance of Pentecost, or Shavuot, the biblical 'Feast of Weeks'.

Shavuot in the Hebrew Bible

Easter and Passover coincided this year and so this Sunday (24 May) begins the Jewish festival of Shavuot, known to Christians as Pentecost, referring to the fiftieth day after Passover.

There were three feasts at which the Lord required the men of Israel to go up to Jerusalem to present themselves before him, known as the pilgrim feasts: Passover (Pesach in Hebrew transliteration), Pentecost (Shavuot meaning 'Weeks' in Hebrew) and Tabernacles (or 'Booths', Succot in Hebrew) (Ex 23:14-16). Jesus, the disciples and the early Church celebrated these feasts.

Shavuot or the 'Feast of Weeks' is so called because of its connection in time to Passover. The Israelites were instructed as follows in Deuteronomy 16:9-10:

You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name.

So, from Passover you count off seven weeks (or 49 days) until the fiftieth day, Pentecost (from the Greek for 'fiftieth'). The counting period between the two feasts is known as the counting of the Omer. 'Omer' is Hebrew for 'sheaf': agriculturally, Pentecost marks the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. So, you are counting the sheaf to see when it is ripe for harvest.

The Anglican Church has kept the relationship between the two festivals: the Easter season continues for 50 days until Pentecost. At Easter we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus and at Pentecost we celebrate the giving of his Spirit. Many Christians are not aware that Pentecost was an ancient festival long before its mention in Acts. Acts 1:5 says that there were "staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven". What were they doing there? Celebrating Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks.

Shavuot in the time of Jesus

Like all the pilgrim feasts, Shavuot was a harvest festival. At the Temple in Jerusalem, the first fruits of the harvest, known as the Seven Species, were offered. These are: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates, listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as the fruits in which the land of Israel was rich.

Farmers would tie a reed around the first ripening fruits from each of these species in their fields. At the time of harvest, the fruits identified by the reed would be cut and placed in baskets woven of gold and silver.

The baskets would then be loaded on oxen whose horns were gilded and laced with garlands of flowers, to be led in a grand procession to Jerusalem. As they travelled, the people sang praises to God and rejoiced in his goodness. Priests would meet the pilgrims on the edge of the city and lead them up to the Temple Mount with music, psalms of praise and dance.

At the Temple, the priest would take the sheaves, the firstfruits of the harvest, and wave some in every direction. By doing so, the whole crowd would be acknowledging God's faithful provision and sovereignty over all the earth.

The priests also waved two loaves baked with yeast before the Lord, as prescribed in Leviticus 23:17-21. This was unusual because normally yeast was not to be present in a sacrifice to the Lord, since yeast represents sin in scripture.

How Shavuot is celebrated today

Today the celebration of Shavuot has changed drastically. With no Temple, there can be no waving of the Omer, offering of neither the first fruits nor the waving of the two loaves.

People decorate their homes and synagogues with flowers and greenery because this was originally a harvest festival. The Torah or Law is celebrated because Shavuot was the time of the giving of the Law through Moses at Mount Sinai. Because of this key historical significance of Shavuot, it is also traditional for Jewish men to stay up all night studying the Torah and for Jewish children, age five, to begin their first formal studies of the Torah.

The book of Ruth is read because the story occurred around the time of the harvest and also because Ruth is seen as a great example of someone who voluntarily took upon herself the yoke of the Law. Shavuot is also the anniversary of the death of King David, who was the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz.

Viewed through New Testament eyes, we can see that Ruth's story also shows the determination of a Gentile to seek God and to be attached to his people. Boaz typifies the loving-kindness of our Redeemer, his compassion and admiration for Ruth's faith and commitment to his people causing him to accept his role as kinsman-redeemer and enter into covenant relationship with her in marriage. In the same way the Lord entered into covenant with Israel, like a marriage covenant, with the Ten Commandments (known as 'the 10 Words' in Hebrew) as the wedding certificate (Heb. ketubah).

The book of Ruth is often read at Shavuot. Through New Testament eyes, Ruth shows the determination of a Gentile to seek God and to be attached to his people."

Traditionally, foods made from milk products are eaten at Shavuot such as cheesecake, blintzes (cheese crepes), kreplach (triangle dumplings), and holiday loaves representing the two loaves waved and eaten in the Temple. It is thought dairy products are eaten because the Promised Land was a land of "milk and honey", and as Song of Songs 4:11 says: "Like honey and milk [the Torah, by interpretation] lies under your tongue."

There is also a theory that because the Jews only received the Torah at Mount Sinai (the reason Shavuot is celebrated), they didn't have the laws of how to slaughter and prepare meat prior to this. When they received the Torah and the commandments about ritual slaughter and the separation law of "do not cook a kid in its mother's milk" (Ex 34:26) leading to the complete separation of meat and milk products in traditional Jewish cuisine, they didn't have time to prepare meat dishes, so they ate dairy instead.¹

In the morning service in synagogues on Pentecost, Exodus 19 and 20 are read (the giving of the 10 Commandments). The congregation stands because you are to hear the word of the Lord in awe, as though standing at the base of Mount Sinai and personally receiving these words from God. Ezekiel 1 and 2 are also read, which describe visions of God surrounded by wind and cloud, flashes of lightning and brilliant light, just as in Exodus 19:6 it says there was "thunder and lightning with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast."

Shavuot and the land of Israel

Five days after the Six Day War ended in 1967, over 200,000 Jews flocked to Jerusalem. One eyewitness said:

It was biblical, like a pilgrimage. On that Shavuot, people felt that Mashiach [Messiah] was in the air. I've never known such an electric atmosphere before or since. Wherever, we were stopped, we began to dance. Holding aloft Torah scrolls we swayed and danced and sang at the tops of our voices. So many of the Psalms and songs are about Jerusalem and Zion and the words reached into us a new life. As the sky lightened, we reached the Zion gate. Still singing and dancing, we poured into the narrow alleyways beyond.²

With the reunification of the city of Jerusalem in 1967, a custom to 're-enact' the festival pilgrimage began. Every year, hundreds of people stream on foot from throughout Jerusalem to arrive at the Kotel (Western Wall) early Shavuot morning in order to pray at a sunrise service.³

Every year in Jerusalem since the end of the Six Day War in 1967, hundreds of people re-enact the festival pilgrimage."

Since then, more Jewish people have become believers in Jesus as Messiah than at any previous time in history. Before 1967, there were no Messianic congregations in Israel and now there are over 150.⁴

The link between Passover and Shavuot/Pentecost: redemption and revelation

Passover and Shavuot were connected because of the two harvests and the counting of the Omer- the 50 days. But they are also connected in a deeper way.

God brought redemption at the first Passover: in the exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people were freed from being slaves to Pharaoh. Then, 50 days later at Shavuot, they accepted the Torah (God's Law given through Moses) and became a nation bound to the Lord. If they were fully obedient and kept this covenant "then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:5-6).

The Torah kept God's people even if they did not keep the Torah in all its fullness. So a new covenant was needed for them and to bring in the nations of the world. Messiah Jesus came and died at Passover (the Messiah is our Passover Lamb, says Paul, in 1 Cor 5:7). 50 days later, at Shavuot or Pentecost, he sent his Spirit to create a renewed holy nation, "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Pet 2:9).

However, redemption is not the end of the story. God redeems for a purpose: in order to reveal. Shavuot is about revelation: first of the word (the Torah) and then of the Spirit. Exactly 50 days after the first Passover, God gave the Torah to Israel and so Israel was born as a nation, as a called-out, chosen people, priests to the world.

Shavuot is not just about redemption, it's about revelation: revelation of the word and of the Spirit."

About 1500 years later, at that same festival of Shavuot in Jerusalem, 50 days after Jesus gave his life at Passover, God poured out his Spirit to seal the covenant with his renewed bride, the body of believers in Messiah (which was 100% Jewish at that point).

In Acts 1 we read that the disciples were together in one place, an upper room. We assume that the disciples were still in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came (Acts 2:1) but they would have been at the Temple, because that is where Pentecost was celebrated. "All together in one place" suggests somewhere large enough to accommodate all the disciples, not just the 12.

Also, Acts 2:41 says that 3,000 were added to the believers that day, so it would have had to be an enormous upper room! Peter addressed the crowd of pilgrims who had come for the Feast at the place it was celebrated, their national and spiritual centre, the Temple in Jerusalem. Those 3,000 were immediately baptised and the only place where that was possible was at the Temple.

The Lord promised in Haggai 2:9 regarding the Second Temple that:

'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty.

This promise was fulfilled as the Prince of Peace stood in the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles and declared that those who would turn to him would experience streams of living water flowing through them (John 7).⁵ Jesus was speaking of his Spirit, and on the fiftieth day after his death at Passover- at Pentecost -his Spirit was poured out like water over his disciples in the presence of all Israel gathered for the feast of Shavuot,coming to rest on each as tongues of fire. The onlookers were invited to join with the disciples, and those who did became the Body of believers in Messiah: the early Church.

From death to life: repentance and faith

Just as the Spirit of Messiah revived and cleansed their spirits, so their bodies were washed as a sign by baptism or, as it is known in Jewish tradition, the mikveh or ritual bath. At the Second Temple site, archaeologists have uncovered many ritual baths (pl. mikvot). These mikvot were used for ceremonial cleansing before entering the Temple, but also for immersion as a sign of repentance.

At Sinai, 3,000 died because they turned from the Lord to idolatry with the golden calf (Ex 32:28). In Jerusalem, 3,000 were brought to spiritual life as they returned to the Lord in repentance and faith in the Messiah (Acts 2:41).

At Sinai, 3,000 died because they turned away from the Lord. In Jerusalem, 3,000 were brought to spiritual life as they turned back to God in repentance and faith in Jesus as Messiah"

Mount Sinai was covered in smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire (Ex 19:18) and 70 elders of Israel saw the Lord and prophesied, but at Mount Zion in Jerusalem the Holy Spirit descended like tongues of fire on all the believers and they all prophesied – men, women, young and old as Joel 2:28 foretold: "I will pour out my Spirit on all people". The miracle of Pentecost was not just the ability to speak another language supernaturally, but that all the believers prophesied.

Even more significant is the wider fulfilment of prophecy to Israel. At Pentecost the Lord demonstrated that he had not finished with Israel. He proved his covenant faithfulness by making his new Jeremiah 31 covenant with the people he had restored from exile:

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls (Joel 2:32).

We think that Pentecost is about the birth of the Church, but it is about the rebirth of Israel.

At the time of the first Pentecost, the only believers in Jesus were Jews. In due course, foreigners would join with Israel: not all Israel believed and so "branches were broken off" from the olive tree of faith so that wild, pagan branches from among the nations (or Gentiles) could be grafted in (Rom 11:17-19).

The aim of giving the Torah and giving the Spirit was the same: to enable a holy God to indwell a sinful, but chosen people.

The aim of giving the Torah and giving the Spirit was the same: to enable a holy God to indwell a sinful, but chosen people."

God with us - and in us

"Let the people build me a sanctuary", the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 25:8, but he does not say 'so that I may dwell in it', but 'so that I may dwell in them'.

We may think that we search for God, but God is searching for us in order to indwell us.

At Mount Zion, the new covenant of Jeremiah 31 was fulfilled. Previously, God's law was written on tablets of stone, but now it is written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. At Sinai the covenant of circumcision was given, a mark in the flesh as a sign of covenant. At Mount Zion, the sign of the covenant was "circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code" (Rom 2:29).

After Pentecost, even Gentiles, we who were far off, were brought in to God's kingdom: as Peter said:

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. (Acts 15:8-9)

So even the Gentiles could become temples of the Spirit of the living God (1 Cor 6:19). We are "living stones", a collective temple of God's Spirit, as Peter puts it, who "are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood" (1 Pet 2:9).

Christians often talk about 'going up' to heaven, but the story of the Bible is about God coming down"

Christians often talk about going up to heaven when we die. But the story of the Bible is about God coming down: in creation, at Sinai, in Jesus, at Pentecost and eventually in the new heaven, the new earth and the new Jerusalem, when God will live with us (Rev 21:3).

Israel reborn

So, at Pentecost Israel was reborn: a renewed called-out people (Heb. kahal, Gk. Ekklesia, Eng. church). It was an all-Jewish body of believers at this stage. Those Jewish believers visiting from the nations, from the Jewish diaspora, became the first emissaries of the gospel, fulfilling prophecy: the word of the Lord did indeed go forth from Mount Zion and from Jerusalem, as Isaiah 2 and Micah 4 prophesied.

'Diaspora' is a Greek word that literally means "through scattered". Those same seeds that had been harvested for the Lord at Pentecost were re-scattered among the nations as they returned to their homes, forming part of a new spiritual diaspora. Exiles from the future kingdom of God, their true home, they were seeds scattered through the nations to bring the gospel to the known world.

Peter wrote to these Jewish believers as follows: "To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces" (1 Pet 1). They were seeds fallen to the ground, with some dying for the gospel, and Peter wrote to encourage them as they were undergoing Roman persecution for their faith.

The harvest extended to the Gentiles so that, as Ephesians 2 says, non-Jews are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God's people, joined to the commonwealth of Israel. The loaves made with yeast that the priest waved on the day of Pentecost symbolise the harvest of sinful man from among both the Jews and the Gentiles.

Jesus became the firstfruits from among the dead (1 Cor 15:20) when he rose from the dead at Passover, fulfilling a part of that festival called the 'Feast of First Fruits'. At Pentecost he is joined by Jewish and Gentile believers, symbolised by the two loaves. So, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, both Jew and Gentile, is united as "one new man" as Ephesians 2:15 says.

A Ruth Church

Like Ruth, whose story is read at Shavuot, the Gentile woman who followed her Jewish mother-in-law Naomi back to the Promised Land and through kindness and obedience followed a greater destiny than she could have imagined, Gentile believers in Jesus also say, "Your God will be my God."

Where are the Ruths in the Gentile church who will make Israel "envious" (Rom 11:11) through kindness and attractive obedience to God's word? They are still few in number. We must reject the stay-at-a-distance criticism and hostility which has been typical of the Church's dealings with the Jewish people historically and is often still the case today, although now it is directed at re-gathered Israel, the nation.

Will we become the Ruth Church that we were destined to be, loving and supporting Naomi, our frailer, older relative, Israel?"

Will we become the Ruth Church that we were destined to be, loving and supporting Naomi, our frailer, older relative, Israel? Will we draw near to the Lord and to his people, as the Lord desired at Sinai and at Jerusalem in the giving of his Law and Spirit, so he can indwell us and unite us as "one new humanity" of Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:15)? Or will we stay at a distance (Ex 15:21) as Israel did at Sinai, so that only Moses heard the voice of the Lord?

Acknowledgement: with thanks to the late Dr Dwight A. Pryor of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies (teaching available via www.jcstudies.com and www.cfi.org.uk) for his insights on this subject.

References

1 Gordon-Bennett, C. Why do Jews eat dairy on Shavuot?

2 Voices of Jerusalem-Crowd of Tears, Hadassah Magazine 77, No.9, May 1996: 23.

3 Domnitch, L, 2000. The Jewish Holidays: A Journey Through History. Jason Aronson.

4 Directory of Messianic Organizations in Israel.

5 This resonates with the water libation ceremony that took place at the Feast of Tabernacles, which also connects to Shavuot- but that is a subject for a further study.

The ministry of Prophecy Today has its roots in two significant conferences which were held in Israel climaxing at Easter 1986. First, a leadership group of 153 met in an isolated location on the eastern summit of Mount Carmel. This was followed by a large international conference of 5000 in Jerusalem.

These two conferences were foundational in setting the direction for the early years of the magazine Prophecy Today. We have been witnessing the Lord accomplishing His revealed purposes in the nations ever since - and are still doing so today. We are therefore publishing a brief review of those events and their immediate aftermath here.

Review

Strategic Purpose
The Lord speaks to His people
The Lord's message -- shaking the nations
The Lord's message and the end of Soviet might
The Lord's message -- Israel and the Church
Watching the prophecies unfold