In this short series we have sought to encourage Christians to work towards restoring the Hebraic foundations of the faith, whilst also maintaining balance.

In this article I would like to highlight an important reason for doing this – and my own primary motivation for beginning this quest. It was at a time of revelation that led me to the launch of a journal we called Tishrei.

Let me put this in the form of a testimony.

Days of Deception

During the mid-1980s I was very active in ministry to Muslims and also seeking to warn our nation about the growing challenge of Islam. That was a time of both challenge and expectation: a challenge concerning the spread of Islam and an expectation of a great work of salvation among Muslims. It was the challenge that led me to study the nature and intent of Islam in the world.

Later, this was followed by a commission to study the New Age Movement (a second major challenge of our day), working with the original Prophecy Today magazine and Prophetic Word Ministries. It turned out to be a deeply challenging piece of research into dark elements of deception impacting modern society.

There is a superficial glow to the New Age Movement that hides this deep darkness. At that time (the 1990s onwards) the superficiality was even becoming attractive to a growing number of Christian groups. There seemed to be a thirst for something new and many Christians were deceived by a false spirituality manifesting itself in aspects of ‘Green Christianity’, new age feminism, re-definition of Jesus the Messiah as The Cosmic Christ, a fascination with Buddhism and Hinduism and so on, including false spirituality manifesting itself in counterfeit gifts of the Spirit.

There is a superficial glow to the New Age Movement that hides its deep darkness.

These things were close enough to the truth to deceive many people. Entry points to New Age spirituality eventually lead into much deeper and darker areas.

Digging around in this area is deeply oppressive, so my prayer at that time was to ask the Lord if there was an expression of biblical truth that was far stronger than the growing deception. My desire was to proclaim truth to counter the darkness, rather than constantly uncover more aspects of the deception of the age.

A New Perspective on Israel

It was at this time, on a visit to Israel where I stayed for a short while with Messianic Jews, that I was asking the Lord for direction on a new journal that I was planning to launch. I woke one morning with the word Tishrei in my mind, a word that meant nothing to me as yet. My Jewish friend helped me to understand that this word meant ‘new beginning’ and was the name of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, the prophetic month pointing to the return of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

The month of Tishrei includes the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles - a sign that the name of this journal had an appropriate prophetic underpinning.

Thus began the journal Tishrei (see www.tishrei.org) and an eye-opening period of investigation into what we called (at the time) the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. My point here is not so much to highlight the existence of the journal – many such publications are now available – but to state that this seemed a very clear confirmation of the direction in which we were being led to combat deception.

The Western Church

Coincident with this was a continuing mission to Muslims where I met a number of converts from Islam. Many of them had left behind everything to become a Christian, including close family and community ties, even fleeing from their home country to avoid persecution, possibly death.

My desire was to proclaim truth to counter the darkness, rather than constantly uncover more aspects of the deception of the age.

Yet in coming to the Western Church many found coolness especially since ‘church’ seemed confined to Sunday services and a mid-week prayer meeting for many. Indeed, some of these new disciples of Yeshua were objects of fascination, asked to give their testimonies but experiencing only superficial fellowship.

Thus one important reason, at the time, for investigating the Hebraic foundations of the Christian Church was to investigate what we may have lost over the years of a Middle East framework for Christianity. Perhaps this framework would be much more appropriate for many Muslim converts, as well as for strengthening Western believers against growing deception.

Let us consider this.

End-Time Deception and Modern Worldviews

The Bible prophesies an end-time period of deep deception. It also points to a one-world system that will draw all nations under the control of the anti-Christ.

Surely there is an unrelenting progress towards both of these things in our day. As far as deceptive spirituality, goes it comes at us from many directions - at times imperceptibly. This spirituality develops a worldview of its own.

A worldview is a way of thinking through which everything is filtered. There are many influences on our worldviews today, including the relative morality of the age, evolutionary thinking, destruction of the biblical model of the family, and syncretism of many religions into one multi-faith system.

Deceptive spirituality comes at us from many directions – at times imperceptibly.

Modern worldviews have brought in changes of laws that have included the legalisation of abortion and various sexual orientations, and the ‘re-definition’ of marriage. What was unthinkable for one generation becomes the norm for another. Then, emphasis on ‘political correctness’, ‘defence of minorities’ and so on gradually suppresses those who would speak out. This is the nature of the spiritual battle.

Greece, Rome and Babylon

It is edifying to consider the natures of ancient Greece and Rome, linked also to Babylon - ancient empires that feature in biblical prophecy. The power of art to cultivate a worldview goes back to the days of the Greek Empire and is manifest today in all forms of media, including TV and film and also in other visual arts and music.

The polytheistic worldview integral to these empires is also similar to what is growing today. Similarly, the current focus on scientific thought, academic reasoning and modern philosophy manifests itself again in our day, more and more in enmity to faith in the One True God.

Included too in the Empires of Greece and Rome was a sort of self-worship of the human body, which again touches on aspects of today’s society which is so focussed on sporting achievement, personality cults and physical beauty. Another characteristic of these ancient empires is the power of central government maintained through militia and the courts, which has the potential to eventually turn against those seeking to live a life of faith in Messiah.

Imagine what a world system reminiscent of Rome would be like – strong centralisation of power cultivating a controlling and liberal polytheistic worldview, enforced through law and law enforcement, giving a sense of freedom but in reality leading very much to bondage for ordinary people.

The polytheistic, academic worldviews of Greek and Rome were very similar to what is growing today.

These are complex issues to analyse fully, but surely even a superficial study points to a sort of Greco-Roman-Babylonian empire that could emerge in the last days, towards which surely we are moving apace, overlapping what comes in the form of the New Age Movement. Will we see an emergence of a world based on the model of city-states with central government with Machiavellian counsellors in abundance, gradually ripening the world for the control of an anti-Christ?

When we recall that the Caesars were considered to be gods then it does not seem far-fetched to suggest that the developing worldview can be cultivated to accept this anti-Christ, who will be driven by the power of satan.

Humanism

If we consider that a definition of humanism is seeking after the glories of Greece and Rome (see also here) we can see how the worldview developing today has actually been influential over many centuries. The conflict of worldviews at the time of the Renaissance and Reformation shows us that the Christian Church did not emerge unscathed, compromising aspects of so-called Christendom with Greco-Roman worldviews.

Is that a central reason for Almighty God bringing a thirst to many Christians that will only be fully satisfied when we find the path to restoration of our Hebraic heritage, by pruning away humanism?

Is Almighty God not only bringing his covenant community to a unity of Jew and Gentile in their ancient walk with him, but also preparing us for these days of deception?

In restoring our Hebraic heritage, is Almighty God not only bringing unity to Jew and Gentile, but also preparing us for these days of deception?

If this is so, unless we respond to the call, something else will come to fill the vacuum, as we are already seeing in some vulnerable branches of the Christian Church succumbing to aspects of the spirit of the age.

“Think on those things which are good”, said Paul the Apostle (Phil 4:8). Deception need not be our primary focus if we are secure in truth. With stronger fellowships we will also be equipped to respond to the harvest for the Kingdom that is still coming in. Is this one of the central reasons for the restoration of the Christian Church to its original roots in our day?

Next time: Our ultimate goal.