Doctrinal Statement?

As we study, our interpretations are often forced to change. Any fixed statement we try to build becomes quickly obsolete, because in these last days with the stones crying out through archaeology and new finds about how things were done anciently, and as the Spirit of Holiness continues to reveal to us who we are and what it means to be Israelites, our understanding of what is actually being said increases exponentially, and we find that opinions we held yesterday or doctrines the Church forged centuries after the Apostles had died are simply no longer adequate, or lack the focus that would tie them together more consistently.

Therefore, our doctrinal statement is simply the Holy Scriptures in their entirety and seen as a cooperative whole rather than parts that more often than not are at odds with one another.

Click on the scroll for

more on principles of interpretation

Our Emphases

1. THE PRIMACY OF THE TORAH
While we recognize the value of the Renewed Covenant ("New Testament") as an important supplement helping us make the transition back into covenant with Yahweh, it must be interpreted in a way that does not in any way contradict the Torah. While we would never wish to minimize the crucial role of Yahshua in making our return from exile possible, and we do honor him as our anointed king, it is also clear that centuries of emphasis on his part in the process have obscured and often led to the neglect of our side of the covenant--obedience. To bring this to a more correct balance, we therefore emphasize the part we have to play in taking responsibility for our growth and maturity so that we will be well-equipped and ready for the Kingdom when Yahweh decides the time is right, rather than being strangers to the details of what will keep a Torah-based nation operating and spreading light to the nations when it is up to us to do so.

2. RESTORING YAHSHUA TO HIS TRUE HEBRAIC CONTEXT
He is the Messiah, which means he is anointed by another. He said he could do nothing but what he saw the Father doing. He is our only way back into relationship with the Father--our Kinsman-Redeemer. As the Word of Yahweh, everything he said and did showed us exactly what the Father is like. He is the perfect representative of Yahweh, now gone on ahead of us into the Kingdom from which time still divides us for a little longer. He is exalted as our "Head"--the first-born part of the "one new man" that Yahweh is creating to restore His image as it was lost in Adam.

Yahshua broke the ground and blazed the trail so that we could do as he said: "Follow Me." Part of this means observing the Sabbath and obeying the commandments that He kept perfectly. His "yoke"--his way of interpreting the Torah's demands--is "easy" and "light"--the very thing Yahweh had said at Mount Sinai: the commandments are not out of our reach; they can be right in your heart and on your tongue. Yahshua when seen in his proper light is not part of the idolatry that we have to jettison when leaving behind our pagan ways. He is the only way the Covenant of YHWH with Israel could be renewed after we broke our part of the bargain.

And Yahshua will return physically to war against the converged forces of rebellion against YHWH and set up his literal, earthly kingdom, ruling with a rod of iron for 1,000 years. We emphasize the fact that, whatever wrong things others may have said about him, he is the King of Israel, and that in itself deserves a very high degree of honor and homage. Our priority right now is to become and recruit worthy subjects so he will have a people ready to rule when he returns. After this he will submit the kingdom back to the Father as YHWH's direct presence is restored to a purified Eden and the New Yerushalayim, formed of the living stones He is shaping us to be, is finally complete.

3. YAHWEH'S CALENDAR
We meet on the Sabbath and observe all the Biblical Festivals, which all bespeak some aspect of Yahshua's life and mission. We have forsaken the holidays (e.g., December 25 and SUNday) that were added to make the Gospel more palatable to pagans. Such mixtures are forbidden by Torah and the prophets. We also reckon the months according to the New Moon as actually sighted in Jerusalem, rather than by a calendar designed for the interim period when sightings from the Land were not always possible, since instantaneous communication leaves us with no reason not to restore this ancient custom.

4. COMMUNITY
While the curse of "not being a people" still remained over Ephraim (see Hosea chapter 1), only a few years after Yahshua's death, the curse of "no mercy" came to an end for the scattered Northern Kingdom. Since then, individuals have been able to come back into covenant with Yahweh. But now that the other sentence has run its course, Israel is called to again become one people--a body that works together toward our common goal rather than only having a personal relationship with Yahshua. There is to be a leadership structure as in an army. We are called to help each member determine where he or she fits into the process of "harvesting grain" and putting away self by becoming "one bread" that is much more useful and satisfying to the Father. The ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4 correlate perfectly with each of these steps. The best way to do this is by living close together in physical community, as this context is much more conducive to "iron sharpening iron".

5. BRINGING THE NORTHERN TRIBES OF ISRAEL BACK TO THEIR ROOTS
We are somewhat of a "teachers' college" building well-grounded messengers of the restoration of the whole house of Israel. Yahweh told Ezekiel that the way to accomplish this was to confront the Northern Kingdom in particular with the plan of the Temple. Therefore much of our teaching focuses on learning the deeper spiritual meaning behind each aspect of the physical Temple.

6. YAHWEH'S PROPER NAME
Many prophets said that a major element in Ephraim's restoration would be a knowledge of Yahweh's Name. Over the centuries, through both deliberate subterfuge and well-meaning but misplaced piety, Yahweh's name has been replaced with not just euphemisms but also the names of outright pagan deities, often in an attempt to communicate a concept to people who were not familiar with the Elohim of Israel. In our day, He is allowing the widespread use of His name to be restored in both Judah and Israel. This is all the more reason to avoid profaning it (making it common). We do make use of divine titles (such as "Elohim" or "Adonai") as used in Scripture, but not as a substitute where the use of His true Name is warranted.