In June's Newsletter I sent out a communication making known my own concerns about recent theological shifts in the materials produced by First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ). In response to my article, FFOZ posted a statement entitled "Recent Theological Shifts at FFOZ" on their website.

After reading their statement, I thought it would be important to offer some further clarifications, and so I wrote an essay in which I gave specific examples that formed the basis for my initial concerns, examples taken from FFOZ's Study Guide and Commentary to Love and the Messianic Age, and statements transcribed from the "Grafted In" seminar. I sent the essay to the Director and to the Teaching Team at FFOZ, requesting a response. Their response (via email) stated that they understood my position but that they did not intend to engage in further dialog over the issues I raised. I am therefore making the essay available to those of you who are interested.

I want to make it clear that I am not passing judgment on the personal integrity or character of any of my brothers and sisters at First Fruits of Zion. Nor am I judging their motives or reasons for publishing certain materials or adopting new approaches to achieve their ministry goals. I affirm without hesitation that the teachers and writers at FFOZ are sincere in their desire to honor God, His Messiah Yeshua, and to produce materials that they believe will benefit the body of Messiah. My disagreements are with certain aspects of their recent teachings and the theological shifts that these teachings represent.

In this essay, I give specific examples of what I believe are serious and troubling theological shifts at FFOZ. If you are interested in reading the essay, you may download it by clicking on this link or by going to our home page where you will also find a link for download. The 24 page essay is in pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format. Please feel free to share it with others or forward the download link as you see fit.

Also, in the current issue of Messiah Journal (vol 101, August 2009), FFOZ has finally gone public about their abandonment of the "One Law" position. Many of you have emailed or called us regarding the recent Messiah Journal, and we are preparing a review of the pertinent articles, which will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

As we prepare our hearts for the awesome Festivals that are just weeks away, it is worthy that we contemplate the greatness of our salvation. Considering the holiness of God as revealed in the Scriptures provides the proper background against which we can appreciate what God has done for us in Messiah.

“So Great a Salvation”
Thoughts on the Holiness of God • Preparing to Hear the Shofar
Tim Hegg • TorahResource • 2009

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In the opening chapter of Hebrews, the author goes to great lengths to show that Yeshua is the exalted divine Messiah, the very one spoken of by Daniel the prophet, Who is seated on the throne of God, worshipped even by the angels. It was necessary for the author of this great epistle to begin in this way in order to lay the foundation for his primary message, namely, that the eternal salvation of sinners is possible only through Yeshua. Thus, he begins chapter two with these words:

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Heb 2:1–3)

Recently I have been meditating upon that phrase, “so great a salvation.” I don’t think it takes any of us very long to account why our salvation is so great—especially when we consider our unworthiness. But it is primarily when we get a glimpse of God’s holiness that we begin to grasp the magnitude of the salvation wrought for us in Yeshua, our Messiah.

Consider the well known text of the “Song of Moses” in Exodus 15, so familiar to us because of its inclusion in our morning prayers:

Who is like You among the gods, Adonai?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
(Ex 15:11)

The phrase that caught my attention recently is “majestic in holiness” (ne’dar bakodesh). The verb nadar means “to be held in great esteem,” thus the English versions (NASB, ESV, NIV, NET) use the word “majestic” to translate this verb in our text. What struck me, however, is the historical setting that evoked such words by Moses and the people of Israel. God’s power has just been demonstrated against Egypt in the most devastating of ways. For months on end the plagues against Egypt had decimated water, crops, cattle, and made life for the Egyptians miserable. Now, in the final display of God’s greatness, death had come to every household in Egypt. It was not enough that they were (most likely) still burying the carcasses of all the livestock that had been killed. Now they were in a sorrowful panic over the deaths of all their firstborn sons. And if that were not enough, the army of Pharaoh had been drowned in the sea as they they pursed the Israelites. Corpses were washing up on the waters edge.

So is this the way that the God of Israel displays His holiness? Is the utter destruction waged against the Egyptian people the display of God’s majesty? Yes, it is, and that is an awesome thought to consider. The power of God demonstrated in the redemption of Israel from Egypt evokes the rhetorical question of the first line of our stanza: “Who is like You among the gods, Adonai?” But it is the display of His holiness in His utter hatred of His enemies that evokes the adjectival participle “majestic.” From this we learn that one of the ways that God reveals His majestic holiness is by displaying His unmitigated hatred of all that is unholy, resulting in the complete destruction of His enemies.

In fact, nearly every time that we read of God revealing His glory in the narratives of the Tanach, it is described in terms that bring fear and terror to those who are near....

(Click here to read the rest of this essay on "So Great a Salvation: The Holiness of God")

From now until the end of the month of September, we are offering a Free DVD just for the asking. You may choose any one of three DVDs for your free gift:

"The Torah: Divine Invitation or Covenant Obligation?" by Tim Hegg

"Our Created Solar System" by Spike Psarris

"Shabbat Morning Service"

Each of these DVDs is a $10.00 value. To get your FREE COPY, just add any one of the DVDs to your shopping cart and enter the Coupon code: freedvd. All you'll pay is the shipping. You can combine this with any order, or even without purchasing any other products.

Just our way of saying "Thanks" for being a subscriber to our monthly Newsletter!

"I Will Build My Ekklesia": An Introduction to Ecclesiology – Tim Hegg, Instructor

Tuesday Evenings, 7:00pm, begins October 13, 2009 and concludes Jan 10, 2010

What did Yeshua mean when He told His disciples "I will build My ekklesia" (Matt 16:18)? Here are some of the issues we will cover in this course:

• the use of the Greek word ekklesia (usually translated "church") in the Scriptures
• the Apostolic teaching about the ekklesia
  • what is new and what is not new about the ekklesia Yeshua is building
  • the ekklesia as the "body of Messiah"
  • is there a "universal ekklesia?"
  • the ekklesia and the remnant of Israel
• a survey of traditional ecclesiology in Christian theology
• a critique of the current teaching of a "bi-lateral ecclesiology"
• the ekklesia and self-definition within the current Torah movement

Course Schedule: This class will be held on Tuesday evenings at 7:00pm PST, beginning October 13, 2009 and will conclude on Jan 10, 2010. If you want to be included in the live, real-time webinar, please indicate this in the options when you register online (this webinar option is limited to the first 50 students who sign up for the Webinar option). All enrolled students will have access to the audio and written materials for download the day following each class, as usual.

Cost: $35 Click here to go to our secure online store to register for this class

Questions? Contact us via email (thegg@torahresource.com) or call (800-508-3566, 9am-5pm PST).

The Gospel of Matthew Study – Tim Hegg, Instructor

Wednesday Evenings, 7:00pm, begins October 14, 2009 and concludes May 26, 2010

We will begin our study where we left off for our summer break, i.e., at Matthew 16:18–19. The Matthew Study is a verse-by-verse Bible study through the text, seeking to understand the meaning of Matthew's words, and making biblically based applications.

THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THIS CLASS and so there is no need to register. All are welcome to join us in this study. Audio recordings of the class as well as the weekly handouts of the written commentary (pdf format) are posted on the Matthew Study page each week and available for free download, just as we have done in the past years.

We will also be offering a Webinar (video conferencing) for the Matthew study as well. If you want to enroll in the live Webinar (7:00pm PST, Wednesday evenings beginning Oct 14, 2009), please send an email to thegg@torahresource with "Matthew Webinar" as the subject. Please include your name and location (city, state or province, country) in the email. You will then receive a confirmation email that you have successfully enrolled in the weekly Webinar. A week or so before the first class, you will receive an "invitation" email to join the Webinar, which will include instructions and internet link.

Cost: FREE

We will be streaming live video of our upcoming classes at TorahResource via a web conferencing service. This means that students who enroll in the class will have the option of logging on to the internet at the time the class is being taught, and participate in the live class via the internet. All that is needed is a computer with broadband connection to the internet (DSL or Cable Modem) and speakers connected to the computer. There are no programs or software to install on your computer. Just log onto the website we will provide, join the meeting, and you'll see a live video feed of the class. There is also two way communication for Q & A sessions. Of course, we will also continue to upload audio recordings and class materials to the Class Page for easy download. So the Webinar is just an added option. Those who are not able to join the Webinar or opt not to join it will still be able to download the audio and class handouts from the Class Page at their convenience.

We realize that a 7:00pm class on the West coast of America will make the class too late in the night for people in more distant time zones. Being part of the Webinar is not necessary to take the class, however. A student can download the audio and class handouts, and listen to each class on their own time and schedule. Still, for those who are able, the live video Webinar will allow more direct participation in the classes.

We are limited to 50 Webinar participants for each class, so the first 50 to request participation will be able to join the weekly Webinar. There is no extra charge for the Webinar option.