Thank you for entering my page! Right now, you are probably searching to find out more about Jewish beliefs in Jesus. Perhaps, you are questioning your faith, and are looking at different options. Are you in Colorado and intersted in Messianic Judaism? Are you interested in exploring Messianic Judaism and joining a Messianic congregation? Remnant of Israel is a Messianic Jewish congregation in Colorado Springs. The only problem is that it is not Jewish at all, but a Christian organization! On this web-page, I will demonstrate that they are not Jewish, using information from their site and other Christian sites.
The Integrity Connection Remnant of Israel used to be located in the same building as Integrity Christian Fellowship, a now defunct Christian organization. "Rabbi" Rick Trimble, the leader of Remnant of Israel, used to be part of the Integrity board. Here is a quote that was on the Integrity web-site: "ICF Accountability Board
Integrity Christian Fellowship recognizes five men who are serving or have served as Senior Pastors. These are seasoned men with proven ministry skills and five-fold calling. These five men serve as an outside accountability Board for this congregation. The purpose of the Accountability Board is to provide spiritual covering. They will advise and pray with the Senior Pastor of Integrity Christian Fellowship. The Accountability Board has the authority to investigate and discipline or remove the Senior Pastor of Integrity Christian Fellowship. They are initially selected by the Senior Pastor and confirmed by the elders. When called upon by the board these five pastors would have authority to investigate and, consequently, discipline or remove Pastor George for alleged misconduct in three areas..... Rick Trimble
Rick was born March 20, 1954 in Mansfield, Louisiana and was raised in El Dorado Arkansas. He came to know the Lord at age 16 while attending a Lay Institute for Evangelism hosted by Campus Crusade. After Rick's conversion (Editor's Note If you are attending an event by Campus Crusade, a major international Christian orgainization, when you are still only a teenager chances are you didn't grow up Jewish. If anyone has evidence that he grew up Jewish, feel free to send it to me. He certainly is not Christian now!) he worked as a Youth and Music Director for several churches while in college and seminary. Rick graduated from Ouachita Baptist University with a BA in 1976. He also earned a Mdiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1980. Rick pastured Spearsville Baptist Church, Rock Branch, LO from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the Congregational Leader of Bet Yeshua Messianic Fellowship, Monroe LO from 1991-1993. Rick and his wife Carol have two children. Rick currently works for Focus On The Family and is the Congregational Leader (Senior Pastor) of kehilat Sha'arit Yisrael in Colorado Springs.
So, let's review. Rick Trimble was on the board of Integrity to watch over the church. He attended a Baptist University, went to a Baptist seminary, worked for many Churches, was in charge of a Baptist Church....and he runs Remnant of Israel. It is obvious that this guy is not a Jewish leader, but a Christian leader. Also, did you notice that he ran another Messianic group from 1991-1993, the same time that he was a Baptist minister? Interestingly, Pastor Trimble contacted me quite some time ago regarding my site. Although we e-mailed back and forth, and he suggested several corrections, he never claimed that any of the information from Ingerity Christian Fellowship that showed him to be a Christian leader was incorrect!
Teaching Errors As Pastor Trimble is a Christian leader, and not a Jewish leader, it is not surprising that he makes errors on Jewish lineage. On the web-site called "The Refiner's Fire", he attempts to answer a question regarding why Jesus has two different lineages. In the last paragraph of his answer, he makes a large error. He states: "How can Yeshua have a genealogy without having a biological father? Very simply, in legal terms, Joseph was Yeshua's father (look at it as a step-son who has all the rights and privileges of an adopted son). Thus, the genealogy of Joseph was legally applied to Yeshua." The problem with this answer is that Biblical family lineage (and Jewish family lineage in general) is only traced through the birth father. Family lineage does not go through an adopted parent. Thus, if Joseph is Jesus' adoptive father, his family lineage absolutely cannot be used for Jesus (By the same reasoning, Mary's lineage does not count either, as family lineage is not traced through the birth mother). This is basic Judaism. You cannot be the Messiah without having a birth father from the House of David, through King Solomon. A real Jewish rabbi would not make such an error. Interestingly, Trimble also makes an error regarding Greek and Roman beliefs. In the third paragraph of his response, he says: "Luke, writes to the Gentiles with a view toward the humanity of Messiah. The concept of one being both God and man would seem strange and foreign to those accustomed to Greek and Roman gods." Actually, anyone who has spent time studying Greek and Roman mythology knows that their gods frequently were believed to come in the form of humans and other earthly creatures. In fact, Romulus, one of the founders of Rome, was later worshipped as a god. His mother was a vestal virgin and his father was the god Mars! The idea of a human actually being a god, having a virgin mother and a god as a father is at the heart of Roman beliefs! Here is the link to Trimble's answer where he makes these errors: Click Here Here are some links to essays reviewing the many errors in Messianic/Christian concept of genealogy: Click Here And Click Here
Christian Beliefs If you review Remnant of Israel's beliefs, you will notice that they are nearly identical to standard Protestant Christian beliefs. They believe in concepts such as the Holy Trinity, Virginal Birth, etc., all beliefs that exist in Christianity but not in Judaism. Remanant of Israel's list of beliefs are essentially a Judaicized version of basic Christianity. Here are a link to Remnant of Israel's beliefs and the Denver Theological Seminary's beliefs, a Christian evangelical school. If you read the first seven sections of the Denver Theological Seminary's beliefs, you will see that they closely match the first six sections of Remnant of Israel's beliefs. A real Jewish group would not have the same beliefs as a Christian evangelical seminary: Remnant of Israel's Beliefs Denver Theological Seminary's Beliefs Also, Remnant of Israel makes several Biblical errors in its list of beliefs. In its second point, it claims that the word "echad" in Deuteronomy 6:4 refers to a "compound unity." This is the Christian idea of the "Holy Trinity." Here is an essay that shows how the idea of the "Holy Trinity" cannot be supported by the Jewish Bible: Holy Trinity Error Moreover, Remnant of Israel falsely claims in its beliefs that Genesis 3:15 is a Messianic prophecy, as the Messiah will be from "the seed of a woman." Actually, all of humanity, every last person, is from "the seed of a woman." Obviously, a Messianic prophecy is designed to help identify a particular person as the Messiah, while Genesis 3:15 talks of every single person that has ever existed-hardly a prophecy at all. Here is a link that reviews Remnant of Israel's error: Genesis 3:15 Review Additionally, they state in their third point that "His virgin birth was to be a sign to Israel of His Messiahship" Actually, nowhere in the Jewish Bible does it talk of a virginal birth. The idea of a virgin birth as a sign involves two errors. First, it involves a mistranslation of Isaiah 7:14 and then a lack of understanding of the verse in context, as the verse has nothing to do with the Messiah. Here are a few essays that review the "virgin" claims: Review of the Translation Error Review of the Verse in Context
Definitional Errors Remnant of Israel has a list of Messianic Terminology on its web-site. As with the rest of their site, there are many errors on this list. The following is a list of some of the errors they make in their terminology, here is the link to the Messianic Terminology page where the definitions are listed:Click Here Errors HaMotzi Lit. "The Bread" also the blessing over the bread Actually, "Lechem" means "bread." "HaMotzi" means "The One Who Provides From" or "The One Who Takes Out Of." In the blessing over the bread, Jews show their thanks in our prayers by giving praise to "HaMotzi Lechem Min Ha'aretz", or in English "The One Who Provides Bread From the Land." Hasidism, Hassidic, Hassidim Mystical movement in Judaism originating in the Middle Ages. The Hassidic movement began in the 1700's, which is around 200 years after the Middle Ages. Lord's Day The Sabbath - Saturday. See Sabbath. The Lord's Day is Sunday, not Saturday. It is a Christian invention. Here is a link to The Vatican, which has an explanation of this under "1166". As you might guess, The Vatican, which is the headquarters of the Catholic Church, is not exactly a Jewish organization: (Editor's Note, 1166 is not the year it started, but the listing number): Click Here Mikvah Ceremonial immersion, baptism, a sign of identification with the believing community. Actually, a Mikvah is different from a Baptism on a number of levels. The most common use of a Mikvah is for removal of ritual impurity, such as when a woman has her menstrual cycle. Nicaea, Council of A council of the early church which convened at Nicaea in the year 365, in which Christians were prohibited from celebrating the Passover with Jewish people. Many Messianic Jewish groups, such as the Remnant of Israel, seem to refer to the Council of Nicea in a negative fashion, as if this is what split the Jewish and Christian people. This is just not the case. First of all, the two groups split prior to the end of the first century, long before the Council of Nicea. Second, the First Council of Nicea was in 325, not 365. Also, without the Council of Nicea, Christiniaty/Messianic Judaism (as Messianic Judaism is a subset of Christianity, not Judaism) would not exist as we know it. Basically, there was a considerable battle between Christians regarding theology. For instance, the idea of the Holy Trinity, which is a core part of Christian/Messianic Jewish belief, was not universally accepted prior to the council! The council was a meeting of Christians to come to an agreement regarding theology. Here is a link to one of the faculty of the Catholic University of America reviewing the topic, with the translation of the Nicene Creed, the set of beliefs that were agreed upon at Nicea: Click Here Savior Another title for the Messiah as the one who saves men's souls. The Messiah does not actually save souls in the Bible. The idea of the Messiah as a "soul saver" is a Christian concept. Pogroms organized massacres of Jewish communities carried out in 19th century Russia. Pogroms began long before the 19th century and were far more wide-spread than Russia. Though primarily occuring in Eastern Europe, the first pogrom is often considered to have occurred in York, England in the 1200's. Seder HaMaschiah The Lord's Meal, communion Two main issues here. First, Seder HaMashiach means the Meal of the Messiah, not the Lord's Meal. Second, communion is a Christian, not Jewish concept. Many of you are probably familiar with communion; it is when you see Christians eating the "wine and wafer" at a Church service. Tanakh The Jewish Scriptures, which are exactly the same canon as the Protestant "Old Testament". The Hebrew term is an acronym derived from the Hebrew words Torah, Nebi'im and Ketubim; i.e., The Law, The Prophets and the Writings (poetry and wisdom literature) There are multiple errors in here. First, Christianity (Protestant is just a branch of Christiniaty) has changed the order of the books of the Tanakh. If you look through Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings) you will see that Christianity has switched the order. Here are two links, the first is to Judaism 101, which has the Jewish order, the second is to the University of Michigan which has the Christian order. Click Here for Judaism 101 Click Here for Michigan Secondly, Ketubim contains a great deal of history and prophecy, and is not merely wisdom literature and poetry. Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here
An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here Countermissionary Counseling There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:
Jews for Judaism
Torah Atlanta
Outreach Judaism
Torah Life and Living Great Sites, Priceless Information
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Outreach Judaism Messiah Page Messiah Truth Jews for Judaism Torah Atlanta Counter Missionary Reference Kosher Judaism Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
Contact Me I am more than happy to answer any questions regarding why Jews do not believe in Jesus or on Jewish beliefs in general. Feel free to e-mail me. There is no such thing as a "stupid question".
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