Anti-Missionary Groups Gather in Jerusalem

Anti-Missionary Groups Gather in Jerusalem | Worthy Christian News

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 (4:12 am) By George Whitten, Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Chief

http://www.worthynews.com/9359-anti-missionary-groups-gather-today-in-jerusalem

JERUSALEM, Israel (Worthy News)-- Anti-Missionaries from across Israel will be meeting today in Jerusalem at the nation’s largest conference center to discuss the growing problem of "missionaries" in Israel.

Ahead of the gathering in the nation's largest conference center, thousands of leaflets were distributed advertising the "anti-missionary" conference and encouraging people to come.

Many of Israel's leading anti-messianic organizations along with leading rabbis will be taking the opportunity to "educate" people on the "impossibility" of being Jewish and believing in Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew). Their aim is to inform the public of the great danger Messianic Jews, those who believe in Yeshua, are to traditional Judaism.

The gathering was organized by several ultra-Orthodox groups and observers described it as the largest anti-missionary meeting so far.
Revive Israel, a leading Messianic organization in Israel, said in a statement that delegates of the controversial meeting view the term "missionary" as equivalent to the word "Nazi."

ISRAEL LAW

Israeli law forbids missionary activities, including criminal offenses such as "bribing" Jews to change their religion by monetary compensation, and baptizing children under the age of 18 without the consent of their parents. Messianic congregations and evangelical Christians have denied they are forcing Jews to change their religion.

Revive Israel said the meeting in Jerusalem was would aim to raise money for "anti-missionaries", to "convince Jewish organizations not to receive funds from Christian Zionists" and, "Finally, to stop all evangelism efforts in Israel."

Eddie Santoro, a Messianic pastor, told Worthy News he had urged supporters to "Pray that a spirit of division would be on this gathering of religious Jews. Pray that their house would be divided, and no effective strategies would be achieved in their intensifying battle against those who believe."
"Also pray that we would know the right strategy in response to this event. Pray that in God's mercy, even as they speak against Yeshua, that some hearts would be touched by his great mercy and love."

However, our condemnation of violence, must not blind us to the frightening reality of what is happening today in our beloved Jewish State:

● Most missionaries have deceptively convinced many Israelis that “Messianic Judaism” is a legitimate expression of our Jewish faith and totally avoid mention of their belief that Jesus is God. There are between 15,000 and 20,000 self-identified “Messianic Jews” currently living in Israel. Using Hebrew terminology, misappropriated Jewish symbols and distortions of traditional Jewish texts, many are active in missionary efforts across the country.

● There are more than 130 identified “Messianic Jewish” churches and groups in Israel. These missionary centers are largely funded and supported by evangelical Christian groups based outside of Israel. These organizations publicly boast of their desire to convert Jews to Christianity and, at the same time, contribute financially to Israeli society.

● Through a campaign of subtle infiltration, we are witnessing a substantial increase in targeted proselytizing activities in the Israeli Army, summer camps and among such vulnerable populations as terrorist victims, the elderly, Holocaust survivors, secular and disillusioned youth, and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia.

● Aliyah to Israel by “Messianic Jewish” missionaries is encouraged and supported by a host of Christian groups and has grown exponentially in the past two years. Through litigation and lobbying, these missionaries are working to change Israel’s “Law of Return” so as to make it easier for “Messianic Jewish” missionaries to become Israeli citizens.

● In a desire to obtain Christian friendship and funding, many Israeli politicians publicly endorse and associate with these missionary leaders, and assist them in attaining a stronger foothold in Israel. In so doing, they ignore their deceptive conversionary activities and theological teachings, namely that all unconverted Jews will burn in hell for eternity and that the extermination of most Israeli Jews will be a necessary prelude to their eagerly anticipated “Second Coming” of Jesus.

These challenges are serious, but not insurmountable. Winning back Jews, ensnared by messianic missionaries cannot be accomplished neither by violence nor a purposeful ignorance of today’s missionary menace. However, it can be accomplished through time-tested programs of compassion, dialogue, integrity, outreach, and setting examples of authentic Jewish living that embody the highest principles of our faith.

Related Links:
Are You Kidding Me?! Scary Stats and Facts. - Cost per baptism in India - $ 9,803 per person, in US $ 1,550,000, foreign missions money per year... total spent 15 billion
Missianic Judaism: A Christian Missionary Movement. - Evangelical Christianity has spent over $1 billion in the last decade to convert Jews to Christianity. Under the guise of "Jews for Jesus" and "Hebrew Christians", a new threat of spiritual terrorism has emerged in the form of "Messianic Synagogues", whose theological tenets are identical to the Christian fundamentalists who created them.
Evangelization: The Great Command and A Cosmic Auditing. - At present 4,000 mission agencies operate, mission manned by 262,300 missionaries costing 8 billion dollars..

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