Denver Seminary

6pm

Registration & Reception

6:45pm

Welcome and Introduction

Dr. Hélène Dallaire

7pm

The Jewish Believers' Relationship to the Church and Israel

Dr. Michael Rydelnik

Both Covenant and Dispensational theologies diminish the distinctiveness of the Jewish believer. Covenant theology, frequently takes a replacement approach, indicating that the Church has superseded Israel. Hence, when a Jewish person comes to faith they are viewed as no longer Jewish but a member of the Church. Dispensational theology frequently takes a displacement approach, seeing a past and future for Israel but not a present. With a strict distinction between the Church and Israel, when ethnic Jewish people come to faith in Jesus, they are frequently viewed as leaving Israel and becoming members of the Church, thereby losing their Jewish distinctive. Both these views attempt to force the biblical data to fit a theological system. A better approach is to allow the Scriptures to adapt both systems. By examining Ephesians 2:11-22 and 3:2-6, it becomes evident that Jewish and Gentile followers of Messiah have become united, as spiritual equals in a new body, which is the church. Thus, Messianic Jews compose the Jewish wing of the Church. At the same time, Messianic Jews play a distinctive role as the faithful remnant of Israel. By examining Romans 11:1-5; 2:28-29; 9:4-5; Galatians 6:16; Matthew 19:28; and 21:33-46 it becomes clear that while Jewish believers are members of the Church, they are also the part of Israel, in fact the true Israel. Thus Messianic Jews have a unique position as members of the body of Messiah and the faithful remnant of Israel.

8pm

Freedom from the Law only for Gentiles? A Non-Supersessionist Alternative to Mark Kinzer's "Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism"

Dr. Craig Blomberg

The idea that the Mosaic covenant remains in effect for ethnic Jews is an increasingly popular perspective in this era of ecumenism. Its attraction is obvious, for it does not require Torah-observant Jews to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Some who would otherwise call themselves evangelical have even begun to embrace this view. But any serious exegesis of the New Testament makes it impossible to hold such a view and still submit to the full authority of Scripture. Worse still, if the idea that only Gentiles need accept Jesus turns out to be wrong and Christians, Jew or Gentile, have withheld the gospel from non-Christian Jews, who are thus lost for all eternity, such a withholding could fairly be described as the most flagrant form of anti-Semitism ever created.

8:30am

Continental breakfast in chapel

9:00am

Zionism: a Messianic Jewish View

Rabbi Chaim Urbach

Is "Zionism a form of racism," as the UN General Assembly asserted in November of 1975 ? Is President Carter correct in stating in his recent book (2006), "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," that "Israel's continued colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacle to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land?" What about the claims of Christian Zionists such as John Hagee, who believe that the return of Jews to Israel is in line with a biblical prophecy, and is necessary for Yeshua to return to Earth as its king? These questions and more will be explored in this paper.

Scripture states that God is committed to his people, an identifiable ethnic group known as "Israel", and that this entity must be in existence in order for God's prophetic purposes to be fulfilled. The State of Israel does indeed play a part in these purposes and any sensible understanding of the conflict in the Middle East must acknowledge that there is no simple answer, particularly where it relates to the realities of terrorism and the Palestinian suffering. Our hope is rooted in the fulfillment of God's ultimate plan, both Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab Nations will worship side by side in Messiah's Kingdom.

10:00am

Messianic Jewish Education in a New Covenant Community

Dr. Jeffrey Feinberg

Second-generation Messianic Jews are more numerous now than at any time in the history of the United States. Yet Messianic Jewish practices vary widely, reflecting vast differences that mirror the assimilation and fragmentation characteristic of the surrounding, larger Christian and Jewish communities. This paper attempts to frame the general set of beliefs and lifestyle practices that will assure continuity to a third-generation of Messianic Jewish households in New Covenant communities. Methods of Jewish Education can assist the formation and training of children, parents, and grandparents to grow and mature as members of Messianic Jewish households and as pillars of their respective communities.

11:00am

COFFEE BREAK

11:30am

Jewish Views of Jesus

Alan Shore

This paper is a survey that will touch upon the complex relationship of Jewish people to Jesus and the Christian faith. The presenter will approach the question from three directions - the historical-religious, the literary and artistic, and also the popular perceptions of Jesus among Jewish people. In doing so, the presenter hopes to stimulate constructive conversation about how Jews and Christians regard each other.

12:30pm

BOX LUNCH provided for those who registered

1:15pm

Jewish & Gentile Believers: 2000 Years of History

Dr. Hélène Dallaire

In much of the literature on the History of Christianity, the presence of a believing Jewish community has for the most part passed unnoticed. While the New Testament clearly places the birth of Christianity in a Jewish context and in the synagogue of the 1st century AD, the events that led to the separation of the Jewish and Gentile believing communities have pushed Jewish believers in the shadow of the Gentile Church. A close examination of the literature of the last two millennia (e.g. Church Fathers, Talmudic and Medieval Jewish literature, the Reformers) reveals the presence of believing Jewish community throughout the known world. This paper will examine the evidence that confirms its existence, and will look at the events that led to the emergence of the Messianic Jewish movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, rising from an underground movement to a thriving body of believers in the USA, in Israel, and around the world.

2:00pm

Panel discussion with all presenters