The Watchman, December 2010

t can often be a confusing time during the holiday season for the friends and family of saved Jews. After all, since their loved ones had confessed their souls to Yeshua (Jesus) the Christ, is it proper etiquette to wish them a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas or perhaps both or maybe neither one at all? As a Jewish believer myself I can attest that after a decade of being publicly open with my beliefs that much of my family and friends have yet to find a true understanding of how I celebrate the holidays.

In my infancy as a Jewish believer, before the Lord truly opened my eyes, I was under a fanatical belief that only the Jewish Feasts should be celebrated. It made sense; after all, those are the only holidays mentioned in the Bible. I felt holidays such as Easter and Christmas where pagan holy days and good Christians shouldn’t celebrate them. What I did not take into account is what the Apostle Paul spoke about that very subject when he said, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17) My friends, it does not matter which holiday you celebrate; Hanukkah or Christmas. As Christians, we have the freedom to celebrate as we wish, with the condition that we are celebrating for Yeshua.

So for those of my family and friends who may be enjoying this newsletter, may I say I celebrate Dedication (Hanukkah) praying Jesus may be part of my family’s life and I celebrate Christmas in thanksgiving of His arrival upon this sinful world. In those terms I can say Happy Holidays!

Steven Hendin

by Craig Logan

Science is observation. The methods are learned at an early stage in ones educational career: make a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, observe the results, and draw a proper conclusion. This scientific method leaves little room for a personal bias, yet a bias exists in the scientific community today. Under the guise of objective study, secular scientists are in fact subjecting the populous to their own presuppositions and beliefs about the history and origin of the universe. This may seem to be a conspiracy theory of some crazy fundamentalist with a computer, but I assure you all, gentle readers, there is good reason to question the assumptions made by Evolutionary scientists.

Let us focus our efforts on one topic in particular: abiogenesis. This is the concept of life forming from non-life. Now, to make the idea of a Creator-less Universe work, the scientist supposes that what we know as living matter came into existence through evolution by way of non-living matter. If we are to follow the simple scientific method, we should be able to observe in nature life springing forth from non-living objects. However, we have no record of this happening anywhere in nature or in any form in the known universe. Unfortunately for proponents of Evolution, there are no tests or observations that demonstrate abiogenesis. Without a testable theory, they are merely left with their improvable hypothesis: that life sprang into existence without a Creator through the course of evolution. If a word could adequately describe these scientists’ desire to hold on to a hypothesis that cannot be proven, it would be faith.

Going from dirt to a man seems to have a slew of missing steps in between. For a believer of Evolution, there are a lot of gaps between lifeless dirt and a reasoning man. Those gaps, even by the evolutionists’ own admission, exist and are yet unfilled. The Bible, however, is blatantly clear that only one step exists between man and dirt, and that step is God’s providential hand. Genesis 2:7 states that “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” We can trust that God is real, and His word is true because the world around us leads us to His glory. After all, which seems more plausible: the Earth violating its own natural laws to support a theory full of holes, or a supernatural God intervening in His creation as He so chooses?

by Dr. Russell D. Kidman, Ph.D.

I remember it just like it was yesterday… I was on guard duty, out in the middle of nowhere in the Middle East. The sound of thunder roared through the air as the bombing of our enemy continued day and night. This particular night, though it was clear and one could see the heavens in spectacular array, so many stars were shining so brightly, and then the thought came to me: was it a night like this that our Saviour was born in Bethlehem of Judea? I mean other than the sounds of war, was it a crisp cool night with all God’s heavenly lighting setting the stage upon which our Lord would appear? It was during this experience that the overwhelming feeling of being alone hit all of a sudden, without warning; it was just me and God, and yet even He seemed so very far away right at that point and time. However the Scriptures say in Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

As we set in our comfortable homes, perhaps around an open hearth, or just with friends and family do we take the time to think of those who are standing on the front lines to defend our Freedoms so that we may enjoy that time with our families. While we feast on grandma’s homemade pies, and a table spread with all kinds of goodies, do we stop to remember those who are eating an MRE while sitting in a foxhole all alone in the world, cold, most times scared, but there to do their sworn duty to our Country.

It wasn’t until that moment in time that I began to think and wonder how cold Mary was that night as she gave birth to her Lord. What was going through Joseph’s mind as he watched his wife give birth to the King of Kings, not in a palace but in a drafty old stable? Just as Jesus came to this world in a humble setting, so too do those who defend our Nation also live in similar humble settings away from their family and friends. Our Lord also left His Father in Heaven to come to earth and be born, born to die for our sins.

We are making a difference in the lives of our Troops because of your faithful support of this much needed Ministry. Therefore we thank you for your Support and Prayers for our Ministry and our Troops! God Bless!!!

by Gary Cobb

The enemies of freedom in WWI fought against the plan of God...and failed. One reason was because God raised up a Jewish Chemist named Weizmann and gave him the wisdom to assist in defeating the enemy. The reward for his discovery was the Balfour Declaration, giving Jews the right to return to establish Israel.

God has a plan for all of us, and no matter how much the enemy attacks...He always has a "Weizmann" with just the right "formula" for us to make it to the next step in His plan.

Yes, Israel made it back to their homeland...and this fulfilled Ezekiel 36 (and many other prophecies)...but God's purposes were far from completed as we have witnessed on the world stage. Interestingly, God raised up another Jewish scientist Albert Einstein whose atomic discoveries led to the atom bomb which ended the next World War.

Now we face what I believe is WW III...a very different war. When the enemy confronts God openly as in WW I and WW II, Jewish men were used to create weapons to end those wars. Millions died from massive weapons and ground troop losses. In today's war, although any loss is tragic, relatively few Americans have died. The enemy now hides behind women and children and won't fight openly because he knows he will be defeated as in the first two World Wars. This enemy uses deception and secrecy and ruthless, diabolic suicide as weapons. We don't know when or where he (or she) will attack.

But the Plan of God will still prevail...and once again a JEWISH MAN has the formula to defeat the enemy...this time once and for all. His name is JESUS....and He has an army of brothers who have learned His "formula" for weaponry...and we know that it just takes a SWORD (of the Spirit which is the Word of God).

Until we win this war in the Spirit, there will still be the need for natural combat...consequences for man not seeing the plan of God.

What is the true miracle of Hanukkah? For thousands of Jewish children across the world this eight day holiday will be celebrated in memorial of God’s mighty miracle in the maintaining of one day’s olive oil to last eight nights. During Hanukkah Jews from around the globe will light their menorahs and make the ritual blessings from their siddurs (prayer books) or memory.

Yet, has the true Biblical meaning for this night been lost? Hanukkah, is not truly the Festival of Lights, which is the name given by the Jewish-historian Josephus; instead, Hanukkah is known in Scripture as the Feast of Dedication (John 15). Nowhere in Scripture or secular histories is it recorded that any miracle of any oil took place during this feast.

What we do know of the first Feast of Dedication is based upon historical accounts and the books of the Apocrypha (which are not canon). What we do know of the true miracle of Hanukkah is that the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, led by Y’hudah (Judah) led a small but successful revolt against the Assyrian army of Antiochus Epiphanies IV, and with true faith in Adonai (the Lord), won their battles retaking Jerusalem and the Temple. Their dedication of the Temple (Hanukkah) took eight days and nights. Some speculate this may have been in hopes of making up for the missed Feast of Tabernacles. Either way it was the FAITH IN GOD that made for the true miracle, not oil.

1. To boldly present the Gospel of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.

2. To evangelize to the Jew first and also to the Greek (all Gentiles) as stated in Romans 1:16, but both must be evangelized to EQUALLY.

3. Adhere to the tenets of Olive Tree Theology; to the beliefs that Jews and Gentile believers in Messiah can worship together and maintain their own cultural distinctiveness.

4. Preach and teach against all forms of Replacement Theology!

5. To teach the Jewish roots and Jewishness of true Biblical Christianity to all Christians.

6. We are BIBLICAL LITERALISTS, taking the words of the Bible whenever possible.

If you would care to make a love donation to our ministry, please know that 100% of the funds will go towards the goals we hold to in The Road to God Ministry's mission statement. As of 01/01/2008 we are an official non-profit ministry under First General Baptist Church and thus all tax donations do apply. Please send your donations and offerings to the following address marked with the attention to THE ROAD TO GOD MINISTRY:

The Road to God Ministry C/o First General Baptist Church of Waterford 2933 Frembes Rd Waterford, MI 48329 USA