Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1988486 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

The Lord our God, The Lord is One

At the first reading, this book completely baffled me. I had never heard of anything like this and still struggle to understand. The author aims to explain the Oneness of God to Christians and show Jewish people their rich spiritual heritage which God gave to the world through them. It is thus a Judeo-Christian text, explaining why "Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad" (Hear O Israel The Lord our God, The Lord is One) is entirely compatible with belief in Yeshua the Messiah.

This reader has never been able to reconcile the doctrine of the Trinity with the above Oneness that is so crucial to Judaism, and has had suspicions about the Council of Nicea, mostly because Emperor Constantine was a monster. Also, that was about the time that the church gained temporal power and the last of its Hebrew roots were severed. The book thus stimulated me to conduct extensive research into the early church and its view of the matter.

But first, a brief synopsis of the book. In the introduction, McCracken takes Colossians 2:9 as the key verse: "For in him (Yeshua) resides the fullness of the Godness," supported by Col. 1:19 and John 14:1. He argues that Jesus Christ is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and then proceeds to unravel the mystery from before the beginning of creation, to the end of the present age and into eternity.

Part One: Understanding The Messiah, deals with God revealed as The Word, mankind's fallen spirit or sickness of spirit, the seed of salvation promised to the woman after the fall that indicated the virgin birth that came through Israel, the foundation of our Christian faith in Judaism and the old testament, translation problems from Greek to English, God as Father of the Israelites exclusively in the old covenant and through Jesus revealed as personal Father to all people. The different OT prophecies about the Messiah - as son, as lamb and as king - are discussed, as well as the Holy Spirit who is the omnipresence of God. Chapter 8 explores the meaning of the words omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent whilst the next one attempts to explain the instances of Jesus talking to The Father in the gospels. This is where it becomes difficult.

Part Two: Mediator Of A Better Covenant explains the purpose of sacrifice, the intentions of the heart, the redeeming process, the reconciliation of heaven and earth, the meaning of circumcision as a spiritual sign, water baptism, the remission of sin and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.

Part Three: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, looks at the offices of prophet and priest, John the Baptist, Melchizedek as assurance of God's presence, provision, guidance and acceptance, the Levitical priesthood, Jesus Christ as High Priest, the false doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture, and a warning about a political leader claiming to be God who will deceive many with lying signs and wonders.

The author warns that those who believe that any world system has the answers for mankind and for peace will be deceived. It is interesting when he claims that the church of Acts founded upon the apostles was laid to waste although portions of wall remained standing, and that there will be a great outpouring of the Spirit upon the Jewish people and the church in the latter days.

Then follows the tribulation, the return of Messiah, the thousand year rule of peace, a final rebellion, the white throne judgment, and a new heaven and earth. When the New Jerusalem descends to the new earth, Yeshua will be engulfed by his full majesty as The Father. Thus there never was a division of the Person of God according to the author.

This thought-provoking book prompted me to investigate Christian doctrine and the early church. I learnt that there were and are many non-trinitarian beliefs in Christianity, like Modalism (also called Sabellianism). This seems to have been a majority view in the early days, but the only extant sources derive from its detractors like Tertullian and Epiphanius.

Today there is Oneness Pentecostalism or Jesus Name doctrine. Scholarly views of early Christianity includes Binitarianism - see Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion To Jesus in Earliest Christianity by Larry Hurtado. It is clear that the earliest form of Christianity was definitely not Trinitarian. At the same time it is important to understand that Oneness has nothing in common with Unitarianism or ancient groups like the Ebionites who did not believe in the divinity of Christ.

Too much wrestling with doctrine leads to spiritual exhaustion. In my opinion the view put forth in this book is in harmony with the Oneness concept of Judaism. Whatever the full truth may be, sincere Christians ought to embrace one another in a spirit of love and to the same degree respect our Jewish brothers and sisters. Together, Christianity and Judaism has been called The Great Faith. So it is.

Recommended reading:

Kabbalah of Yeshua by Zusha Kalet

Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith by Marvin R Wilson

Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel by David H Stern

Ruth & Esther: Shadows of our Future by Frank Morgan

Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin

Why Care About Israel? by Sandra Teplinsky

Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old Testament by Yacov Rambsel

Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church by Ron Moseley

Your People Shall Be My People by Don Finto