What We Believe
(A Short Statement of our Key Beliefs,
not an official part of our Constitution)
Benéi HaMelech (Children of the King) Messianic Fellowship is an independent, unaffiliated, Torah-pursuant Messianic ministry. We summarize our beliefs in the following statement. For more detailed information about what we believe, please refer to our Constitution. For an extensive examination of our beliefs, please refer to the Theology section.
We Believe:
The Bible …
… consisting of both the ancient Hebrew Tanakh, an acronym for Torah (“Divine Instruction,” unfortunately usually rendered as “Law”), Nevi'im (Prophets), K'tuvim (Writings), and the Ketuvei HaShalichim, which are the later writings of the Shliachim (Apostles), also variously known as the “B'rit Hadasha,“ “New Covenant,” or “New Testament,” is the only infallible and authoritative word of God. We recognize its divine inspiration and authority, and accept its teachings as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice (Deut. 6:4-9; Prov. 3:1-6; Ps. 119:89, 105; Isa. 48:12-16; Rom. 8:14-17; 2Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17).
Furthermore, we believe that to divide the Sacred Text into two “books” or “testaments” is error, and that the writings of the Shliachim should rightfully be included as an integral part of the K'tuvim. We object to the use of the terms “Old” and “New” Testament or Covenant, in that the word “old” suggests that which is obsolete or of less importance than it originally was, and the word “new” suggests that which supplants or has replaced something “old.” We hold that the Creator has one, and only one, standard of righteousness, the Torah, by which the conduct of all humankind will be judged.
God
We believe that the Sh'ma, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one [echad]” (Deut. 6:4), teaches that God is Echad, and is so declared to be a united one, a composite unity, eternally existent in plural oneness [Gen. 1:1 (Elohim: God); Gen. 1:26] “Let us make man in our image” [in Gen. 2:24 Adam & Eve were created to be as one flesh (basar echad)], that He is a personal God who created us (Gen. 1 & Gen. 2), and that He exists forever in three persons: Father (Abba), Son (Ha Ben), and Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), as mentioned in Rom. 8:14-17 (Father, Spirit, and Messiah/Son) and Matt. 28:18-20 (immersing in the Name [singular, one Name] of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
God the Father (Abba)
John 6:27b; 1Cor 1:3; Gal. 1:1; Rev. 3:5, 21; Jer. 3:4, 19; 31:9; Mal. 1:6; Matt. 6:9, 32; Luke 10:21-22; John 1:14; 4:23; 5:17-26; 6:28-46; Rom. 8:14-15
God the Son (HaBen)
God does have a Son [Ps. 2; Prov. 30:4-6 (cf. Heb. 1); Luke 12:35-37; John 1:29-34, 49; 3:14-18].
The Son, in his earthly incarnation named Yeshua (incorrectly transliterated as “Jesus”), meaning “salvation,” came to this world born of a virgin [Isa. 7:14 (cf. Luke 1:30-35)].
The Son is God (Deity), and is worshipped as God, having existed eternally with the Father [Ps. 110:1 (cf. Heb. 1:13); Isa. 9:6-7; Matt. 28:18-20; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19; Rev. 3:21 (Heb. 1, worshipped by angels); Rev. 4:8, 5:5-14].
This One is the promised Mashiach (Messiah) of Israel [Is. 9:6-7; 11:1; Dan. 9 (esp. Dan. 9:20-26); Isa. 53; John 1:17, 40-41, 45, 49; Mark 8:29].
He is the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star (Num. 24:17; Rev. 22:16).
He is our Passover, the Lamb of God ( 1Cor. 5:7; Rev. 5; John 1:29).
God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)
Introduced in Gen. 1:2b.
In the Tanakh, the Spirit of God came upon individuals during the times of our forefathers, like Moses, David (see 2Sam. 23:1-3), and the Prophets, for the specific purposes.
In the Apostolic Scriptures, Messiah Yeshua, promised His disciples that “the Comforter” would come to them after He was gone, described as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17, 26), who was with them and would be in them. Yeshua further declared that the Spirit of Truth, would guide us into all truth and would glorify Him — the Messiah, not Himself (John 16:13-15). He empowers us (Acts 1:8). He seals us [Eph. 1:13; 4:30 (see especially the NIV and Complete Jewish Bible versions)]. If we have not the Spirit, we are not His (Rom. 8:9). He leads us and teaches us (Rom. 8:14-17). His indwelling enables us to live a Godly life in accordance with the instructions in the Torah. Acts 2:38 says to, “… repent, be immersed, and receive the Holy Spirit.”
Mankind
Created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27), but:
Through disobedience, man fell from his first state and became separated from God (Gen. 2:17; 3:22-24). Therefore, according to the Scriptures, all men are born with a sinful nature (Ps. 14:1-3; 49:7; 53:13; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:9-12, 23; 5:12).
Man’s only hope for redemption (salvation) is through the atonement made by the Messiah (Lev. 17:11; Isa. 53; Dan. 9:24-26; 1Cor. 15:22; Heb. 9:11-14, 28; John 1:12, 3:36), resulting in regeneration by the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5), which is the new birth (John 3:3-8). For by grace we are saved through faith, it is a gift of God. (Eph. 2:8-9).
Resurrection and Judgment
We believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost: the former to everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation from God, a state of everlasting punishment (Job 14:14; 19:25-27; Dan. 12:2-3; John 3:36; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 10-15; 21:7-8).
Messiah: The Redeemer
The Scriptures promise two “comings” of the Messiah:
First Coming as Messiah ben Yosef (Messiah son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant)
Promised in Dan. 9:24-26.
Its purpose was to make an atonement for sin (Dan. 9:24-26; Isa. 53; Rom. 3:21-31; Heb. 9-10; John 3:16-17).
Second coming as Messiah ben David (Messiah son of David, the Eternal King)
Promised coming in the air to receive the believers to Himself (1Thess. 4:13-18; John 14:1-6; 1Cor. 15:51-57).
Messiah’s return to the earth.
The Redeemer shall come to Zion (Isa. 59:20-21; Zech. 14:4).
Israel’s spiritual redemption (Zech. 12:8-13:1; Rom. 11:25-27; Heb. 9:28; Jer. 31:31-40; the Renewed Covenant with Israel).
Israel’s national restoration is to recover the remnant of His people Israel from the four corners of the earth, and restore the Davidic Kingdom (Isa. 11 to re-establish the throne and kingdom of David on earth, which will last forever) [Isa. 9:6-7 (cf. Luke 1:30-33); Jer. 23:3-8].
Israel in Prophecy
We believe in God’s end-time plan for the nation of Israel and for the world. A central part of Messianic Belief is the belief in the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, as taught in the Scriptures. The greatest miracle of our day has been the re-establishment or rebirth of the State of Israel according to prophecy (Ezek. 34:11-31; 36-39; Hos. 3; Amos 9:11-15; Zech. 12-14; Isa. 11; 43; 54; 60-62; 66; Rom. 11:1-34) (see also Scriptures under Messiah).
Messianic Beliefs
We recognize that all Jewish people (physical descendants of Avraham (Abraham) through Yitz'chak (Isaac) and Ya'akov (Jacob) — whether through the mother’s or the father’s blood-line — who place their faith in Israel’s Messiah Yeshua continue to be Jewish according to the Scriptures (Rom. 2:28-29). Gentiles who place their faith in Yeshua are “grafted into” the Jewish olive tree of faith (Rom. 11:17-25), becoming adopted sons and daughters of Avraham (Gal. 3:28-29) and citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel, partaking equally with the natural-born children of Avraham, Yitz'chak, and Ya'akov in the Torah, the Covenants, and the Land of Israel.
We observe and celebrate the Holy Days
that were given by God to mankind through Israel, with their fulfillment in and through
Messiah Yeshua. We believe that true “Biblical Judaism,” the faith of
first century Messianic Believers which we seek to practice, acknowledges
the continuity of faith in the one true God, revealed
throughout the Scriptures, and ultimately manifested in
We acknowledge that the “Body of Messiah” is composed of both Jews and non-Jews who have received Yeshua the Messiah as the promised Redeemer. The “middle wall of partition” has been broken down and now we worship the God of Israel together (1Cor. 12:13; Eph. 2:13-14), united as one Holy and Called-Out People in Messiah Yeshua.
The Future
Daniel’s “Seventieth Week” and Mashiach’s Earthly Kingdom
We believe that there will be a literal fulfillment of “Daniel’s seventieth week,” a period of seven years of unparalled persecution of the Jewish people. We believe that associated with that time of persecution there will be some form of “peace treaty” engineered by the Anti-messiah (whom we believe will be the leader of a restored Islamic caliphate), supposedly for a period of seven years. During that time the Jewish people will be allowed to resume much of the original Levitical ceremonial rites. In the middle of that supposed treaty, that is three and one-half years into the treaty, the Anti-Messiah, probably the Islamic Mahdi, will enter the holiest place of Jewish worship, perhaps a rebuilt Temple or Tabernacle, and declare himself to be “God.”
Following that declaration by the Mahdi that he is “God” (“Allah”?) he will begin a persecution of the Jewish people the likes of which has been unseen before in all of history, with the intent of totally annihilating the entire Jewish race from the face of the earth in a total ethnic cleansing. Christian theology has called this ethnic cleansing “the Great Tribulation.” After a period of three and one-half years of war against the forces of the Mahdi, the Jewish people will come to recognize Yeshua as the long-awaited Messiah and corporately declare, “Baruch haba b'shem ADONAI, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of ADONAI.”(Matthew 23:39; Luke 15:35)
We believe at some point in time associated with that “seventieth week” the “dead in Messiah” will be resurrected into a “supernatural” body similar to that which Yeshua possesses. Yeshua will then gather His faithful, both the living and the resurrected, to Israel “in the air.” Although we do not know whether the transport of the living to Israel will be through natural or supernatural means, at that time the living followers will “be changed” into the same form of supernatural bodies as the resurrected Yeshua-followers according to 1 Corinthians 15.
We believe that the period of Great Tribulation on the earth will be climaxed by the return of Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach to the earth just as He went, in Person and in the body in which He was crucified, now glorified, coming on the clouds of heaven, and with power and great glory to supernaturally and very swiftly defeat the forces of the Anti-messiah and introduce the Millennial Kingdom, to bind HaSatan and place him in the abyss, to lift the curse which now rests on the whole creation, to fully restore a reunited Israel to her own land and to give to her the realization of God’s covenant promises, to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God, and to personally and bodily reign over the whole earth for a thousand years.
We believe that during the Kingdom Age the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and it will be from the Temple that HaMashiach will reign over a restored Israel. We believe that David will literally rule as co-regent with Mashiach, and that Avraham will be governor over the entire promised land from the Nile to the Euphrates. We believe that Israel will be recognized as the center of earth’s government, and that all the peoples of all the nations will come “up to Jerusalem” to observe all the Feasts of ADONAI.
The Final Rebellion and Judgment
We believe that following the release of HaSatan at the end of the Millennium, he will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and against Jerusalem, and they will be destroyed by fire from heaven. HaSatan will then be cast into the lake of fire, where the Beast and the False Prophet live in eternal torment. All of the remaining dead will then be resurrected to stand before the Great White Throne, where the books of their lives will be opened and they will be judged according to their deeds. But regardless of their deeds, “since not one was found ever having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15, literal), where they will experience eternal conscious torment.
The elements of the earth will then be dissolved with a great rushing sound and God will create a completely new heaven and earth. The new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven and will be the eternal dwelling place for all (and only) those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, where they will enjoy eternal fellowship with God and with one another. Having fulfilled His redemptive mission, ADONAI Yeshua HaMashiach will then deliver up the kingdom to ADONAI the Father.
The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are at death absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment.
For more detailed information about what we believe,
please refer to our Constitution.
For an extensive examination of our beliefs, please refer to the
Theology section.
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ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
