Exploring Congregation Melech Yisrael

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The Artist Formerly Known as Messianic

Congregation Melech Yisrael insists that it is a Jewish group. However, an artist who formerly did art work for them and attended their congregation disagrees. This artist also did work for Jews for Jesus and many other Messianic groups...so who is this artist? The artist is Julius Cisse, formerly a leader in the Messianic Jewish movement, and now part of the counter-missionary group, Jews for Judaism, in Toronto! Here is the link to his story, you will see Congregation Melech Yisrael mentioned several times: Click Here

The Founding

Congregation Melech Yisrael was founded by Hans and Vonnie Vanderwerff. Hans is an ordained Pentecostal minister, one of the most evangelical Christian groups to have ever existed. (Previously, a site by run by Reverend Richard Booker had a detailed history showing that Hans Vanderwerff founded Congregation Melech Yisrael, but unfortunately the section of that web-site no longer exists). We see that Hans Vanderwerff is listed as the leader of Melech Yisrael during the 1970's and '80s on a CMY event announcement. You will also notice that he encouraged the founding of a Messianic congregation in Rochester, NY. Here is the link to the proof, the proof is in the 4th and 5th paragraph: Click Here

As I stated earlier, Hans Vanderwerff is a Pentecostal minister who has been evangelizing the Jewish people to Christianity for decades. Here is a link to his listing on the Western Ontario District of the Pentecostal Church, as the founder of Comfort Ye People Ministries, another of his missionary groups to the Jewish people. A real Jewish leader would never be a missionary through the Pentecostal church: Click Here

Interestingly, the current leader, "Rabbi" Jack Farber, requested prayers from a Christian ministry when his father was sick. These were not prayers for his father to get better, but instead for his father to accept Jesus. Here is a link to his request to Sministry.org: Click Here

Here is a link to Sministry.org's main index, showing that they are clearly a Christian, not a Jewish group-would a real rabbi request prayers for his father to accept Jesus from a Christian ministry? Of course not! : Click Here

Further, Farber conducts a study on the Messianic Bureau International's radio. MBI is run by "Rabbi" David Hargis, an ordained Pentecostal minister. Here is the link to the MBI radio page where he is shown conducting the class: Click Here

Here is the link to my examination of Melech Hamishkan congregation, in which David Hargis, the President of MBI, is shown to be a Christian, not a Jewish leader (as example, Reverend Hargis claims that his paternal grandfather is a Ukranian Jew, when in reality his family originiated from rural Tennesee): Click Here

Nothing suprising about Pentecostal groups coming together to convert Jews!

Schooling

"Curriculum The co-op will use The School of Tomorrow (formerly ACE) curriculum, a Canadian, Christian home school system that allows students to work at their own pace. Members will be able to buy the material at a significant discount off retail prices. Extra curricular subjects will also be offered such as Hebrew language, dance and sports programs.

Ever hear of real Jewish organization using a Christian curriculum? I thought not. This shows the level of honesty of their organization. Here is the link to the proof, the proof is part of the 5th paragraph: Click Here

Judaism Isn't a Religion?

Congregation Melech Yisrael has an essay on attempting to explain how you can be Jewish and still believe in Jesus. It is filled with errors and false accusations, including not understanding what it actually means to be a Jew, the actions of Ezra the Scribe, the origin of the oral law, etc. (Editor's Note: It would take a few pages to go into the details of all the errors, please e-mail me if you want details on each point in their essay). I would like to address two basic errors. First, at the top of the page, Melech Yisrael translates Messianic Judaism in Hebrew as "Yehudim Meshichim". "Yehudim Meshichim" actually means "Annointed Jews", not "Messianic Judaism." A real synagogue is not likely to make an error in this basic translation. Additionally, in the 8th paragraph of the essay, it says:

"You see, being Jewish is a nationality, it was never, ever meant to be an organized religion. "Jews - Praisers of G-d," were meant to have a personal relationship with their creator, who desired to dwell in their midst continually. Religion is not from G-d, relationship is!"

Judaism was never meant to be an organized religion? Did they miss the commandments from G-d creating the Kohanim (High Priests) and Levi'im (priests who aided the High priests) to lead us in religious practice and to carry out certain religious responsibilties that were forbidden for any other Jew to do? Did they miss the commandments from G-d ordering specific holidays, the creation of a central point of worship (The Tabernacle) and very specific rules on how to worship? Of course Judaism is an organized religion! G-d's commandments created a very organized, detail-oriented religion. Melech Yisrael makes another very non-Jewish mistake in understanding Judaism. It says that Judaism was meant to be about a personal relationship, not a religion. In truth, Judaism is about both creating a personal relationship and also a community relationship through the commandments that G-d gave the Jewish people in the Bible. We are commanded not only to engage in practices that create a personal relationship, such as saying certain prayers or keeping kosher, but the Jewish people are commanded to come together as a community, in an organized fashion, to relate to G-d as Am Yisrael, the Nation of Israel. Now, by "nation" we do not mean "nationality", as in one's country of origin. The Jewish people are a people made holy through our practice of G-d's laws, and Am Yisrael expresses the idea of a unified people brought together to relate as a holy community with our G-d. It is a difficult concept to grasp for those that do not truly undertand Judaism, the Bible, and what the word "nation" really means in Judaism. That being said, we see community sacrifices, such as the goat for Yom Kippur, that are practiced in a Biblically-commanded manner, with many specific details, that allow the Jewish people to have a relationship with G-d on a community level, through organized religion. There are many examples of the Jewish people being given commandments that are given to the community as a whole, not to an individual, and which need the Jewish people to come together as one people to fulfill. In a nutshell, Melech Yisrael simply does not know what it means to live as Jews, how the Jewish people relate to G-d and what is a nation. Judaism is an organized religion because G-d, in G-d's infinite wisdom, created our religion. A real Jewish group would not make such a huge error (again, ignoring the countless other mistakes they make on their essay). Here is the link to the quote, the quote comes from the 8th paragraph: Click Here

Who We Are

If you look at Congregation Melech Yisrael's "Who We Are" page, you will find a great deal of evidence showing that they are a Christian group. In the first paragraph they state:

"Our congregation is a "Torah observant Messianic Congregation" comprised of both those who were born Jewish and those of the nations, who have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel, through the acceptance of Yeshua as their Messiah (Ephesians 2:12-13).

First off, they are quoting Ephesians, part of the Christian Bible, not the Jewish Bible. This is the first sign of who they really are. Secondly, they make an obvious error in their statement. Non-Jews are not part of the nation of Israel. Being Jewish is synonymous with being part of Am Israel, the nation of Israel. Non-Jews can practice Judaism, and do every single Jewish religious rite, however, until they convert to Judaism, they are not part of the nation of Israel. Non-Jews who live with Jews are Biblically referred to as "Gers", strangers, who the Jewish people are expected to treat with the highest respect. However, they are not part of the nation of Israel. A real Jewish group would never claim that non-Jews are part of the "commonwealth" of Israel! They next claim that:

"We believe Yeshua to be the living Torah who came to faithfully fulfill Torah and not abolish it. Torah is alive and well, living in the hearts of all believers."

Did Jesus (Yeshua) really faithfully fulfill the laws of the Torah? Unfortunately, he missed on a few levels. For instance, he never fulfilled the law of "Pru Orvu U'Mil'u Et HaAretz" which means "Be Fruitful and Multiply and Fill the Earth". This is the law to have biological children. What about not trying to abolish the law? Well, actually there is evidence that he did. Here is an essay on this topic: Click Here

In the third paragraph they write:

"Observance therefore is not an option but a requirement of all who desire to follow our Mashiach (Messiah), who having fulfilled the Torah for us, paid the price (the Asham sacrifice) of our failures, thus destroying in His body the consequences of our disobedience (sin and death)."

If you are a "Torah" observant Jew, you will know the following: the Bible is very specific about what is allowable as a sacrifice. Leviticus is clear about each item that is to be used, all else is forbidden. The acceptable items that the Bible lists for the different sacrifices are cows, goats, sheep, birds and flour. There is not a single case in the sacrificial listing in Leviticus where a human is acceptable. Just look at Chapter 5 in the Book of Leviticus for the Asham sacrifice, and you will see that a human is not listed as an acceptable sacrificial item.

Also, I would advise that you go to Jews for Judaism's and Rabbi Federow's sites(numbers 1,2 and 4) which will go into this issue in more detail:

Rabbi Federow

Jews for Judaism

Congregation Melech Yisrael also say in the 7th paragraph of their essay: "...Although we are charismatic (believe in the gifts and the workings of the Ruach HaKodesh [Holy Spirit])..." What is Charismatic? There is no such thing as "Charismatic" in Judaism, only in Christianity. According to Answers.com, Charismatic refers to

"Of, relating to, or being a type of Christianity that emphasizes personal religious experience and divinely inspired powers, as of healing, prophecy, and the gift of tongues."

Clearly, this demonstrates that Melech Yisrael is a Christian, not a Jewish, movement. For those that were a bit confused by the definition, it basically means that the congregation member will suddenly act as if possessed and speak in a non-language. Psychological research has demonstrated that this is a learned behavior in these churches. Here is the link to the Answers.com, additionally, it has a section on the history of the Charismatic movement: Click Here

Moving along, you will note in the 8th paragraph that their Saturday morning service

"Regular services begin at 11:00 a.m. and take approximately three hours."

Now, if you ever go to a real Jewish service, you know that they never start later than 10 a.m., and the prayers are completed prior to noon. Congregation Melech Yisrael runs their Saturday morning service until 2 p.m. Churches often start services at 11 a.m., but there is a reason why synagogue services do not start at this time. By Jewish law, morning services must be done in the morning (seems obvious, right?). When is morning? By Jewish law, first you take the number of daylight hours, and divide it by 12. Each of these are a "daylight hour", which is what we use to calculate morning. The first half of these "daylight hours" are morning, the second half is afternoon. It is hard to ever get much past noon and it still be morning. Hence, why Jews start their services earlier in the day. A real Jewish group would not violate this law, but Congregation Melech Yisrael does! Here is a link back to Melech Yisrael's "Who Are We" section, so you can see all of the quotes came from them: Click Here

Prayers

Congregation Melech Yisrael also lists on their schedule that they conduct intercessory prayers on Tuesday through Thursday Click Here

On a personal note, I had to look up what an intercessory prayer was, as there is no service by this name in Judaism. That should be a "red flag"-they have a service which is not heard of in Judaism but is common in Christianity. This is a clear indicator that they are a Christian, and not a Jewish group. However, with a little research, I found some interesting Christian explanations of the intercessory prayer. Intercessory Prayers are prayers on behalf of others, for instance, praying on behalf of your mother's health. Essentially, you are a mediating on behalf of others with your prayer. In Judaism, we normally do this as part of our regularly services, such as the "Mishebarach" prayers that are said during the Torah reading services. However, there is a Christian "catch" to this. Jesus is viewed as the ultimate intercessor, and you need to go through Jesus to get to G-d, or as is commonly said in Messianic Judaism/Christianity, you need to go through the Son to get to the Father. This is completely contrary to Jewish beliefs. In Judaism, everyone, Jew and non-Jew, can pray directly to G-d. There is no need to go through anyone or anything to reach G-d. Further, there is a contradiction in belief that is apparent. If Jesus (the Son), the Father and the Holy Spirit are equal parts of G-d, then I should not need to go through one to reach the other. Wouldn't I have the same results speaking to the Father or the Holy Spirit if they are all part of the same being? A real Jewish group would not advocate for beliefs that violate standard Jewish belief as it has existed for 4000 years!

Their Beliefs

If you look at Congregation Melech Yisrael's beliefs, you will notice that the are just a Judaicized version of standard Pentecostal beliefs. Compare their beliefs to those of two Pentecostal churches, and you find it hard to notice differences between the Congregation Melech Yisrael and the churches:

Congregation Melech Yisrael

Biggleswade Pentecostal Church

Cornerstone Church

Associates

Here is a link to my review of Jews for Jesus, showing how they are a Christian group created by a Baptist minister: Click Here

Christian Links

711 Christian Directory Click Here

Miami Christian University (under "Canada") Click Here

Net Ministries (10th Listing) Click Here

Christian Start (13th Listing, again, among many other Messianic groups) Click Here

Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus

There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions.

An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here

An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here

Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here

An Answer from Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here

Countermissionary Counseling

There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:

Jews for Judaism

Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.

Torah Atlanta

Outreach Judaism

Torah Life and Living

Great Sites, Priceless Information

Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism.

Messiah Page

Messiah Truth

Jews for Judaism

Outreach Judaism

Counter Missionary Reference

Torah Atlanta

Messianic Verses in Tanach

Kosher Judaism

Escape From Counterfeit Judaism

Talking to Kids About Missionaries

Contact Me

I am more than happy to answer any questions regarding why Jews do not believe in Jesus or on Jewish beliefs in general. Feel free to e-mail me. There is no such thing as a "stupid question". E-mail me-click here