Exploring Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach
Background Currently, you may be searching your religion, and perhaps looking at the relationship between Judaism and Jesus. Maybe you are curious about the idea of Messianic Judaism. Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach presents itself as a Jewish group that believes in Jesus. However, they are run by A Place Called Hope Ministries, a Christian organization! I will demonstrate this by using information from their webpage and other Christian sources: Church Mother As stated above, Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach is part of a church called A Place Called Hope. In fact, Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach is featured throughout their webpage. As a start point, you can see them featured on the opening page of A Place Called Hope. Just scroll down to the bottom and you will see a man dressed as a religious Jew under the title "Messianic Service." The picture is of Allen Kurzweil, who founded this ministry of the church: Click Here Here is a link to the "Messianic" section of A Place Called Hope Ministries where it advertizes for Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach. Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach is simply a ministry of their church. That is why it has it's own special section on the church website. Here is the link to the proof: Click Here If you look at the bottom of the page is says "Messianic Music by Shoshana Kurzweil." If you follow the link it leads you to Hope On The Inside. According to their website: "Hopeontheinside.org is a ministry of A Place Called Hope in Hollywood Florida."
Again, this demonstrates that Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach are simply part of the the church A Place Called Hope. Here is the link to the quote: Click Here As a ministry of A Place Called Hope, it not surprising to see that their service is listed on A Place Called Hope's schedule. Here is the link to the proof; you will find the "Messianic Service" listed on Friday: Click Here Also, here is the information on them in the "Church News & Events" section. They are the third listing under "Upcoming Events." Here is the link to the listing: Click Here Moreover, they are on the contact page for the church. Here is the link to the proof, Messianic Ministry is the third contact on the right: Click Here Similarly, Allen Kurzweil, the founder of Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach is listed on Crossmap, a Christian web directory! No real rabbi would be listed on Crossmap. Here is the link to the proof; He is the fourth listing on the page: Click Here Bishop Swilley
Bishop Duane Swilley is the leader of A Place Called Hope. Since Olive Tree Ministries/Temple Beth Mashiach is a ministry of his church, it is not surprising that he is featured on the Olive Tree Ministries website, along with his Messianic ministry leaders Allen and Shoshana Kurzweil. Here is a link to the Olive Tree Ministries website. You will notice that his picture is on the right side: Click Here Again, it is clear that Bishop Duane Swilley and A Place Called Hope are really in charge of these groups. Christian Evangelical Advice On the Olive Tree Ministries website, Allen Kurzweil gives advice on how to evangelize Jews to Christianity. Probably the most insulting section is the Communication section of his Sharing Messiah with Jewish People. It shows how to change around Christian term to make them more palatable to the Jewish people. Here are a few quotes from this section: "And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews... I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 1 Corinthians 9:20, 22b
On any mission field, the first thing that must be learned is the language and the culture. The Jewish people are a mission field in our own back yard. Although they share in the American culture, they also have a Jewish culture.
Even though we do not need to learn to speak Hebrew or Yiddish in order to witness to them, we still need to learn a new "language." We need to understand their sensitivities, hang-ups, culture, etc. We need to learn the "language" of the Jewish heart. Otherwise, we will not get through to them. The following is a list of terminology to use instead of the standard "churchy" expressions. These are words that the Jewish people can relate to....
Church: The very thought of the word will make them uncomfortable, much the way the mention of a meeting-place for a cult would make us feel. Besides, we need to tell people about Yeshua, not just about church.
Congregation: In reality, we are incorrect when we call our meeting places churches. We are the Church. The Church is the people, the Body of Messiah. It would be more correct to call our meeting places synagogues, which means a gathering together....
Missionary: This word conjures up a picture of a wild-eyed religious fanatic out to steal Jewish children from their parents. If you think this is a bit paranoid, just consider how you would react to the idea of a Jehovah's Witness, a Moonie or a Hare Krishna accosting you and your children and trying to win you over to their beliefs. That is how Jewish people feel about missionaries.
Minister, Rabbi, Spiritual Leader: These are more acceptable terms. The word Minister, which means servant, is a more Scriptural term than missionary anyway. Rabbi literally means teacher, and Spiritual Leader is an apt description of one who teaches spiritual truths. ...
Cross or Crucifix: The symbol of death and persecution to the Jewish person. Many Jewish people were forced to kiss the Cross or die. Many died rather than forsake their heritage. Crusaders used the cross as a symbol while murdering Jews, Arabs, and others who did not believe their way.
Tree: Many Jewish people feel that the "Christians" blame them for the death of Jesus (perhaps because many do!). They need to understand that Yeshua came to die to pay the price for our sins. The message of the Cross should not be avoided. But it needs to be presented as the act that it was - God's ultimate willing sacrifice for the salvation of mankind!"
Clearly, Allen Kurzweil is a practitioner of dishonesty to evangelize the Jews. Here is the link to the quotes. On the left-side of the page under Section 2, click on "Communication" to bring you directly to the quotes: 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 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
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. Outreach Judaism Messiah Page Messiah Truth Jews for Judaism Torah Atlanta Counter Missionary Reference 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".
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