ABOUT US
Who are Saltshakers?
OUR VISION
Saltshakers is run by a Jew and a Gentile. We both believe in Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. We are aware of the need for the Church to learn more of the Jewishness that was lost in the early centuries of Christianity. We are also very aware of the need for Jewish people to find salvation in Yeshua. While aware of the varied views and positions of our Christian and Messianic brothers and sisters, we believe in balance and tolerance and our eyes are fully set on the passage in Pauls's letter to the Ephesians. "For he himself (Yeshua) is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility" Eph 2:14-16. We are simple folk really with a simple vision. We exist to teach the Church and reach the Jewish people.
TEACH THE CHURCH
Those who have followed our progress over the years will know that we had done our best to offer the widest range of messianic teachings to our visitors.
We hope and expect to do more over the next few months, in building a community of like-minded believers, willing to join with us in an honest and open journey of discovery of our true Hebrew roots (whether we are Jew or Gentile) and to discover how this affects how we live our lives.
REACH JEWISH PEOPLE
Jewish people need the gospel but they don't need it aggressively thrust down their throats - they've had enough of that in the past 2000 years. There's a lot of baggage that needs to be addressed before you can hope to engage the attention of Jewish people, they've suffered far too much at the hands of 'the Church'.
Without an active awareness of this situation, evangelism is always going to be an uphill struggle. Although we believe totally in the work in the Holy Spirit in regenerating hearts of both Jew and Gentile, we believe that the mind is often overlooked. The mind asks questions like, the Crusades? Blood Libels? Ghettos? The Inquisition? Pogroms? Anti-Semitism? The Holocaust? We can't ignore these questions, they won't just go away. Jewish people must see that there's a MAJOR difference between the 'Christianity' that brought these horrors and the 'Christianity' taught by Jesus and laid out in the New Testament.
We have started to try and explain these things to Jewish people, with encouraging results. Our Tapestry of Gefilte Fish was written to introduce Jesus to Jewish people without the trappings, our "are you Jewish" section is designed to provoke (in a nice way) and our 'Dear Joseph' letter poses a few things for the open mind. But these are just beginnings, we need to do more.
Please keep an eye on us, we intend to do more, soon.
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
A: CORE BELIEFS
We believe in the Bible, both the Tenach (Old Testament) and B'rit Hadashah (New Testament), as inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), as the infallible and completely authoritative word of God.
We believe that the one God exists eternally in three distinct, but not separate persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as expressed in the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) as Echad (a 'multiple oneness')
We believe that man, through his sin, is separated from God and needs to be regenerated by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) for salvation.
We believe that Yeshua Ha Maschiach (Jesus Christ) is God, was conceived by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), and born of a virgin, died at Calvary, shed his blood as man's substitutionary sacrifice, rose bodily, and ascended to heaven. He is presently exalted at God the Father's right hand.
We believe that only by repentance and by faith in Yeshua's sacrificial death can we, both Jew and Gentile, be cleansed and reconciled to God and given the free gift of eternal life.
We believe that the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is God and is the source and power of all acceptable worship and service. He is our Comforter and Helper, enables us to live godly lives and empowers us for the exercise of all biblical gifts.
B. PERSONAL CONVICTIONS
We believe in God's eternal unconditional covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We therefore believe that the survival of the Jewish people and the establishment of the State of Israel are not 'historical accidents' but are part of the outworkings of God's plans for mankind.
We believe that Jews and Gentiles equally need Yeshua as Saviour and that there is no other way that people may be saved. We therefore believe in Jewish evangelism.
We believe that Yeshua will be returning soon as King and, in the meantime, we're put on earth to do God's will to the best of our ability and in line with our specific calling, as prompted by the Ruach HaKodesh.
We believe that anti-Semitism is demonic and should be countered through education and prayer.
We believe in unity and balance in the Body of Messiah (the Church). We believe that God's purpose is to create in Himself "one new man" (Ephesians 2:15) and that Jew and Gentile have equal standing in this relationship.
We believe that all believers should be free to celebrate the Jewish Roots of their faith for educational reasons or through personal conviction but should, at the same time, be sensitive to the needs of others, whether believer or unbeliever, Jew or Gentile.
AND FINALLY ...
We are not a major ministry or a ministry initiative, we do the best that we can with the resources that we've been given. We are blessed by the growing active worldwide community of helpers who share our vision, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, actively sharing their God-given gifts, whether in teaching, prayer, evangelism, or just supporting us with their encouragement and enthusiasm. We also thank God for those who have been moved, on occasion, to support us financially. It all helps and we feel privileged to work alongide you all.
May Yeshua bless us all,
Steve and Kit
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Echad
Hi,
can you please explain your understanding of 'echad', for me I take it to mean 'one complete whole' ie. distnct in manifestation but not divinity. I believe that YHVH shows hmself as either invisible or visible but that they are all YHVH. Can you please explain the triune/trinity doctrine to me with reference to scripture as I am confused about this. My email address is faukpabi@aol.com
Jesus as the Word
In the study of scripture, it seems apparent that Jesus before incarnation was Michael, first-born spiritually, and the one and only arch angel. An example of one of the many scriptures that seems to support this is Exodus 23: 20, 21 that reads 'Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Give heed to him and harken to his voice, do not rebel against him, FOR HE WILL NOT PARDON YOUR TRANSGRESSION; FOR MY NAME IS IN HIM.
Does this make sense to you and do you actually teach this? I am not a Jehovah Witness or a 7th Day Adventist but I am wondering if the Jews believe this to be true about Jesus as well?
Sandra
jeffer3@shaw.ca
Jesus as the Word
To Sandra I would say, first of all - what a notion that Jesus "was Michael, first born spiritually...etc." and I dismissed this as being a bit fanciful. But looking at one of my Student commentaries it says quite clearly " There is strong evidence that the appearances of the Angel of the Lord (inc. Michael) are in fact pre-incarnate appearances of Christ (Christophonies?) E.g things said about the Angel of the Lord go beyond the catergory of angels, and seemingly are only applicable to Christ
I would be interested to know if the Jews would take this concept onboard?
Abraham (not signed in!)
Michael the archangel, the angel of the Lord is Jehovah, Jesus
My dearly beloved, I have been disscussing this subject with a Jew who BLATANTLY REFUSED to take the concept of Michael as Jesus, on board!. Some people just can't accept the truth even if its staring them in the face!
He ended up lying flatly by insisting that Michael is merely just one of the chief princes in Dan 10:13.
This despite my explanation that that word ONE translates as CHIEF or FIRST from the Hebrew word Echad.
Meaning that it should rightly read as; Michael FIRST of the chief princes. Which means that Michael is NOT just one of the chief princes but that he is THE HEAD of the chief princes.
He kept playing up & bringing Hebrew words to trick me as he knows I am not Jewish. But I have visited a Jewish website that says that ECHAD in Dan 10:13 means ONE & ONLY!!
So it means that this man knows the truth but is denying it deliberately. Michael is actually Jehovah & not just an angel. See how in Jude 9 he uses the exact same words that the LORD uses in Zech 3:2 to deal with Satan, "the LORD rebukes you". Also Michael is the one POWERFUL ENOUGH to deal with Satan as seen in Dan 10:13 where he (Michael) comes to the angel's aid because THE PRINCE OF PERSIA who is Satan, had WITHSTOOD him (the angel) for 21 days. Michael comes in, Satan is tackled & the angel is able to go to Daniel to give him information.
Note that ONLY GOD had been shown to deal with Satan as seen in Zech 3:2 & Job 1:1-6. We see Michael doing exactly the same thing. Being the one who is POWERFUL ENOUGH to deal with Satan. This fits in well with him being the same person as Christ Jehovah God..
Michael as Jesus
If as you say that the Prince over Persia is Satan and he had to be defeated then who is the "Prince of Greese who replaced the Prince over Persia.Dan 10:20
Michael the Archangel
To add to this topic, C. S. Lewis, one of the most influential Christian writers of his day (1898 - 1963), stated that Satan is not the opposite of God, but rather the opposite of Arch Angel Michael, who leads the hosts of heaven. War between these two spirits is ongoing and daily. Michael is vigilant in defending God and protecting us, whereas the devil is vigilant in equally trying to lead us astray, offerig us no protection, and slandering God.
Lewis: 'Satan is not opposite of God but of Michael the Arch Angel.' Lewis of course admitted his religion would not be in shambles if he was not correct on this point. However, Lewis believed John 7: 16, 17 that reads, 'Jesus answered them, and said, 'My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.'
As well, in the movie 'Joan of Arc', when Joan was questioned in the courts as to how she knew it was not the King on his throne and how she was able to find him in the crowd (the King had an impersonator sitting on his throne when Joan came to meet him, and the King had disguised himself so that he fit in with the crowd - trying to trick Joan to see if she really was sent by God to save France), Joan told the court that the 'crowned' St. Michael directed her to him.
Then there is 'Michaelmas', an old English name for the celebration of the Dedication of the Church of St. Michael, observed on September 29th. It is the chief festival of the Archangel Michael, and in Great Britain is one of the four quarter days on which taxes and other payments fall due. It has long been customary to eat goose at Michaelmas just as turkey is eaten at Thanksgiving.
Michaelmas seems to parallel with Christmas in a sense that some believe that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles (the most prominent of the feasts), celebrated in late September or early October, this also being the time of year when men brought in their tithes to the Lord God's tabernacle in Jerusalem.
I suppose this doesn't really matter in the great scheme of things, but there are those who believe that Michael was God's first born creation in the heavens, and that Michael was incarnate in Mary - God Himself in His first spirit born creation and son, 'Michael', together in union with righteous humanity, and called Jesus. It is also believed by some that Jesus is now Lord and King of the spiritual heaven that will be governing the new earth, and that God never disappeared in Jesus, believing that the Universal God will ever be omnipresent as the 'Father'of all creation. Jesus never referred to himself as 'Father', and was never referred to as 'Father'.
Food for thought....
Jesus as The Word
I am a gentile. I read Ex 23:21 as Sandra listed, but I think that is crucial to look at other instances where this type of speech is present. First I think we must look at Ex 6:3. It clearly states "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of G-d Almighty, but by my name Yahweh was I not known to them". There is no question here about how he presents himself.
According to the aforementioned scripture Abraham knew G-d by G-d Almighty but not Jehovah. Applying that knowledge to Gen 18:1 & 18: 17-22 we see that the Lord is distinct from the angels.
In Ex 32:34 it states "...behold, mine angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them". Here it is very distinct that he and the angel are not the same being.
It is also beneficial to visit Zech 1:7-17, as pertaining to the current topic: There is the angel that speaks with Zechariah, the angel of the Lord and the Lord of Hosts. Here again, very distinct.
Looking in Daniel 10:13 and 12:1-2, we see Michael listed specifically as "one of the chief princes" and "the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people". When you read about countries and peoples and nations it is important to note that they all have angels that are with them - guiding and helping and waging wars. This is a part of the spiritual warfare that has to do with leaders and rulers of the world. Michael is still working today.
Take a look at Jude 9 and it's counterpart Zech 3:1-2. Note that Jude was Jesus brother and names Michael specifically as the angel of the Lord. In Zech 3:4-5 The Lord (Jesus) cleans and clothes Joshua while the angel of the Lord stands by. In Zech 3:6-7 the angel of the Lord speaks to Joshua "...Thus saith the Lord of Hosts...".
Hebrews 1:6 names Jesus as "the first begotten" and commands that "all of the angels of G-d worship him" and Rev 19:10 is very clear about the worship of angels "...See thou do it not! I am thy fellow servant, and of thy bretheren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy", and Paul was abundantly clear in Col 2:18 that angels were NEVER to be worshiped.
So I guess what I am getting at is Jesus is not Michael. Michael is an angel. Jesus is Yahweh, the son of G-d, Messiah, our Savior, our help and our friend.
Jesus as The Word
I am a gentile. I read Ex 23:21 as Sandra listed, but I think that is crucial to look at other instances where this type of speech is present. First I think we must look at Ex 6:3. It clearly states "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of G-d Almighty, but by my name Yahweh was I not known to them". There is no question here about how he presents himself.
According to the aforementioned scripture Abraham knew G-d by G-d Almighty but not Jehovah. Applying that knowledge to Gen 18:1 & 18: 17-22 we see that the Lord is distinct from the angels.
In Ex 32:34 it states "...behold, mine angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them". Here it is very distinct that he and the angel are not the same being.
It is also beneficial to visit Zech 1:7-17, as pertaining to the current topic: There is the angel that speaks with Zechariah, the angel of the Lord and the Lord of Hosts. Here again, very distinct.
Looking in Daniel 10:13 and 12:1-2, we see Michael listed specifically as "one of the chief princes" and "the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people". When you read about countries and peoples and nations it is important to note that they all have angels that are with them - guiding and helping and waging wars. This is a part of the spiritual warfare that has to do with leaders and rulers of the world. Michael is still working today.
Take a look at Jude 9 and it's counterpart Zech 3:1-2. Note that Jude was Jesus brother and names Michael specifically as the angel of the Lord. In Zech 3:4-5 The Lord (Jesus) cleans and clothes Joshua while the angel of the Lord stands by. In Zech 3:6-7 the angel of the Lord speaks to Joshua "...Thus saith the Lord of Hosts...".
Hebrews 1:6 names Jesus as "the first begotten" and commands that "all of the angels of G-d worship him" and Rev 19:10 is very clear about the worship of angels "...See thou do it not! I am thy fellow servant, and of thy bretheren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy", and Paul was abundantly clear in Col 2:18 that angels were NEVER to be worshiped.
So I guess what I am getting at is Jesus is not Michael. Michael is an angel. Jesus is Yahweh, the son of G-d, Messiah, our Savior, our help and our friend.
The Vision
Cannot see any reason whatsoever why Jew or Gentile should find any problem in this. God Bless you, Steve and Kit, and may Our Father's Will at last be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Enid Laird