2.4.2 Interaction with the Supernatural
I came to the Lord in a very supernatural way. God showed me the Messiah, dying for me on the cross. A very vivid picture. You can talk to many Jewish believers, and in totally unrelated incidents, similar things are happening (30/97)
„Coming to the Lord” implies former distance to the supernatural. Referring to „supernatural” is etic and conceals the personal, dialogue dimension (Buber 1962) of the quoted statement. To Messianic Jews, and many Christians, „Lord” often refers to Jesus, perceived as a living, transcendental person with whom one can communicate. „Lord” can also refer to God. The statement can thus refer to God or Jesus, maybe to both.
Like other Messianic Jews (Hoekendijk 1992), the quoted type ℸ (daleth) leader also had initially a „very supernatural” encounter. In contrast, type ℵ (aleph) and ℷ (gimel) non-charismatic encounters would often lack audition, vision, and „a very vivid picture”. Their encounters with the supernatural would rather happen during Bible study, or listening to a sermon or testimony, and then thinking about it, it can lead to a conversion experience. Yet however sober such encounters may seem, they always have at least a slight mystical element in it, that surpasses mere intellect and cognition.
In the above „testimony”, the supernatural revealed „the Messiah, dying for me on the cross”. Jesus and the cross are abominations for many Jews. For centuries Jews were repressed, at times even killed, in the name of Jesus under the sign of the cross. How should a Jew associate anything really meaningful with them at all? Accordingly, here, it required a personal, supernatural revelation, an unwanted vision, to take a reluctant Jew off guard. It required „a very vivid picture” to infuse these abominations with a reversed positive meaning (Cohen 1985: 58-69), depicting the invisible reality. Here, a vision appeared able to break through the ancient Jewish abomination against a crucified Messiah, „יוסף בן משיח”, „Mashiach ben Yoseph” (Ben Avraham, n. d.). A supernatural encounter with Jesus appeared stronger than a collective traditional pressure against him. One could also regard such unsought for vision as legitimation. It is not the convert's fault in the end, but the supernatural's, who could resist it? The experience is personal and demanding, not impersonal and optional, because in the vision the person saw „the Messiah, dying for me [italic, ed.] on the cross”. „The Death of Messiah” (Kjær-Hansen 1994) is not a tragic accident, but a self-sacrifice for the atonement, for the redemption of the individual visionary. Like in other instances, revelation did not stop at an initial experience, but may have laid a foundation for an ongoing charismatic experience of the supernatural. Later, another picture shows the visionary his way through time and the task that one has to fulfill. The task confirms and extends the personal history.
God has been very, very faithful to show us what we should invest our time in... The Lord spoke to me in a time of prayer and showed me a picture... This represented what he wanted to do. Reaching out to those exiled, who would be returning to the land, after nearly two thousand years of absence, and, particularly coming out of the countries of the North, but from all of the nations, those who would not have the kind of physical resources and finances, that we have brought from the West... first in the form of physical assistance, food, clothing, medical assistance, employment service, apartments, real estate. And of course also the reality of salvation through Yeshua (30/97).
Today, the activities of the congregation unfold the revelation the leader had years ago. They perceived the so called „picture” as specifically expressed will of the supernatural and it became the programme for personal and collective activities. Among charismatic, a „picture” is a typical means of supernatural guidance. It infers an inner, static sight, while a dream or vision would rather infer a sequence of action. Whether it means really seeing something visually in one's mind or having an idea is not always discernable. It anyway needs infusion with meaning. Over time, picture and interpretation may melt together. The programme, presented as derived from the picture, appears similar to what Christian and Jewish institutions ever did and still do. Extending material help to the needy and, based on it, also spiritual help. Jewish institutions could remark that they needed neither Jesus nor vision to develop such programmes.
Type ℵ (aleph) and ℷ (gimel) representatives would question whether it would at all need a special revelation. They regarded the Bible sufficient to draw such programmes from it, and that anyone who would „take Scripture seriously” would arrive there anyway. In the above case, the picture got related to Scripture, or could even be inspired by it. Rationalising the phenomenon, one could also assume that in the face of the considerable needs of Russian and other immigrants, a person could intuitively remember a Bible verse and transform it intuitively into an inner image. I am aware such interpretation may not find the favour of some believers. Further, there appeared also no other social body in that region that developed a similar aid programme for immigrants.
Besides particular revelations and Scripture, also profane situations can gain considerable meaning to a person, and constitute later social reality in groups.
I remember, the first time that I was in Russia, in Moscow. I looked out of my hotel room and I just started weeping. I just started realising that I was there in the capital of what has been the Soviet Union. And I was there with real freedom to share the Gospel, especially as a Jewish believer to reach out to the Jews (30/97).
To Western evangelicals, the USSR was a prototype system that suppressed religions of various groups. The mere presence of the believer in the capital of the former Soviet Union becomes a supernatural experience. Here, the supernatural had changed the system to enable activities that were before impossible or dangerous to realise, like to proclaim the Gospel to Jews. Regarding the remaining Jews in Russia, the respondent perceives,
there is a heavier, further repression coming. As soon as the antisemitism would rise, then the people are gonna be out of there, as rapidly as they can. They would come with even less than the other time. The prophets talk about it. The wave, I don't think it will really get rolling until there is some harsh repression. Unfortunately. But in anyway, I sense that God, in each position, is preparing towards that. And we are really trusting God for a larger facility (30/97).
They perceive the personal and collective supernatural experience as preparation for a greater demand on the idea in the future. This secures the meaningfulness and significance of the ministry. It also creates a greater willingness to engage in activities, as they do not perceive the present situation as climax already. The present is only a preliminary educating stage for the more intensive task still to come. To realise the programme in a synagogal expression is not a matter of taste and preference, but of revelation.
We feel, that God wants to reestablish a visible connection between Jewishness and Jesus in the land. And something that is authentic, something that is not trying to imitate our Orthodox brethren. However, there will be features, because those synagogue patterns, evolved out of Judaism from the time of Moses forward. So for us it's a joy to be reading from the Torah scroll, and to be celebrating the holidays, and to be singing some of the traditional prayers with an uncompromising declaration of Yeshua as the way of salvation, for all, for Jew and for gentile. But that the Lord never intended for the Gospel to be removed from its Jewish roots. And, that he wants to demonstrate at the end of the age, that it all goes together (30/97).
The humanitarian programme derived from a visionary „picture”, but the programme for the synagogal expression came from feeling and Scripture. The cultural programme must reestablish the connection between Jewishness and Jesus „in the land”. The humanitarian aid became embedded in a synagogal religious expression.
In spite of, maybe even because of its Jewish appearance this type ℸ (daleth) group experienced serious harassment from religious extremists. A firebomb destroyed the congregation's office and brought smoke damage to the building. Nevertheless,
Since this fire, we have seen such an outpouring of prayer and love, and financial assistance, good will and unity. Both, inside of Israel and from the outside, from believers. If you told me, „I have the power to change history, and you could go on, with that fire having never happened,” I will tell you, „I am not interested.” Because God has done through it things that we could not have achieved if it never happened. Of course, we would never have chosen it. But the Scriptures are clear that being persecuted for the name of Yeshua is a blessing and a privilege. I have learned, more than I have ever known it before, which was mostly in theory (30/97).
Profound hostility could not change the programme. The opposite happened. They perceive that the supernatural used hostile aggression to rouse ever more sympathy and support. Also, it changes spiritual theory into spiritual experience that deepens conviction. In all cases of hostility that I had heard of, it appeared only to strengthen the affected Messianic Jewish individual and group.
We've had some harassment here, but this was a very powerful thing to witness, this explosion, the fire, the whole building black. And just the power of the heat, as if hell itself had been unleashed. But we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against the congregation of Yeshua, the church, the kehilat. 33This is an obvious hint to the Gospel of Matthew 16:18.) I immediately realised that we are involved in something so much bigger than ourselves. ... This is a small work. This is nothing huge. But apparently something is going on in the realm of the spirit that threatens the powers of darkness. What I saw was, that only God could deal with this. I can't. What am I gonna do? Can I deal with the fire bomb that reeks destruction in minutes? ... That kind of power and force only God can respond to. So it really seems vital to embrace liberation (30/97).
The fire bomb was a climax of hostility. The material fire became a symbol for a negative spiritual fire, hell. The physical attack became a spiritual one, showing that more is at stake than the eyes can see. This depicts the human more powerless, yet the supernatural and the human that have a relationship with the supernatural more powerful. In the terms of the representative, the institutionally „small work ... threatens the powers of darkness ... that only God could deal with”. „Liberation” is a charismatic expression to spiritually claim back a geographical or social realm, perceived as current domain of Satan (J. D. Douglas 1980: 435). „Liberation” means to conjure, bind and cast out demons from individuals, buildings, cities, larger areas, in the name, authority, of Jesus. At least here one can diagnose an exploitative supernatural interaction. In contrast to a negative fire,
We are anticipating the spiritual fire of God for all of us, well, we need it and we want it. Because there is, as Paul says, a blindness, upon our people. But God is gonna take it away. There is tremendous openness among the people who are arriving [immigrants, ed]. They are hungry spiritually. They are also oppressed and discouraged. And the pressures of life here are tremendous, and the rejection is tremendous. Sorry to say, it's not the image of open arms, you know, welcoming the returning Jews. There is a real resentment in Israel. 34Occasionally, Israelis depicted Russian and other immigrants as underdeveloped and bothersome.) But, people tell you honestly, for economic reasons, for cultural reasons. But, this is the word of the prophets coming true (30/97).
The positive spiritual fire refers to a spiritual restoration of Israel. It suggests that not only a small minority acknowledges Jesus as Messiah of the Jews, but that the redemption of the whole nation is at stake (Saperstein 1992:2-3). They perceive the gentile church, in its current form, as interregnum. The perception is, that the supernatural started to restore the original Jewishness and power of believers in Jesus,
the level of anointing and authority that existed on the proclamation of the Gospel, in those [New Testament, ed] days. ...there was a radical commitment to assist one another in basic needs. There was a strong proclamation of Yeshua as the crucified and resurrected Messiah as promised by the prophets. There was a strong element of Jewish identity. That was natural, unforced. ...it was never imagined that they [New Testament Jewish believers, ed.] were to leave Judaism. That was the concept. That was their life, that was their covenant with God. But by following Yeshua, they received a new heart and they were able to live according to Torah, the values of God. Those factors to me are something that God wants to restore, to bring back again. ... We need the supernatural power of God... We need God to show up, because it is important to give an answer of the reason of the hope that is within us, for sure, and a good defence of the faith. (30/97).
While type ℸ (daleth) believers engage in humanitarian, cultural and spiritual activities, they do not think that they can achieve themselves what they aspire. They hope for a supernatural intervention. Events get considered about whether they reveal such intervention. The internal and external social-cultural interaction reflects this attitude, and the mentioned programmes to help immigrants and to build a local Messianic Jewish synagogue.
Collective worship is collective Interaction with the Supernatural. Worship includes for type ℸ (daleth) more then only traditional Christian and Jewish elements. There will be reading from the Scriptures, hearing sermons, praying and singing, speaking and singing in tongues, sharing dreams, auditions, pictures, visions and prophecies. Besides this, music is not only for listening to instrumentals and singing, it is also for dance as another form of worship. The movements of Messianic Jewish dance express emotions of devotion and worship. Bowing down and lowering the hands expresses surrender to the supernatural. The lifting up of hands expresses the dedication of one's work to the supernatural, and the passing on of any received honour for one's efforts, works and success. Hands become mirrors to reflect towards the unseen the visibly received honour. Lifted up hands also show the wish or emotion of „lifting up the Lord”, to exalt him, as only he deserves it. The expressed upmost goal of worship dance is to please and praise the supernatural being (Silberling 1995).