Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don't be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords (in Hebrew Adonai adonaim), the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. - Deuteronomy 10:16-17 HCSB
Wikipedia, in an attempt to classify and organize the religions that their service has uncovered, carefully defined both the term "Christian" and the term "denomination". They determined the number of so-called "Christian denominations" that they have classified so far to be 38,000. The vast majority of these denominations are Protestant in nature and thus did not exist before 1517. So, basically in the last 500 years, Christianity has exploded into 38,000 conflicting shards.
Illustration: "I am that I am" website. The problem with this site is not only is it heretical and occultist, but that the vast majority of "mainstream Christian" denominations would make allowances for it. Many would invite them to speak in their pulpits!
Back in 1988, I began struggling with this whole issue. I struggled with the fact that my wife and I were being told that in order to become missionaries and establish an orphanage in Cameroon, we would have to join a mission board. When I carefully explained the biblical method of sending out missionaries (with mission boards not being mentioned in the process), the church leaders basically said, "Yes, we realize what you are saying is true and biblical, but this is the way things are done now days."
I struggled with the fact that the Bible over and over again commands us to observe the Passover; that the Passover is to be a perpetual statute till heaven and earth passes away and yet no Protestant church I knew of at the time observed it. Instead, they choose to observe Easter, a holiday based on a pagan fertility goddess with absolutely no ties to the date of the resurrection of the Christ.
I struggled with the fact that the vast majority of Christians were being taught out of barely a quarter of the Bible. I struggled with the fact that though they would never admit it, these Christians were anti-Semites. I struggled with the fact that while nearly every author of the Bible was Jewish and even the parts in Greek were written by Jews, yet no one I knew had even the slightest clue how to interpret biblical concepts through the Jewish culture and mindset. Those seminarians who had learned something of the Jewish manners and customs had all chosen to ignore them in their daily walk.
In my struggles, as I tried to determine for myself what the Scriptures actually state without the prejudice of a lifetime inculcated in fundamentalist "KJV-only" mentality, I needed to identify the theology I was developing in contrast to the "cultural Christianity" I was drowning in. I considered how the names of various denominations came to be.
The Methodist denomination takes its name from the "methodical" approach John Wesley used with the Scriptures. The Baptists gained their name due to their emphasis on the necessity of post-conversion baptism by immersion. The Presbyterians are known for their hierarchical structure based on the Greek concept of the "presbuteroi". The term Quaker refers to the practice of followers of that particular movement "quaking" or trembling under the influence of their ecstatic experience.
Adonai is a Hebrew name of God that literally means "Lord". Yahweh is considered not only "Lord" but actually "Adonai adonaim", or "Lord of lords". Adonaic theology emphasizes the Sovereignty and Lordship of the Master Lord Jesus. It makes Him King and firmly establishes Him on the throne. It places a high value on demonstrating one's love and gratitude for salvation by humbly obeying His commands. So Adonaism takes its name from its emphasis on this lordship of God.
Adonaists believe that what is important is neither intellectual methodology, nor external rites, nor hierarchical ecclesiology nor ecstatic experience. We believe that nothing is more important than a person's redemption from the consequences of sin and the restoration of the human/divine relationship. Adonaists believe that this redemption is dependent on our humble acquiescence to the sovereignty of God in our lives.
Adonaists claim the carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth, was the only begotten Son of God, God in Flesh. As such, He is our Messiah and rightful King. Please open your Bibles and let's examine the following passages together:
Matthew 7:15-27 HCSB
"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You'll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you'll recognize them by their fruit. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!' Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn't collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn't act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!"
Matthew 21:28-31 HCSB
"But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'My son, go, work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I don't want to!' Yet later he changed his mind and went. Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. 'I will, sir,' he answered. But he didn't go. Which of the two did his father's will?"
"The first," they said. Jesus said to them,
"I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you!"
Matthew 25:31-46 HCSB
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?' And the King will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.' Then He will also say to those on the left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn't take Me in; I was naked and you didn't clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn't take care of Me.' Then they too will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?' Then He will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Mark 1:15 HCSB "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!"
Mark 10:15 HCSB
"I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Luke 13:24-27 HCSB
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won't be able once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up for us!' He will answer you, 'I don't know you or where you're from.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!' But He will say, 'I tell you, I don't know you or where you're from. Get away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!'"
We believe that those who not only PROFESS but actually LIVE this truth are granted admittance into the Kingdom of God. God's merciful act of paying the wages of our sin and liberating us from Satan's dark kingdom (Colossians 1:13) often drives the Adonaist to refer to God as the Redeemer (in Hebrew Ga'al) and to the believers as the Ransomed.
Like the infamous Prodigal Son, the Adonaist recognizes the futility of his pursuits, resolves to return to the Father, honestly admits the error of his ways, humbly accedes to being nothing more than a household servant, and throws himself upon the Father's mercy.
Adonaism teaches that like the godly father in the story of the Prodigal Son, when we draw near to God, humbly confessing our sins and repenting of them, the Lord not only forgives, but actually adopts us into His family, turning us into Jews much as He did our spiritual ancestor Abraham (a concept referred to as "ezrach" or "native").
Matthew 3:7-9 HCSB When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the place of his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
Hosea 2:23 HCSB I will sow her in the land for Myself, and I will have compassion on No Compassion; I will say to Not My People: You are My people, and he will say: You are My God.
Romans 9:24-26 HCSB On us whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As He also says in Hosea: I will call "Not-My-People," "My-People," and she who is "Unloved," "Beloved." And it will be in the place where they were told, you are not My people, there they will be called sons of the living God.
Romans 2:27-29 HCSB A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who fulfills the law, will judge you who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart--by the Spirit, not the letter. His praise is not from men but from God.
This emphasis on the grafting of the believer into the House of Israel strongly characterizes the culture of Adonaism. A profound interest in the Hebrew language, culture and mindset heavily influences the interpretation and application of the Scriptures. Many Jewish terms are used simply because there are no counterparts for the concepts in our modern languages. The Hebrew names of God are also heavily referred to, especially in the devotional life of Adonaists.
Finally, Adonaic theology is built upon three pillars:
1. Imrah - What we believe - Biblical Doctrine
2. Mussar - What we are - Character Development
3. Tzedekah - What we do - Right Living
