First, note that Messianic Judaism is not a Jewish denomination. Despite what the name implies, Messianic Jews are not simply Jews who believe in Jesus. Messianic Judaism is a separate religion which was founded in 1970. This book, therefore, does not accurately reflect what Jews believe. For example, the Passover Seder celebrated by modern Jews makes no mention of Jesus. It is also important to note that while modern rabbinic Judaism grew out of biblical Judaism, the two are not identical. In the New Testament, therefore, Jesus did not celebrate a Passover seder - the modern seder postdates the destruction of the temple; Jesus and his followers celebrated biblical Passover, not modern Passover.

As a biblical scholar, I was disappointed to discover that nearly every 'fact' revealed in this book is inaccurate. If you nevertheless choose to read this book, assume that every fact without a footnote is not true. Should you attempt to confirm these facts, you will find no scholarship to support them. For example, Jews are not afraid of water: in both antiquity and modern times, Jews immerse in a mikveh for ritual purification; in some synagogues, this occurs daily. The bible repeatedly states that the Levites have no land, so there were no Levitical shepherds. Caves were used as ancient stables, but lambs were not born in 'sacred birthing caves,' nor were the animals swaddled at birth.

At first glance, this book seems like it would be perfect for Christians who want to learn more about the Jewish roots of their religion and about Israel. Unfortunately, this appearance is misleading as the book contains inaccurate claims unsupported by biblical scholarship. ( )

I loved reading this book and learning the meaning behind and in the Bible I never knew before. Rabbi Jason's information was great! Loved Kathy Lee's tour of Israel. ( )

I really wanted to love this book, but it fell short of my expectations. There were a few places where the facts were just plain wrong. That opens the door to doubt for everything else in the book. For example, on page 60, the Rabbi says that turning water into blood was the first miracle Moses performed. But that isn't true. He turned his staff into a snake first. The rest of the analogy works, but he should know the facts. He wanted to compare this to Jesus miracle of turning water into wine. That is a great comparison, but you lose some integrity when your facts are off.

My other issue was with the Rabbi's use of numerology. I admit I don't know how it works, so I can't check anything for myself. But, on page 68, he is that the number 490 is the value of the phrase, "Let your heart be perfect. (1 Kings 8:61, my translation)." So, the Rabbi made up a phrase that added to 490 to make his point. Well, couldn't I also create any phrase to add up to that number? Many phrases would be able to come to that sum. You can't create your own translation to support your own theory. 1 Kings 8:61 actually says, "Let your heart, therefore, be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day."

His translation is not a translation, it is a summation of a much longer verse.

Having said that, there were lots of good points in the book. Hearing the original meaning of words gives the verses a much deeper meaning. ( )

Don't let the name of the author put you off...there are jewels in here that will amaze you if you like the history of the Biblical narrative. ( )