The Israel Factor: Have You Factored Out the Jewish People From the Plan of God?

By Marianela Leekley

We are so excited to officially announce Sam Nadler’s newest book, The Israel Factor: Factoring Back in What God Never Factored Out. Making its way to readers in the US, Israel, Japan, and Germany, this book is engaging the body of Messiah in a discussion of their calling to bring the Good News of Yeshua “to the Jew first.” This book is vitally important to doctrine and to Messianic Ministry, and people are taking note.

How encouraging it is to read the positive reviews that readers, scholars, and Messianic Leaders are sending us! It has received endorsements from Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Dr. Michael Brown, Rabbi Howard Silverman, Dr. Barry Leventhal, Dr. Ken Boa, recording artist Paul Wilbur, Ari Sorko-Ram of Maoz Ministries in Israel, and Rabbi Marty Waldman. One prominent Messianic Leader told Sam that it has challenged many of his beliefs about God and Israel! It is our earnest prayer that the Lord blesses and adds His increase to this important message.

What is this book about and why is it so important?

The apostles and the first century congregation not only celebrated the Feasts, but they oriented their very lives around the Biblical calendar. They followed the Scriptures with a Jewish frame of reference. This is what the Apostle Paul teaches to his Gentile audience, which they also follow. How is it then, that our modern-day congregations look nothing like the original?

Sam’s response: “Though the apostle to the Gentiles taught that the Good News is and always will be “to the Jew first,” many in the Body of Messiah have decided it is “to the Jew” rarely, or worse, not at all. For the most part Christendom has factored out the Jewish people from the plan of God. This is tragic for Israel and all believers since the Messiah taught that His Second Coming is tied to the repentance of Israel (Matthew 23:37-39). The Body of Messiah must factor Israel into their Biblical faith to fulfill their divine calling.”

The Israel Factor explores the ten basic doctrines of faith in Messiah, Yeshua. Today, scholars and professors are teaching these doctrines in most seminaries and Bible colleges, and by proxy, churches worldwide. The Israel Factor shows how each of these doctrines were formed at a time in the second century when the inclusion of Israel and the Jewish people was not considered relevant. Nearly two thousand years after Yeshua lived, we are still dealing with the consequences of a compromised understanding of God’s faithfulness to Israel and the resulting redemptive plan for the world.

A book about doctrine? How very…dry?

NOT AT ALL! As Dr. Barry Leventhal, Distinguished Senior Professor, Provost, and Dean of Southern Evangelical Seminary writes, “Some books are to be avoided altogether. Some to be read only once. Others, like The Israel Factor are meant to be read multiple times. When we read Dr. Nadler’s book, God will certainly transform us. For this kind of Messianic transformation is the only kind of transformation that truly glorifies our Lord Yeshua, in both time and eternity.”

I couldn’t agree more. I’m reading it for the third time, and because it so heavily references Scripture, it has only fortified my understanding of the Word of God. As I read it, my heart is continuously transformed. The fire of my calling and mission in this life is stoked! It has helped me articulate certain principles, while challenging me on things I had never considered.

The Israel Factor will present you with Scripture that you must make a decision on: do you stick with the tradition you have grown comfortable with, or will you choose to obey what God says in His Word? It’s as easy and as hard as that.

What does this have to do with Messianic Ministry?

Several summers ago, I built a massive bookshelf that spans across one whole side of a room in our house. Now, in geometry, when a ray is only 1 degree off from its neighboring line, the farther that ray travels, the further off target it becomes. Knowing this, I was so careful to make sure I had perfect 90-degree angles for each shelf. But to my dismay, when the day came to hang the bookcase, there were odd gaps at the tops and bottoms between the shelves and the walls. What happened? The problem was not with my shelves, but with the actual walls of the house! The the 90-degree bookshelf exposed the poor construction of the wall.

So it is the same with our understanding of the Scriptures. If we fail to understand foundational issues, such as how and where the Jewish people intertwine with our belief system, we will fail to understand our mission as disciples of Yeshua. It will indeed affect the way we live and the way we view the very purpose for our existence!

Any gaps in our theology will show when held up against the clear mission that the Bible explicitly lays out for ALL believers. The longer we go in an off-target understanding of the Scriptures, the further we are from understanding God’s game plan. A person’s theology creates the structure through which they interpret Scripture as a whole, and The Israel Factor seeks to provide that accurate framework.

Why is this message important, particularly for Word of Messiah Ministries?

As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 11:13-14, we are bringing this message of the need for the greater body of Messiah to understand and act upon their calling to make Israel jealous. In doing so, we magnify the ministry of reaching the lost by providing sound, Biblical teaching so that Believers in Yeshua everywhere can be more effective in their witness to reach the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

Get Involved!

As you pray for Word of Messiah Ministries, please pray that the message of this book will be far-reaching. We encourage you to get this book for yourselves to challenge any assumptions you may have of Scripture and your calling to the Jewish people. And if there are pastors or church leaders in your life, please encourage them to read it as well.

Lord, transform our hearts and minds to be laser-beam focused to reach the lost; to the Jew first, and equally to the Gentile!