HEBRAIC ADVENTIST
Welcome
Posted: November 11, 2012 in Uncategorized
Welcome to the Hebraic Adventist page!
The purpose of this page is to provide Seventh-day Adventist Pastors, Lay Ministers, Elders and/or Bible Scholars with in-depth studies on our faith using the Hebraic roots, in order to better understand the message and the purpose of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ) who was Himself a Hebrew. From time to time, these studies may include some extra-Biblical, Rabbinic and/or Apocryphal sources as a means of conducting exegeses on some Hebraic terms, but we consider Scripture as our only creed, following Sola Scriptura as our only Authoritative Source. The Studies are very detailed and follow proper Biblical Hermeneutics, including context and cultural influences which may in some cases determine the Etymology of Hebraic terms. All Eschatological studies are interpreted within the Historicist school of thought. This is a free resource to all who are willing to invest the time to study the Word.
You can also follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HebraicAdventist
Consensus Statement
From the Adventist-Jewish Friendship Conference in Jerusalem
As participants in ‘Comfort, Comfort My People’, an Adventist-Jewish Friendship Conference, meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, 6-12 February, 2006, we give our assent to the following consensus statement:
- We affirm the words of the prophet Isaiah, taken as the title of this conference, intending them to express our positive attitude towards the Jewish people, acknowledging the need for healing in our relationship, and affirming our conviction that they occupy a unique place in God’s purposes.
- We as Seventh-day Adventists have much for which to repent in how we have related to Jews. Anti-Judaism and even anti-Semitism, rather than true brotherhood and acknowledgment of commonly held spiritual truths, have too often characterized our relationships. For this we ask forgiveness from those Jews affected by our actions.
- We have been reminded at this conference of the richness of our Jewish heritage in areas as diverse as lifestyle, Sabbath, worship and common hope, to name but a few. We have much more to learn from Judaism about how to deepen our faith and become better Seventh-day Adventists.
- We affirm our common heritage with Judaism, acknowledge our indebtedness to it, and aspire to relate to Jews in love and openness.
- We affirm that among Christians, Seventh-day Adventists have a unique relationship to the Jewish people. We share common truths, such as the significance of the Hebrew Scriptures for our spiritual nurture, and of biblical law for our ethical instruction. In particular we note the significance of the Sabbath for both groups. Further, our unique relationship is grounded in the conviction that the Jews occupy an unparalleled place in the divine-human relationship, a point affirmed by the New Testament in its referring to them as ‘His people’ (e.g. Romans 11:1-2).
- We wish to encourage the world-wide Seventh- day Adventist Church to explore the exegetical and theological foundations for the relationship between Christianity in general and Adventism in particular on the one hand, and Judaism on the other. This should be done in depth, as a matter of urgency, and in a spirit of unity. In particular, to address the traditional Adventist interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27; to study comprehensively Ellen White’s statements concerning the place and role of Israel in God’s salvation-history; and to investigate the potential impact of the Holocaust on Adventist biblical hermeneutics. Further, to investigate with an attitude of openness, how such study might influence future formulations of the Adventist relationship to Judaism.
- We acknowledge that our aims can not be achieved through theological discussion alone. Therefore, we wish to encourage initiatives that will enhance dialogue, friendship and mutual respect for each other’s traditions.
- We contemplate the future hoping for a willingness to learn from each other, anticipating a celebration of our common heritage which will lead to our mutual spiritual enrichment, while honoring the God whom we both serve.
Observing Torah is a matter of the heart; it always has been; it always will be…
About Me
Born and raised in Miami, Florida my family origins are from Spain, more specifically, the Canary Islands. My entire family, both on my mother’s and father’s side, are descendants of Sephardic Jews from Spain, who were raised as Christians / Catholics. I was not raised Catholic, rather Pentecostal as a child but I am a Seventh-day Adventist and have been since the age of about 20. So I guess that makes me an Adventist Sephardic Jew.
I am part of the Jewish Adventist Ministry under the General Conference of the SDA … that’s right, I said Jewish Adventist!
Recently I have been appointed by the Florida Conference of the SDA as Lay Pastor for Beth Tehillah Vetikva (House of Praise and Hope), a Messianic Adventist Community.
We are an Adventist Messianic Congregation made up of both Jews and non-Jews who believe that Yeshua is Messiah. We worship the living God in the context of our Hebraic heritage and believe that we are to live our lives by the word of G-d. Our congregation is both multi-ethnic and multi-lingual and by its diversity it is strengthened.
I have been married since 2001 to my beautiful wife Jael who has given me 3 handsome young men, Isaac, Ben and Nathan.
Sephardic Ancestry
Because of my involvement with the Hebraic Ministry, I am often asked:
“How can someone with the name Santiago Cuellar, have any sort of Jewish ancestry, to be able to engage in a Hebraic Ministry, especially seeing how he was not even raised in a Jewish home.”
Allow me to explain -
When the Roman Legions overran the Jewish nation, much of the Jewish population was sent into exile throughout the Roman Empire. Many were sent to the IBERIAN peninsula (today known as Spain and Portugal). The area became known by the Hebrew word SEPHARD meaning “far away”. The JEWS in SPAIN and PORTUGAL became known as SEPHARDIM or SEPHARDI, and those things associated with the SEPHARDIM including names, customs, genealogy and religious rites, became known as SEPHARDIC.
Sephardic names were well developed in Aragon by the year 1213. Many of the names were of Hebrew derivation. A much lesser number were composed of a first name and a geographic location (which is the case of my family), many times the result of conversion. The Jewish nation in Iberia, numbering approximately 750,000 in the year 1492, were banished from Spain by royal decree of Ferdinand and Isabella.
The Cuellar family were Sephardic Jews that settled in Spain in La Villa de Cuellar; The oldest Village in Spain today. This is my family’s coat of arm…. by the 3 Gold Flur de Lis (Lotus Plants which was known as the sign for a Catholic Trinity) it is evident that we were Forced Conversos, known as “Maranos” which means “pigs“. We were forced to eat Pork to prove that we converted to Catholicism. The Gold Lion identifies us as a clan from the tribe of Judah. The Blue background stands for Truth and Loyalty, an indication that even though the conversion was forced, we eventually accepted the Truth of Mashiach Yeshua, but were apparently also loyal (probably in secret) to our Jewish roots. Red indicates that we were Warriors and/or Martyrs; but the Silver also indicates that we were a Family of Peace (shalom) and Sincerity.
I am thankful to G-d for such a beautiful Sephardic heritage.
NOTE: Below are pictures of the Villa of Cuellar and Stamps which recognize the Sephardic Jews of Spain.
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