Identity Theft
Authors: Ron Cantor
P
RAISE FOR
I
DENTITY
T
HEFT
There are some of us Gentiles who love Jesus, love Jews, love Jesus as a Jew, and realize we were drawn into an Hebraic faith when we became Christians, and we have long hoped for better literature to serve our cause. Much that is written about Jesus as a Jew is a scolding distribution of blame rather than an ennobling call to truth. Ron Cantor has changed this. He uses fiction, humor, a bit of fantasy and a time traveler’s imagination to tell us a tale that ought to be told. He makes us know Jesus anew. I am grateful; and I hope he is forerunner of a new tribe on the rise.
S
TEPHEN
M
ANSFIELD
New York Times
bestselling author
Ron Cantor is not only married to one of my favorite people on the planet, he is also a friend and co-laborer in Messiah for well over two decades. In his book,
Identity Theft,
you will find him witty and clever as well as insightful as he shares Jewish roots from a totally unexpected angle. I was pleased to discover that
Identity Theft
is an engaging page-turner! I believe you will find this book to be pointed as well as helpful, and you might even catch yourself becoming an agent in restoring Messiah’s true identity!
P
AUL
W
ILBUR
Recording artist
Integrity Music
Ron had my rapt attention from page one of the Introduction! And what a great title, as Ron effectively portrays the identity theft of the centuries—that Jesus has been robbed of His Jewishness! Tragically, many of those who professed to believe in Him would have put Him in the gas ovens of Europe had He lived during their lifetime.
D
ON
F
INTO
Author,
Your People Shall Be My People
Former senior pastor, Belmont Church
Nashville, Tennessee
Ron Cantor’s new book,
Identity Theft
, is as riveting as it is revelatory and as entertaining as it is enlightening. With the unique vantage point of a Messianic Jew living in Israel, Ron gives you a guided tour of history from the pages of the New Testament to the Holocaust and then back to the Cross for an extraordinarily powerful portrayal of the Messiah’s sacrificial death. Buy a copy for yourself and one for a friend!
D
R
. M
ICHAEL
L. B
ROWN
President, Fire School of Ministry
Concord, North Carolina
Host, national radio talk show,
Line of Fire
Author,
Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus
series
I’ve known Ron for a number of years and have always enjoyed his ministry. When I read
Identity Theft
I was captivated by the story. I couldn’t stop reading until I was finished. What a must-read for anyone wanting to be part of an incredible journey to faith in the Messiah!
D
R
. E
VON
G. H
ORTON
Senior Pastor, Brownsville Assembly
Pensacola, Florida
How ingenious to embed a powerful teaching in an engrossing novel of a Jewish man’s search for the truth! Many Christians today are experiencing a longing to know more about their Jewish roots, which are so foundational to all followers of the Messiah. But to really understand Christianity’s Jewish heritage together with today’s Jewish culture and mindset, Christians must know both the biblical narrative and the story of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years, as well as how it has been so influenced and even dominated by the Church. In
Identity Theft
, Messianic communicator Ron Cantor has written the book that will give you this information in unforgettable portraits from first-century Jewish believers to the tragic wanderings of the Jewish people up until today.
A
RI AND
S
HIRA
S
ORKO
-R
AM
Founders, Maoz Israel (
www.MaozIsrael.org
)
Senior leaders, Tiferet Yeshua Congregation
Tel Aviv, Israel
Not just dramatic, but exhilarating! An easy-to-read story that draws non-Jewish readers into Jewish consciousness and Jewish readers into Jesus’s consciousness. While many novels distract people from life, this one contains a life-changing message that can transform a reader’s life. Happy to recommend.
D
R
. J
EFFREY
L. S
EIF
Chair of the Jewish Studies Department
Christ for the Nations Institute
Dallas, Texas
This much-needed work is important for all seekers of truth. Though I am not much of a fiction reader, I quickly found myself engrossed in Ron’s manuscript and unable to put it down.
Identity Theft
is a great book for both those who recognize the Jewishness of our Messiah as well as those who’ve never truly considered His identity. As we enter into a season of unparalleled anti-Semitism, we must remember that our Messiah was born into a Jewish home, lived as a Torah-observant Jew, died as King of the Jews, and is returning as the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”
S
COTT
V
OLK
Pastor, Fire Church
Charlotte, North Carolina
President, Hineni International Ministries
I first met Ron Cantor in our local congregation in Washington, DC, decades ago. It seemed readily apparent he would emerge in a leadership role, and this has happened. Now we serve together in Maoz Ministries (Israel), where he is the winsome televised messenger of God’s good news of the Messiah.
His recent book,
Identity Theft
, artfully explains the ancient schism between Jews and Christianity. This he does not through dry theology, but rather through a captivating novel.
The book will fascinate both the Jewish and Gentile reader with its portrayal of the heartbreaking truth of the Church’s treatment of God’s ancient people. The robbing of Yeshua (Jesus) of His cultural identity has resulted in a terrible and lengthy tragedy to the Jewish people. Ron’s book seeks to restore to Yeshua His original ethnic context. The story helps us to better understand and reveals many, many things.
P
AUL
L
IBERMAN
President, Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
Publisher,
The Messianic Times
Ron Cantor has written a fast-paced novel that powerfully defends the faith. It reflects the understanding of many Messianic Jewish leaders in Israel and speaks the Gospel with simplicity and clarity to Jewish people who do not yet follow Yeshua. This book will open up minds and hearts—not only for Jewish people, but for many in the Church who will be enlightened as they see the first followers of Yeshua in their historical Jewish context.
D
R
. D
ANIEL
C. J
USTER
Executive Director, Tikkun International
President, Messianic Jewish Bible Institute
Jerusalem
Ron Cantor adds his voice to the still small choir singing out the truth of the story of Jesus, His Jewish life and times, and the tragic opposite effect the rewritten story has had upon the Jewish people and Christians. As an orthodox Jew, I have not been convinced by this book to change my own life, but I hope Ron is not “preaching to the choir,” and Christians who feel uncomfortable with their understanding of Jesus will pick up this volume and discover biblical truths that they never knew existed.
Identity Theft
is an important milestone in the journey that Christians must take in times such as these, and by extension, it impacts Christian-Jewish relations as well.
G
IDON
A
RIEL
Christian-Jewish friendship cultivator
Founder of the Facebook group “Jews Who Love Christians
Who Love Jews (and the Christians Who Love Them)”
From the time I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down. Ron Cantor has ventured into “no-man’s land.” Is it possible that the bridge between Judaism and Christianity is where truth resides? This book will challenge Christians to reexamine their theological presuppositions and take a much different view of the origins of their faith. It will also challenge the Jewish community to reexamine their 2,000-year-old wound inflicted by Gentile hypocrisy and take a new look at this “Yeshua of Nazareth” in His real clothing!
R
ICHARD
F
REEMAN
Messianic Rabbi, Beth Messiah Congregation
Houston, Texas
Ron is a passionate communicator, teacher, and storyteller. I had the joy of serving with Ron in both Ukraine and Hungary where his teachings on Jewish roots, history, and Messianic theology blessed many. In this creative book, Ron takes you on a journey of his Jewish people’s experience through the centuries. You will be enlightened and encouraged as you see the “family story” told in a very new way. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
W
AYNE
W
ILKS
J
R
., P
H
.D.
International Director, Messianic Jewish Bible Institute
If Jesus is both 100 percent deity and 100 percent human then it’s essential to understand what kind of human He is. He is certainly not a blue-eyed Scandinavian as some have portrayed Him. For more than a decade, Ron Cantor has been passionately revealing the true face of Jesus to Israel and the nations. As Ron shows how Jesus came to earth as a Jew, many truths in Scripture become more comprehensible and alive. You’ll be enriched by Ron’s insights.
W
AYNE
H
ILSDEN
Senior pastor, King of Kings Community
Jerusalem, Israel
The emotional depth and immediacy evoked in this novel would be impossible in a theological tome with the same purpose. It’s a book you will want to read at one sitting, and if you’re like me, your only regret will be having to wait for the remaining two volumes of the trilogy.
Dr. David H. Stern
Translator,
The Complete Jewish Bible
© Copyright 2013–Ron Cantor
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®
, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked GW are taken from GOD’S WORD. GOD’S WORD is a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked CJB are taken from the Complete Jewish Bible, copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc.
www.messianicjewish.net/jntp
. Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources Int’l.
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. All rights reserved. Used by permission. All emphasis within Scripture quotations is the author’s own.
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