The Columbus Bible Students is a small Christian fellowship that has always been firmly non-Proselytizing toward Jewish people, as well as pro-Israel and pro-Zionist.

We attempt to model our structure and beliefs after the early Church, which causes several differences from more traditional Christian groups:

1.      We acknowledge no hierarchy or liturgy, and elect lay members as elders and deacons to serve us without monetary compensation.

2.      We cannot agree with many of the creeds developed during the first 5 centuries of Christianity which effectively separated Christianity from Judaism.

3.      We think that in its effort to distance itself from Judaism the mainstream Christian church has forgotten some very important truths (including the following) which were taken for granted by the Jewish followers of Jesus of Nazareth:

A. G-d is an invisible, all-powerful spirit being and could never become a man.

B. G-d is the Eternal King of all creation, not just the Jewish people, and his plan is to bless all peoples of earth with redemption and a world-wide paradise... beginning with Israel but extending to all peoples and nations.

C. G-d has established a law or set of principles of conduct which cannot be perfectly kept by imperfect men, but which express His eternal standards of justice and love. The process of redemption is not intended to set aside the lofty standards of perfect love and justice, but rather to equip people to acceptably meet these standards and live forever in harmony with G-d.

D. The various feasts and ceremonial observances of Judaism were intended by the Eternal to teach important lessons about the plans of G-d. When looked at carefully, they collectively teach that G-d intends to bless all mankind, in a grand "Jubilee" that Isaiah called "a feast of rich viands" for "all people". (Isaiah 25:6-8) Even death itself will not be able to resist this worldwide completion of G-d's loving and fair-minded plans for the entire human race.

4.      We take great stock in the Bible's promises of blessings for all mankind through the "seed" of Abraham. We understand these promises to mean that Christians and Jews will be co-workers with G-d in the future age of blessing life, resurrection, restoration, redemption for the entire world and all the people in it. We are not Universalists since we believe that eternal life will not be extended to anyone who fails to develop a character of righteousness and love. But we firmly believe that G-d would not, indeed could not, sentence many or most people to an eternity of torment as most Christian churches still believe (though we are glad to see them slowly rethinking this ugly belief). We think the Bible clears-up the matter very emphatically by explaining that the lurid symbols of hell, fire, etc. are simply "the second death".

Because we believe in a future age the Messianic Age during which God will redeem the world through his chosen Messiah, we have always been very pro-Israel. Modern history is disproving the teachings of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Jehovah's Witnesses, who claim that the Christian church inherited the promises of the Prophets with regard to Israel. The Prophets were right, and today we see a regathering of Jews to the promised land, from all the lands where they had been scattered especially, in recent years, the "land of the north" where the majority of Jews had been exiled.

We believe that Jews and Christians have separate and distinct destinies. We do not preach Jesus to Jews, and instead we urge all Jews to stand up for their Torah, their Prophets, their Land, and their Heritage as children of Abraham. We believe that God is in the process of rejecting the traditions and institutions of mainstream Christianity, and is calling on Christians to repent of their sins of the past two millennia. We believe that God is not calling Jews to repent, but is holding out an olive branch to them, and asking all who wish to be in step with His plans to comfort Israel, and speak encouraging words to Israel, God's "firstborn son".

That's why we have always looked for opportunities to go on record as being non-proselytizing friends of Zionism, Israel, and all Jewish people.

Case in Point:

The Bradley Smith Reply.

Ten Years ago Bradley Smith stunned the Columbus community by sneaking an outrageous full-page ad into The Ohio State University Lantern newspaper… an ad which accused certain unnamed "Thought Police" (itself a subtle hint of anti-Semitic bias) of restricting free speech on the subject of the Holocaust. Mr. Smith presented "evidence" that the 6 million purported deaths of Jews at the hands of the Nazis was exaggerated, perhaps even fabricated. Needless to say, this ridiculous ad created a furor, and yet Smith made anyone who sputtered and fumed at his crazy allegations seem like an opponent of free speech and academic liberty of thought.

Members of the Columbus Bible Students got together that weekend and, as a public service, found the credible evidence that was needed to expose Smith's lies as foolish and dishonest. On Monday morning (Smith's ad appeared on Friday) The Columbus Bible Students presented our rebuttal to the Lantern who incredibly almost refused to print it. What a strange world where Smith's lies were printed for free as a public service, and the truth had to pay full price to be heard. But we were glad to let both our Christian and Jewish friends know that God's promises to the Jewish people are clear, emphatic, and secure, and that the only real losers in God's plan will be those who insist on believing lies such as the ones that Bradley Smith told in his article.

To see the full text of the Columbus Bible Students reply to Bradley Smith, you may download it here.

Other activities which establish the viewpoints and character of the Columbus Bible Students are:

1982 - Presentations at the Fawcett Center about the Great Pyramid as a verification of God's plan   "Ancient Wonder, Modern Mystery"

1992 - Bradley Smith reply

1996 - Kenneth Rawson speech to Jewish and Christian audiences at OSU Student Union

1998 - Bible Prophecy Seminar at Capital University.

Our motivation for "Israel in Prophecy", June 30, 2002, is to continue to comfort Jews in this time when they are being asked to give away the Land which God promised to them,   Land which God has clearly stated belongs to Israel, the Land which is intended to be their homeland forever. While we are well aware that this approach seems simplistic and even fanatical to many well-educated and fair-minded people including many American and Israeli Jews, we hope anyone who wants to consider the Bible's teachings on this subject should attend. We hope to convince you that God has a plan, that today's newspapers were written in advance thousands of years ago, and that all people, including Palestinians, have a place in God's plan as revealed in the Bible. Even if you don't agree with all of our conclusions, you'll be glad that you listened to our evidence, watched our visuals, and participated in this important opportunity for dialog.

LINKS

Refutation of Holocaust Revisionism