A Disciple Named Timothy

In 1986, after recently graduating from Northwest Baptist Seminary with a double Master’s, Tim Hegg helped co-pastor a non-denominational church in Tacoma, WA. He and his wife, Paulette, were raising their two sons and they felt blessed to be where they believed God had called them. However, the Lord had more in store for the Heggs. Their lives were about to be shaken up and Tim would soon put into practice the education he received from seminary.

It started when Tim’s grandfather, Billy Schwartz, who, just before his passing, implored Tim to never forget his family heritage. Tim remembered that his grandfather had made comments in the past about being Jewish and, from time to time, he would speak Yiddish. This charge by his grandfather and these memories stirred a curiosity in Tim. It didn’t take long for him to verify that he did indeed have Jewish lineage through his grandparents on his mother’s side.

In an attempt to connect with this newfound heritage, the Heggs began attending a local Messianic Jewish synagogue. They explored the biblical festivals and the traditions associated with them and after some study on the seventh-day Sabbath, the Heggs began to observe it at home.

In seminary Tim had learned Biblical Hebrew—a skill that gave him a head start in studying and understanding the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament scriptures. Also in seminary, the focus of his study gave Tim special insight into Biblical covenants—a key topic in Messianic Judaism. His master’s thesis was titled “The Abrahamic Covenant and the Covenant of Grant in the Ancient Near East”. It became clear that the Lord had led Tim to seminary so he could become equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary in furthering the new Messianic Movement.

In 1988 Tim started a Torah-based fellowship in Tacoma, Washington. His study on Torah related topics increased and he began writing articles about the blessings of God’s law. Through his studying, Tim concluded that God’s law was not only for ethnic Jews but, rather, it is to be followed by anyone who would attach themselves to the God of Israel. This understanding was (and still is) in opposition to many of the leading Messianic teachers who teach that the Torah is only for the Jews. Tim’s teachings emphasized that the followers of Yeshua (Jesus) were brought into the New Covenant and that the blessings and stipulations therein were granted to all covenant members, including the Gentiles. Over the next fourteen years Tim would continue to study and write from this theological perspective which would later be known as “One Law” or “One Torah” theology.

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