12 Months of Hell for the Wicked

The Gemara (Shabbat 33b) states:

מִשְׁפַּט רְשָׁעִים בְּגֵיהִנָּם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ

the judgment of the wicked in Gehenna lasts for twelve months.

 Is it only 12 months or longer and what happens to the wicked people after that time period?

1.

The wicked are punished by being denied the spiritual afterlife of olam haba. Some say they go to Gehennom (Gei Hinnom), a valley outside Jerusalem, and are punished there ('hell'), but this notion never received official sanction. It is also not eternal: “There will be no Gehennom in future times” (Talmud, Rosh Hashana 17a, Bava Metzia 58b, Nedarim 8b, Avodah Zara 3b).

The souls in Gehinnom are punished for up to 12 months, then continue on to Gan Eden (Eduyot 2:10). Those who remain wicked are annihilated (Rosh Hashanah 17a). The practice is to mourn for the deceased for only 11 months, so as not to imply that they needed the full 12 months.

The worst Jewish curse is "Yemach shemo vezichro" -- May his name and his memory be annihilated.

2.

The Ramban in his sefer Sha'ar Ha'gemul writes here that those who are judged for punishment experience 12 months in Gehinnom in accordance with what they deserve. Following this, "נשמתן נשרפת והם נעשים אפר" - "Their souls are are burnt and made into ash".

The Ramban clarifies this to mean that their nature is altered, namely the soul is burnt and returned to ash, and then the רוח האלקים - the spirit of G-d takes it and scatters it under the feet of the righteous, which means that they are now in a state of neither suffering nor punishment.

So it would seem from the Ramban that their souls are elevated albeit not to a level of 'enjoyment', but rather to a stage devoid of any further suffering.

Source:

Hell… it is not what the KJV tells you it is

by David John Husband

I was reading Psalm 78 this morning and this verse stood out and started a train of thought that ended up in this note:

“Nevertheless, He, the Merciful One, is forgiving of iniquity and does not destroy: frequently He withdraws His anger, not rousing His entire wrath.”

As I read  this verse came to mind ‘but Thou wilt not leave his (it’s ‘my’ too many years of listening to Handel’s Messiah) soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.”

As I read that, I was prompted to begin searching out what the KJV had to say and what the TaNaK had to say.   So, out came the Strong’s Concordance and the KJV (I don’t use it anymore)  and out came the TaNak and I began to check out the references to ‘hell’ and after only checking about half a dozen and finding that none of them were anything like how they are recorded in the TaNaK, I knew it was time to do some further study and also to write a note…so here we are.

As I was raised on a diet of ‘hell fire and damnation’,  writing this will hopefully prove to be a purgative.  I was raised in the same fear of hel that my late mother was.   When she had ‘sinned’,  she was taken to the open fire in the lounge and told ‘see that…that’s ice cream in hell’.  She grew up with an overt fear of fire, and often told me that she would have nightmares about it, waking up in the middle of the night screaming after some vivid nightmare; after which she would wake her father and get him to check the house to make sure it was safe.

This horrid ‘nt’ doctrine of hell amongst many other ‘sacred cows’ of xtianity and messyanics needs to be slain, and I do trust that this will in some way be the means of helping some people realise that these cows can be slain for they are the product of deceivers. I came back to this paragraph to add this..>> Even typing these references out I can feel the old fear, and while I now believe so differently, these ‘feelings’ serve to measure how deep  the depths really are to which the fear has been deposited and laid down over decades of false teaching.
I will quote the KJV text first.  I wrestled with this for a while and knew it was the way to go, so we you can see the error first and then the truth. In some instances the preceding verse is quoted to give the correct context of the word ‘hell’ and accordingly the TaNaK is extended to give the truest picture possible. I will highlight the word ‘hell’ in the KJV.

There are twenty eight references in the KJV  Old Testament to ‘hell’ and it is Strong’s H7585 in every usage.  It means:

שְׁאֹל שְׁאוֹל
she’ôl   she’ôl
sheh-ole’, sheh-ole’
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates: – grave, hell, pit.

As you will see, ‘hell’ is not the first choice of the translator, whereas hell, the second choice is!  Why?  To deceive, that is why.  Grave is word that is used in the TaNaK.  So, with ‘grave’ being the first choice word, why did they not use it?  To instill fear into the hearts of the readers, that is why;  fears that if people do not not accept the false messiah of christianity and messianics, then they are going to roast in hell!!  Roast in hell because they refuse to accept a demi-god?    There are of course references in the nt to ‘hell’, however, because it is not Scripture there is no point in using them.

So, let us commence.

1: KJV Deuteronomy  32:22 “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.”

TaNaK   “For fire will have been kindled in My nostrils and blazed to the lowest depths.  It shall consume the earth and it’s produce, and set ablaze what is founded on the mountains.

NO mention of hell.

2: 2 Samuel  22:5-7   “When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;  22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;  22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.”

TaNaK  “When the pains of death encircled me and torrents of godless men would frighten me, the pains of the grave surrounded me, the snares of death confronted me – in my distress I would call upon HASHEM, and to my God I would call.”

NO mention of hell.

3:  Job 11:7 – 8   “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?   11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?”

TaNaK  “Can you achieve an understanding of God?  Can you fathom the extent of the Almighty?  It is like the heights of heaven; what can you do [to understand]? It is deeper than the Pit; what can you know?”

NO mention of hell.

4: Job 26:6 “Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.”

TaNaK “The grave is naked, and there is no covering for doom;….”

NO mention of hell.

5: Psalm  9:17  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

TaNaK Psalm 9:18  “The wicked will return to the depths of the grave, all the nations that forget God.”

NO mention of hell

6: Psalm 16:10 “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

TaNaK “Because You will not abandon my soul to the grave, You will not allow Your devout one to witness destruction.”

NO mention of hell.

7: Psalm 18:5  “The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.”

TaNaK   “The pains of death encircled me, and torrents of godless men would frighten me.”

NO mention of hell.

8: Psalm 55:15  “Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.”

TaNaK Psalm 55:16 “May He incite death against them, may they descend to the grave alive; for evil is in their dwelling with them.”

NO mention of hell.

9 :Psalm 86:13 “For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”

TaNaK  “For Your kindness towards me is great, and You have rescued my soul from the nethermost depth..”

10: Psalm 116:3 “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.”

TaNaK  “The pains of death encircled me; the confines of the grave have found me; distress and grief I would find.”

NO mention of hell.

11:  Psalm 139:8  “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.”

TaNaK  “If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in the lowest depths, behold, You are there…..”

NO mention of hell.

12: Proverbs  5:5  “Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”

TaNaK  “Her feet lead to death; her footsteps support her to the grave”

No mention of hell.

 13:  Proverbs  7:27  “Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”   

TaNaK   “Her house is the way to the grave, descending to the chambers of death.” 

NO mention of hell.

14:  Proverbs  9:18 “But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.”

TaNaK  “But he does not know that dead men are there, those that she invites are in the deepest grave.”

NO mention of hell.

15:  Proverbs  15:11  “Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?”

TaNaK  “The grave and perdition are exposed to HASHEM, surely the hearts of men”

16:  Proverbs  15:24  “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.”

TaNaK   “A path of life [waits] above for the intelligent one, so that his soul will turn away from the grave below.”

NO mention of hell.

17:   Proverbs 23:14   “Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell ”

TaNaK  “You should strike him with the rod and you will rescue his soul from the grave.”

NO mention of hell.

18: Proverbs  27:20   “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”

TaNaK  “[As] the grave and Gehinnom are not sated [so]the eyes of man are not sated.”

NO mention of hell.

19: Isaiah  5:14  “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.”

TaNaK  “Therefore, the nether-world has enlarged it’s appetite and opened its mouth wide without limit; and [into it] will descend her glory and the multitude and her horde, and whosoever revels within her.”

NO mention of hell.

20:  Isaiah  14:9    “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.”

TaNaK   “The nether-world from below trembles for you to greet your arrival; it has awakened the giants for you, all the leaders of the world, it has raised all the kings of the land out of their thrones.”

NO mention of hell. 

21:  Isaiah  14:15   “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

TaNaK   “But to the nether-world have you been lowered, to the bottom of the pit.”

NO mention of hell.

22:  Isaiah  28:15   “Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:”

TaNaK  “For you say, “We have sealed a covenant with death, and made a compact with the Grave; when the surging staff [of punishment] passes through it will not come to us, for we have made Deceit our shelter and taken refuge in Falsehood.”

NO mention of hell.

23: Isaiah  57:9   “And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. ”

TaNaK   “You sent a tribute of oil to the king and prepared numerous spice mixtures [for him]; you dispatched your agents afar, and you demeaned yourself as low as the grave.”

NO mention of hell.

24:  Ezekiel 31:16    “I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.”

TaNaK   “I made the nations tremble at the sound of his fall, when I brought him down to the grave with those who descend to the pit; then all the trees of Eden were comforted in the nethermost earth, the choicest and best of the Lebanon, all those that drink water.”

NO mention of hell.

25:   Ezekiel  32:27   “And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.”

TaNaK  “They will not lie with the mighty, for they are inferior to those uncircumcised who have descended to the grave with their weapons of war, and they placed their swords under their heads; for their iniquities remain upon them, for the terror of [these] was in the Land of Life.”

NO mention of hell.

26: Amos 9:1-2  ” I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.  9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:”

TaNaK  “I saw the Lord standing upon the Altar, and He said: Strike the lintel and the side posts will quake ; and shatter the head of them all, and the rest of them I will slay by the sword; no fugitive among them will flee and no refugee among them will escape.  If they did down into the grave, from there My hand will take the; and if they ascend to the heavens, from there I will bring them down.”

NO mention of hell.

27:  Jonah  2:1-2  ” Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,  “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”

TaNaK  Jonah 2:2-3  “Jonah prayed to HASHEM, his God, from the fish’s innards, and said: I called in my distress, to HASHEM, and He answered m: from the belly of the grave I cried out – You heard my voice.

NO mention of hell.

28:  Habbakuk  2:5   “Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:”

TaNaK   “The [man of] wine also acts treacherously; he is an arrogant man and does not stay at home.  He has widened his soul like the grave and, like death, he is not satisfied  He gathered unto himself all nations and assembled unto himself all the peoples.”

NO mention of hell.

So, why all this scaremongering by the nt authors??? Fear fear fear to keep us in bondage and to get us to accept the false messiah of either the christians or the messianics.

So without the kjv et al and of course the funny supplement (the nt) we would not have the fear of death that it has sown into the hearts of billions and caused just as many to believe in a fake messiah be that jesus or yeshua and dependent on whether you believe in a demi-god or not depends where you go at death!!   It matters not which one, for both are idolatrous and the idea of a god-man is rooted in mythology and has nothing at all to do with belief in the G-D of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…NOTHING at all.

It is because of the centuries of nt conditioning that xtians and messyanics have sat through that we have this immense foundation of fear rooted deception that needs  to be broken up, and the only way that it can be broken up is to digest and digest the TaNaK, that is the antidote and good solid teaching by the likes of Rabbi Michael Skobac, Rabbi Tovia Singer  Rabbi Stuart Federow….If I have left your favorite RAbbi off, then it was not by design, so please forgive me.

The nt ‘hell’ is known as Gehinnom in the TaNaK and is a place of cleansing, nothing at all like what centuries of Sunday preaching has taught it to be.

If any christian or messianic reads this then I pray that HaShem will open your heart and your eyes to see that your fathers, like mine and many before me have been lied to.  Please read Jeremiah 16:19 from the TaNaK.

“HASHEM, my Strength, my Stronghold and my Refuge on the day of distress!  To You nations will come from the ends  of the earth and say:  “It was all falsehood that our ancestors inherited, futility that has no purpose.  Can a man make gods for himself? – they are not gods.”!

So,  what to do?  Buy a TaNaK and a TaNaK is not a kjv/et minus the nt, it is the Hebrew Scriptures, and see what our Scriptures say.  As you read. pray and pray and pray again, and you will be surprised at the truth that comes to light.   I know I was.

To the glory of HASHEM is this set forth, and with the prayer that many will be caused to question their belief in what they have been told hell is, because the truth is very different from the lies that we have been told.

All TaNaK Scriptures are from the Artscroll Stone edition of the TaNaK.

I want to thank HASHEM!  Blessed be His Set-Apart Name for inspiring me to write this.

I also want to thank a very good friend of mine in Arizona for prompting me to add some personal details to this article..Thank you.

Source:

Friends, there is nothing just nor loving about this doctrine nor about a god who would create billions of beings solely to torture them throughout eternity. This is NOT the God of the Bible!

Know The Facts

• There is no biblical basis for this teaching.
• HaShem can do anything and He could easily make another option for those who do not accept His alleged way of salvation. Therefore if Hell existed it would be God sending people there (God forbid). Such a thing violates everything we know about Him.
• There is no evidence that anyone from the Abrahamic traditions living in the first century C.E. conceived of such a post-life horror.
• Many Pagans did believe in such horrors then and now and the Jews rightly viewed them as savages because of it.
• Not a single person in the Gospel accounts ever challenged Jesus as to the origins of this non-Jewish teaching he allegedly taught. Surely some rabbi would have questioned it had Jesus actually taught it.
• The doctrine directly challenges the biblical assurances that God is Loving and Just (example: Deuteronomy 32:4).
• Most “Bible believing Christians” believe many unbiblical and even anti-biblical teachings. Constantine outlawed the Sabbath and replaced it with the day of the sun god. The wide acceptance of beliefs within Christendom do not make them biblical.

What the Bible Teaches.  See More at http://allfaith.com/afterlife/afterlife.html

‘For a religion who loves the Bible so much, it is very telling that the study of the Bible/Tanach in its original Hebrew is avoided and not promoted in any way. The reason Christians don’t study the Tanach/Bible in Hebrew is that many of the so-called “prophecies” of the NT would fall apart if examined in the original Hebrew.’

Have you ever wondered where all the references to hell and the devil were in the Old Testament?  Why, all of a sudden, do they show up in the New?  To give the Christian religion teeth, the inventors needed a good hook, and they went with eternal damnation and other cute stories to literally scare the hell out of people.  In this episode, Jim and Ronnie take a glimpse into what is really going on with the so-called hell.

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/babylon/episodes/2022-10-18T09_06_50-07_00

Adam

Adam

By Nissan Dovid Dubov

G‑d said, “Let us make man with our image and likeness…

G‑d created man with His image. In the image of G‑d,

He created him, male and female He created them.”

(Genesis 1:26-27)

Maimonides states in his third principle of faith that G‑d does not have a body and physical concepts do not apply to Him. There is nothing whatsoever that resembles Him at all. What then is the meaning of the words, “Let us make man with our image?” Of which “image” does the scripture speak?

The classical commentaries explain that man alone is endowed—like his Creator—with reason, a sense of morality, and free will. It is in this vein that man is described as having been created in G‑d’s image. The Kabbalistic interpretation of the “image” is different and profoundly deep. The image of G‑d referred to here is not G‑d Himself, Who is beyond comprehension, but rather to the creative process. The human being in soul and body reflects the spiritual infrastructure of the worlds and the chain order of creation.

In the words of Job: “From my flesh I perceive G‑d” (Job 19:26). This means that an inspection of human psychology and physiology leads one to understand their parallel spiritual source in the higher realms. In order to understand the different stages of creation, the Kabbalists refer to the human model and extrapolate to the Divine. This process requires great caution, for as previously stated, no human qualities may be ascribed to the essence of G‑d.

Adam HaRishon, the “first man,” was acutely aware of this process of creation. To use the computer analogy, his hard drive was programmed with this knowledge. His operating system spoke the Hebrew language, which is a holy tongue and the language of creation.

“And G‑d said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).

G‑d has no physical mouth or vocal cords. What is the meaning of the words “And G‑d said”? Kabbalah explains that contraction of infinite Light and its channeling into finite Vessels is comparable to the speech process. In the spoken word, thousands of thoughts are distilled into a few words. In the ten utterances of Genesis, G‑d contracted massive energies into creative packets and configured them in the letters of the Aleph Bet (Hebrew alphabet).

Every letter of the Aleph Bet represents a Divine Power.

Combinations of letters represent combinations of Divine Powers that result in the diversity of creation. One may draw an analogy from chemistry, which is the study of the formation of different materials through the combination of elements.

The mixing of sodium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid results in salt and water. Sodium is a volatile metal and chlorine a poisonous gas, yet when combined they create both salt, which lasts forever, and water, which sustains life. In the analogue, each letter of the Aleph Bet contains a certain configuration of Divine creative energy. When letters are combined, this energy is the catalyst for creation. There are 22 letters of the Aleph Bet with five final letters which the Sefer Yetzirah compares to building blocks. Combinations of these bricks can build an enormous number of “houses.” We shall discuss this in detail in a further chapter. Adam was well aware of this knowledge which we shall henceforth call the mystical tradition.

“G‑d had formed every wild beast and every bird of heaven out of the ground. He brought them to man to see what he would name each one. Whatever the man called each living thing would remain its name” (Genesis 2:19).

Why did G‑d ask Adam to name the animals? Shouldn’t their names be decided by consensus? The answer is that Adam perceived the spiritual components of the creative spirit that brought every animal into being, and named each animal in conjunction with its spiritual configuration. Thus, all created things are directly affected by their Hebrew names, as well as by the component letters of their names.

The Shechinah, or “Divine Presence”, was totally manifest in the Garden of Eden. To Adam, every facet of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms were superb manifestations of Divine creativity; and as the maestro of this cosmic orchestra, Adam directed the creation to prostrate itself to His majesty.

“G‑d formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life. Man thus became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7).

Adam stood at the crossroads of creation. His body was formed from the earth—“min ha’adamah”; hence, the name Adam. Yet his soul originated from the innermost aspect of G‑dliness when G‑d blew into his nostrils. The Zohar quotes, “It is of his inward and innermost vitality that a man emits through blowing with force.” Man’s soul is described by Job as “a part of G‑d above” (Job 31:2). This Divine spark is enclothed within an earthly shell. Hence man may oscillate between crass hedonism and spiritual ecstasy. Before his sin, Adam’s soul radiated through his body and all his bodily functions. All his limbs fulfilled their Divine purpose.

“G‑d gave the man a commandment, saying, ‘You may definitely eat from every tree of the Garden. But from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, do not eat, for on the day you eat from it, you will definitely die” (Genesis 2:16).

Before eating the forbidden fruit evil was external, enclothed within the Tree of Knowledge and the snake. Upon eating the forbidden fruit man internalized the struggle to determine between good and evil. Adam’s sin effectively caused a departure of the Shechinah from the world, and started the age-old war to refine the human condition and resensitize the world to its Creator. He was cast out of the Garden of Eden and it was decreed that his descendents would have to seek G‑d through the travails of making a living.

Nonetheless, the mystical tradition programmed into Adam was transmitted to his children. It was in the days of Enosh, the son of Seth and the grandson of Adam, that idolatry began to surface and spread in the world. Though the philosophers of his day agreed that G‑d was a Superbeing, they erred when they assumed He must have delegated the various cosmic departments to underlings; such as the constellations, sun, moon, and stars. Eventually they worshipped these underlings until such a point that the generally ignorant populace became so engaged with star-gazing and the worship of the constellations that they forgot G‑d. The result of their actions was that the Shechinah, already moved from our world one degree because of the sin of Adam, was repeatedly moved further due to the failings of Mankind. The Midrash, along with the Talmud, which talks of the existence of seven heavens or firmaments, describes this process in the commentary on Song of Songs:

Through the sin of Adam, the Shechinah moved from the earth to the first firmament. Upon the sin of Cain and Abel, the Shechinah moved from the first to the second firmament.

Through the sin of Enosh, the Shechinah moved from the second to the third, etc. Eventually, through the sins of successive generations the Shechinah was removed until the seventh firmament. It was Abraham who started the process of return, by bringing the Shechinah from the seventh firmament back to the sixth, and thereafter Isaac from the sixth to the fifth etc., until Moses in the seventh generation returned the Shechinah to this earth where the Shechinah rested in the Tabernacle.

It must be noted that the concept of “removal of the Shechinah” does not suggest that G‑d actually removed Himself from the world, for the world is totally dependent on ongoing Divine creative energy for existence, as shall be explained in a later chapter. Rather, the removal of the Shechinah refers to the insensitivity of the world population to G‑dliness. The pattern is clear: sin creates insensitivity. However, the righteous resensitize the world to its true reality. In the Kabbalistic lexicon, this is generally referred to as Tikkun Olam, or the “rectification of the world.” The purpose is to return the world to its perfect state as before the primordial sin.

Only a handful of righteous people were aware of the truth in the ten generations between Adam and Noah. Eventually the world was so filled with violence that G‑d flooded the world to purify it, rather like the immersion of an impure Vessel in a mikvah. One righteous man, Noah, along with his three sons Shem, Cham, and Yafet saved through the Ark and remained. Noah transmitted the mystical tradition to his son Shem, who subsequently transmitted it to his great-grandson Eber.

Source: Adam - Kabbalah, Chassidism and Jewish Mysticism (chabad.org)

What about Jews today? Show Notes for "Confiscating the Old Testament"

 

We're not into Social Media as much as we used to be.  One of the alternatives we've tried is GAB.  GAB is a Facebook-style knockoff that seemed interested in FREE SPEECH, but quickly turned into attack mode towards all other Social Media outlets.  GAB sends mass emails out regularly, and the one it sent this past week was a doozy.  In it, there was an article written by a Pastor eviscerating Jews and proclaiming that Judaism is a cult-offshoot from Christianity!  Our show over the years has covered a great many wackos, and we address this nutjob and the outlandish claims made. GAB has turned from its FREE SPEECH platform into just another outlet promoting the cult of Christianity, along with the stench of Antisemitism.

"Why There Can Never Be A “Judeo-Christian” Anything"

Pure Religious Claptrap

 

by Pastor Andrew Isker

"If Christian Nationalism is going to take America back (it is), we need to be very clear that there is no such thing as "Judeo-Christian" anything. Judaism is a religion made up after Israel was divided between those who believed in Christ and those who rejected Him."

 

Within conservative circles, particularly among evangelicals in that court, it is not uncommon to hear the phrase “Judeo-Christian”. This expression often modifies something that pertains to the history or tradition of Christendom. Most people think nothing of it. They are familiar enough with the Bible to know that the Old Testament is about Israel and the Hebrews, and the New Testament is about Christ incarnating to Israel and going to all the nations. But the reality is that Christianity was not formed out of this thing called “Judaism.” Christianity is the true biblical religion, and Judaism is the religion formed after faithful Jews, and believing Gentiles, were united to Jesus Christ.

Objecting to “Judeo-” modifying Christianity may seem pedantic. It may seem like much ado about nothing. What is the big deal if “Judeo-“ modifies “Christian”? After all, it’s just one additional word. But the question of whether Christ was co-eternal with the Father or was created was literally over a single letter (iota). Words matter. Definitions matter. They carry tremendous significance. The problem with the phrase is that it reveals our misunderstanding of what the Old Testament is, and who the people of God were, in the Old Testament. The phrase reveals our misunderstanding of the meaning of the coming of Jesus Christ. Most importantly, it reveals our misunderstanding of the relationship between biblical Israel and modern Jewish identity.

To start, we should back up and understand some grand themes of the Bible. Right after God dispersed the nations at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11), He called a descendant of Shem to go to the land of Canaan (Gen. 12). He then made promises to this man, that he and his descendants would possess this land (Gen. 15), and that this promised seed would come through Him (Gen. 17), and they were instructed to keep a special sign of this promise in the act of circumcision (v. 10-14). However, this man Abraham and his descendants were not the only people who believed in God.

Throughout the Old Testament, other people also knew of our God, either by the faith passed down from the time of Noah or through the ministry of Abraham’s descendants. The entire time you had both the priestly people, through whom the promised Messiah would come, and also believers within the nations of the world such as Melchizedek (Gen. 14), Jethro (Ex. 2), Rahab (Josh 2), the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10), Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5), the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3-4), and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4). Throughout the Old Testament, there are believing Gentiles. 

By the time you get to the New Testament, Jesus and the Apostles are constantly bumping into Gentile God-fearers (Matt. 15:21-28; Luke 7:1-10; Acts 10; Acts 13:26; Acts 17:4, 17). That division, between Jew and Gentile, was coming to a close with the ending of the Old Covenant order. By the time of Pentecost (Acts 2), after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the Babelic order is reversed and the Jew/Gentile distinction is torn down. The nations all have one tongue again, the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. The nations not hubristically building a tower to the heavens but instead, bowing before the one who has ascended into heaven and thereby exalting His holy name.

The union of Jew and Gentile into the church is perhaps the main theme of the New Testament. It is unquestionably the main theme of the Book of Romans. Many people read Romans as though it is primarily a theological treatise. Still, the theology of the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans is an outworking of the issue of Israel and the Gentiles being joined into one body. Paul gives a defense of the justice of God. He goes on to write about how God would harden the hearts of Israelites so that they would demand the murder of Christ and thus bring about the salvation of the entire world (Rom. 9-11).

By the time he gets to chapter 11, he explains the union of Jew and Gentile as the covenant people united in Christ (Rom. 11:26). He also tells of a future conversion of Israel before God brings judgment down upon the Old Covenant order and Babylon the Great which is Jerusalem (Rev. 18). Just as Paul prophesied, there indeed was a mass conversion of Jews right before the Romans came to destroy Israel (Rev. 11:1-13, 14:1-20). God used His salvation of the Gentiles to provoke the full remnant of Israel to repent and believe in the Messiah, just as Paul said He would when he said, “and so all Israel will be saved.”

“All Israel” is the full sum of the Jews who confessed Christ before God sent the judgment upon Jerusalem — prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24 and revealed in the Book of Revelation. Covenant-breaking Israel and its leprous temple were destroyed. Faithful Israel, united by the faithful Israelite Jesus Christ (the heir of all the promises given to Abraham, Moses, and David) was also joined to the Gentile believers.

Far from being a “replacement” for Israel, it is a fulfillment. No one would say that a family with five natural children that adopts a baby is “replacing” the natural children, even if one of the older children ran away and disowned his parents. The faithful remnant of Israel, the true Israel was preserved. It was joined to Christ along with Gentile believers. When God sent the Assyrians and Babylonians to destroy covenant-breaking Israel and Judah, centuries before Christ, no one would ever think to say to the idolaters being destroyed, “don’t worry guys, all those promises God made to Abraham are irrevocable! You’ll be fine!” No, the prophet Jeremiah told them explicitly not to look at these promises to protect them from the consequences of their disobedience: 

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.” Jeremiah 7:3–4

The promises are irrevocable to Israel, and Israel is defined in terms of the covenant with God. That covenant directs Israel to join with His Son, and if Israel fails to do it, they are no different than their fathers who God destroyed and sent into exile for their idolatry. Yet, God preserves a remnant and His covenant and its promises remain intact. That is the point of Romans 11.

What about Jews today?

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the historic cataclysm that was the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. That was God’s conclusive, final judgment on the Old Covenant. It is over. No more sacrifices only The Sacrifice. His covenant and His promises exclusively belong to the true Israel, Jesus Christ. There was no more priesthood, only the True High Priest, Jesus Christ.

The only thing that remained was the traditions of the scribes and the elders, the very traditions that were crafted to allow Israel to violate God’s Law, the very traditions Christ demanded Israel repent over, and the very traditions that provoked them to reject Him and put Him to death. That is what modern Judaism was formed out of. This was not a correct understanding of the Scriptures, because if they truly had the eyes to see, they would have comprehended the majesty and divinity in Christ Jesus!

So the claim that “the Old Testament came from Judaism” is patently false. Judaism is a new religion created after the Old Covenant was destroyed. It is a faith that is built out of the codified traditions of the elders that Christ forcefully condemned. The faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David is the faith of Jesus Christ and Him alone.

The Old Testament “belongs” to the cult formed after Christ called “Judaism” as much as the Bible “belongs” to cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons. Modern Jews today are no more “God’s chosen, special people” than Muslims or Buddhists. That faithful remnant of Israel united to Jesus Christ are “God’s chosen, special people” not the branches that have been grafted out of the olive tree. Modern Jews are not “Old Testament-only pre-Christians.” Judaism today is a modern LARP religion, no different than guys who dress up and howl out in the woods to Odin and Thor.

If the church were to understand this—that modern Ashkenazis and Sephardi are not “the special people” but no different than Ghanaians, Koreans, or Brazilians—we may actually be able to evangelize them effectively. They are not the special people that don’t need Jesus. Their religion is fake and a bad joke. It is a false religion like all other false religions. Only repentance and faith in Jesus Christ will save them. Far from being “antisemitic,” a proper understanding of this shows heartfelt concern for their souls! If you have the compassion that a Christian must-have for the lost, you need to understand that their religion is not “just like ours but without the New Testament.” If they reject Jesus, they reject the Old Testament that is all about Him. All mankind need to believe in Him or they will perish in their sins.

This is why “Judeo-Christian” is such a problem. Judaism is a new, made-up religion by those who rejected Jesus Christ. It is not the precursor to Christianity; it postdates it. By using that term we are reinforcing the idea that their religion is just like ours except they don’t believe in Jesus yet, when in reality it is a new religion formed out of the total rejection of the Son of God. The very best thing the church can do for modern Jews is to heighten the distinction between Christianity and their false religion. Only then can they come to know salvation in Christ.  Source: https://news.gab.com/2022/07/08/the-old-testament-belongs-to-christ-and-his-people-alone/

 

Abraham

Ten generations after Noah, Abraham was born to his father Terach in Mesopotamia. Terach was an idolater who lived in a kingdom ruled by King Nimrod. At three years of age, Abraham instinctively felt that it was illogical to worship statues of wood and stone. His mind began to wonder and explore, and over the course of time he ultimately became convinced of the notion of monotheism, one G‑d, a Superbeing who is omnipotent.

From the very beginning, Abraham struggled against the prevalent current—an attribute inherited by his descendants.

He was dubbed the Ivri (lit. “the other side”), for the whole world was on one side and he was on the other. Nimrod cast him into a fiery furnace for his “heretical” beliefs, yet he miraculously emerged unscathed, and began proclaiming his beliefs in public. Abraham was a great philosopher and astrologer. The Talmud teaches that, “Abraham held great astrology in his heart, and all the kings of the east and west arose early at his door.” He moved to Haran where at the age of seventy five, G‑d spoke to him in person for the first time and instructed him to leave his homeland and enter the Holy Land. When G‑d revealed Himself to Abraham, one of the first things that He told him was that his fate, and that of his descendants, transcended the influence of the constellations.

Therefore, Abraham should not be concerned with astrological predictions.

The land of the eastWhile it is not known where all of the sons of Abraham went, we do know that some of them settled quite close to the place which would later become the land of Israel. Case in point would be the nation of Midian.

Read more https://coohmp.blogspot.com/2022/07/abraham.html

 

Abraham

Ten generations after Noah, Abraham was born to his father Terach in Mesopotamia. Terach was an idolater who lived in a kingdom ruled by King Nimrod. At three years of age, Abraham instinctively felt that it was illogical to worship statues of wood and stone. His mind began to wonder and explore, and over the course of time he ultimately became convinced of the notion of monotheism, one G‑d, a Superbeing who is omnipotent.

From the very beginning, Abraham struggled against the prevalent current—an attribute inherited by his descendants.

He was dubbed the Ivri (lit. “the other side”), for the whole world was on one side and he was on the other. Nimrod cast him into a fiery furnace for his “heretical” beliefs, yet he miraculously emerged unscathed, and began proclaiming his beliefs in public. Abraham was a great philosopher and astrologer. The Talmud teaches that, “Abraham held great astrology in his heart, and all the kings of the east and west arose early at his door.” He moved to Haran where at the age of seventy five, G‑d spoke to him in person for the first time and instructed him to leave his homeland and enter the Holy Land. When G‑d revealed Himself to Abraham, one of the first things that He told him was that his fate, and that of his descendants, transcended the influence of the constellations.

Therefore, Abraham should not be concerned with astrological predictions.

It is in the Holy Land where he met Malki Tzedek, King of Shalem, who was a priest to G‑d, the Most High (Genesis 14:18). Our Sages identify Malki Tzedek as Shem the son of Noah. There is evidence that the mystical tradition was taught to Abraham by Shem. According to some authorities Abraham authored Sefer Yetzirah (the Book of Formation), one of the fundamental works of Kabbalah.

The Talmud states that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all studied in the academies of Shem and Eber. The Talmud further proclaims that the Patriarchs kept the entire Torah before it was given. How was this possible? The Kabbalists explain that they kept the Torah in its spiritual form, for it was only subsequently through Moses that the Torah instruction became manifest in the physical observance of Mitzvot. The Patriarchs, however, were well aware of the spiritual flow affected by Mitzvah performance. The Zohar parallels the biblical episode of Jacob with the sticks, troughs, and striped sheep with the Mitzvah of putting on tefillin. Both elicited a similar Divine emanation, however after Sinai, it was the Divine will that this spiritual flow came to be through laying a physical pair of tefillin.

Abraham was also fully aware of the magical and idolatrous uses that could be developed from these mysteries, and the Talmud states that Abraham had a tract dealing with idolatry that consisted of 400 chapters. There is also a Talmudic teaching that Abraham taught the mysteries involving “unclean names” to the children of his concubines. This is based on the verse, “to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away…to the lands of the East” (Genesis 25:6). These gifts consisted of occult mysteries, which then spread in eastern Asia. It is no wonder that in many of the eastern religions we find parallels to Kabbalistic teachings. One of the most simple and striking examples of the transmition of the occult is that every child knows a magician uses the phrase “Abracadabra.” This magical expression is none other than an Aramaic extension of the Hebrew abra— I will create, k’adabra—as I will speak—the knowledge of creation using letters and names as documented in Sefer Yetzirah.

Abraham nomadically wandered the length and breadth of the land proclaiming his belief, and he was so successful that he converted thousands to monotheism. His method was one of kindness—he set up a motel and after feeding and watering wayfarers they were introduced to the true belief and blessed G‑d the Provider. Abraham converted the men and Sarah the women, and together they successfully brought many souls under the wings of the Shechinah, hence resensitizing the world to G‑dliness.

This holy work was continued by Isaac, Abraham’s second son, who was born miraculously after Abraham’s circumcision, implying that his future progeny who would be circumcised would survive miraculously. Isaac displayed amazing restraint and self-sacrifice at the Akeidah (the binding of Isaac). These attributes are forever engraved into the Jewish soul. Jacob, Isaac’s son, studied in the academy of Shem and Eber for fourteen years before setting out on his perilous journey back to Mesopotamia to his uncle Laban. On this journey, while sleeping on what was to become the Temple Mount, he had the dream of the ladder and the angels– a dream full of Kabbalistic mysteries that will be explained in a further chapter. In exile he raises the twelve tribes and subsequently returns, only to be challenged further. Eventually, he descends to Egypt, where he establishes a house of study where he specifically instructs his son Levi in the tradition, and the tribe of Levi becomes the Israelite priests. It is here that the stage is set for Levi’s great-grandson Moses to redeem the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage.

Source: Abraham - Kabbalah, Chassidism and Jewish Mysticism (chabad.org)

Pastor Bathing His Members in the Church

Pastor Bathing his members in the church that they will receive Miracles.

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

John Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism may have been the originator of the slogan "cleanliness is next to godliness." In 1791, he referenced the phrase in one of his sermons as we use it today. Wesley wrote, “Slovenliness is no part of Religion. Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness."

Rabbi Hershel SchachterThe Torah She'Baal Peh

Rabbi Herschel Schachter

Towards the end of Parshat Ki Tissa, Moshe is told by Hakadosh Baruch Hu that he will be giving him a two-part Torah - part biketav, in writing, and part baal peh, oral. These two parts of the Torah must be transmitted from generation to generation, each in its own fashion. The Torah shebiktav must be taught mitoch haketav, from reading from a written scroll, while the Torah shebaal peh must be transmitted orally. The Talmud (Temura 14b) records that at a certain point in history the Rabbis felt that there was a serious concern that the insistence on observing this point of law could possibly cause much of the Oral Torah to be forgotten, so they permitted the transmitting of the Torah shebaal peh from a written text. The expression used by the Talmud in this context is, "it is preferred that one letter of the Torah be violated, rather than have the entire Torah forgotten."

Rambam (Mamrim 2:4) gives an analogy from medicine to understand this point: Sometimes a doctor will amputate an arm or leg of a patient to keep him alive. Rambam, however, quotes from the Talmud (Yevamot 90b) that such a special "hetter" may be practiced only as a horaat shaah (on a temporary basis) and not ledorot (permanently).

Many centuries have passed and the Oral Torah is still being taught from written texts of Mishnayot, Talmud, and Shulchan Aruch. This poses an obvious problem. Can a practice which has continued for close to two thousand years be considered a horaat shaah because at some time in the future (i.e. leyemot hamoshiach) that practice will be discontinued? This issue is dealt with in the classical halachic literature.

Exactly when this change in the style of teaching the Torah shebaal peh occurred was a question among the scholars. It is generally assumed today that this change occurred after the times of Ravina and Rav Ashi. The Talmud quotes several passages from the "Sefer of Adam Harishon", the book that God showed Adam about the transmission and the development of the Torah throughout the ages. One such line reads that, "Ravina and Rav Ashi will be the end of the period of horaah." Rav Moshe Soloveitchik took this to be referring to the aforementioned issue: because after their time the Torah shebaal peh was no longer being transmitted orally, the status of the Rabbis as "baalei horaah" was lowered halachically. All the Rabbis from the days of Yehoshua until the days of Ravina and Rav Ashi had a higher level status of baalei horaah than those that followed them. We therefore assume that while in each generation the Rabbis are entitled to express their own original opinions, even in disagreement with those who preceded them, those following Ravina and Rav Ashi do not have the authority to disagree with the accepted positions of the Talmud. Only a "baal horaah" is entitled to an opinion, (Horaah being a definitive position on a matter of Torah shebaal peh) and the "baalei horaah" of the later period, when the Oral Torah was no longer being transmitted orally, are on a halachically lower level.

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Oh, No!

 

Oh, No!

A group of some 10 men walked into the Kotel area all wearing “rainbow” kippas. Two of them came and put on tefillin. Everything was alright until, like I always do, I told one of them that he had to marry a Jewish girl. That did it!
He said, “I am married, and (pointing to the other guy with tefillin) he is my husband!”
“The Torah forbids that!”
“It does not!”
“Of course, it does! And it forbids it more than once! It’s in the Seven Commandments of Noah, too! That means it’s forbidden to the entire world not just to Jews! What do you think the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was all about? That’s where the word sodomy comes from!”
“I have a grandfather who is a rabbi and he says it’s allowed.”
“He’s not a rabbi! No rabbi would permit something that is explicitly forbidden in the Torah!”
“It is not forbidden in the Torah!”
“Of course, it is! G-d calls what you are doing ‘an abomination’. That’s the same word He uses to condemn idolatry. You have to marry a girl, not a boy! You have to make a family!”
“We have two beautiful children!”
“They’re not your children. They are other people’s children, and you have just taken them in!”
He became totally upset with me… he took off the tefillin, and stormed away.
Not only are they committing that disgusting sin, but they are saying the Torah allows it! They even say that they are “proud” of it! And today, the so-called “free world” is not only allowing it, they insist that it is to be accepted! No way!
TOAH SOURCES forbidding such behavior:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
“Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman it is an abomination.” -Leviticus 18:22
“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, the two of them have done an abomination; they shall be put to death - their bloodguilt is upon themselves.” -Leviticus 20:13

https://www.facebook.com/743070410/posts/10165997792115411/

Read The New Testament – We Have!

They were so anxious for us to read it, so we did. And there are problems. Jesus denied being either good, or a god: “Why callest thou ME good? There is none good but one, that is God.” (Matthew 19:17). Subsequently, however, he claimed to be God: “The Jews answered him saying, for a GOOD work we stone thee not; but for BLASPHEMY; and because that thou being a MAN, makest thyself GOD! Jesus answered them, Is it not written in YOUR Law, I said ye are gods?” (John 10:33-34). Jesus taught us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), but in another passage he said: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me!” (Luke 19:27). Jesus considered the Gentiles inferior beings: “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26), and stated unequivocally that he was NOT sent to them: “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (ibid. 24). He forbade his disciples to approach them: “Go not into the way of the Gentiles!” (Matthew 10:5). He confirmed and upheld the authority of the Pharisees: “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ALL therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their WORKS for they SAY, and DO NOT!” (Matthew23:2-3). And this, in spite of the fact that they were transgressors of the Law by virtue of their tradition: “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3). Nor did he practice what he preached (compare Matthew 15:2 with 23:3). He admitted clearly that he was NOT of Davidic descent: “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto him, the son of David. He saith unto them, how then doth David in spirit call him lord, saying, the Lord said unto my lord, sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him lord, how is he his son?” (Matthew 22:42-45). And this in spite of the long and contradictory genealogies in Matthew and Luke, which “prove” his Davidic ancestry. He, the Prince of Peace, came to bring not peace but a sword: “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34). He came to bring division and strife: “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you nay; but rather division!” (Luke 12:51). He promised his speedy return, scheduled to occur nineteen centuries ago, as the triumphant King Messiah: “But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing HERE, which shall NOT taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:27). “For verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the son of man be come.” (Matthew 19:23). He connected himself with the serpent: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” (John 3:14), but the serpent is the symbol of the satanic forces of death and evil! He did not die willingly: “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto THEE; take away this cup from me!” (Mark 14:36), yet he claimed to be God. He was forsaken of God: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, My God My, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), yet he is called a “saviour”. In his name the bloodiest religious wars, persecutions, crusades, inquisitions, pogroms were perpetrated, and yet we are supposedly “saved” by believing upon his name.
WHY??

If Jesus was not actually related to Joseph but conceived of the “Holy Ghost”, to what purpose are the genealogies proving Joseph’s Davidic ancestry? Why is there such a flagrant discrepancy between Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies? If one of these genealogies is Mary’s, and not Joseph’s, why isn’t her name mentioned in either? Since only the paternal descent is significant, what could be the purpose of recording Mary’s genealogy? If Jesus were really “David’s son”, why did he specifically ridicule the “Pharisaic” tenet that Messiah is to be of David’s seed (Luke 20:41-44; Mark 12:35-37)? Why did Jesus say, “How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?” (Mark 12:35), implying that scripture did NOT say the same? When the multitudes asked how it was that Jesus, as the Messiah, comes from Galilee, why weren’t they told that he was actually born in Bethlehem (John 7:41-42)? If this “fact” was unknown to the disciples, how was it discovered by the Gospel authors who lived a century later?

Why was Jesus called “Jesus”, and not “Immanuel”, if he was the “child” promised by Isaiah (7:14)? If Jesus was “Immanuel”, God with us, the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity, why did he say, “Why callest thou ME good? There is none good but ONE, that is, GOD.” (Matthew 19:17) implying that he was neither good nor divine?

Why did Jesus say, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (ibid.), if no man is justified by works of the law? (Romans 3:20,21,28, etc.).

Why did Jesus say that whosoever breaks even the least commandment and bid others to do so (Matthew 5:19) shall be called least in his kingdom; but whosoever shall do and teach the commandments shall be “great”; if men could be justified by faith in him (Jesus) without the works of the Law (Galatians 2:16)?

If Jesus was the “light unto the Gentiles” why did he consider them inferior beings (Matthew 15:26)? Why did he deny having been sent to them (ibid. 24), and why did he forbid his disciples to approach them (Matthew 10:5-6)?

If John had actually seen a dove descending from heaven over Jesus’ head, and heard the voice proclaiming him as the “beloved son”, etc. (Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 3:22), why did he later send two of his disciples to ask whether Jesus was the awaited redeemer, or “do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2-3 : Luke 7:19-20)? If John the Baptist was “Elijah” as Jesus claimed (Matthew 11:14), why did John say that he wasn’t (John 1:21)?

“John” – “Elijah” was to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, etc. (Malachi 4:6), before the coming of the Day of the “Lord”. Is it not strange that Jesus should declare his own purpose as being the very opposite (Matthew 10:35; Luke 12:51-53)? If Jesus was the “Prince of Peace” why did he claim “not to send peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34)? If it was Jesus’ purpose to lay down his life for the sins of the world why did he so fear and chastise the Jews who sought to kill him (John 8:37-40)? If Jesus had the power to lay down his own life or to save it (John 10:18), why did he say, “Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as THOU wilt.” (Matthew 26″39)? Why was Jesus forsaken of God (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; etc.)? If Jesus came to intercede for sinners, why did he say, “I pray NOT for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” (John 17:9)?

Jesus promised his speedy return as the triumphant King Messiah. This was to happen before his disciples had a chance to preach in all the cities of Israel (Matthew 10:23), and during the actual lifetime of his listeners (Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1). That was nineteen centuries ago. Why then are we to expect a “second coming” at this late date?

Why has the Church resorted to crusades, inquisitions, heresy trials, pogroms, etc., to persuade mankind as to the “truth” of the Gospel? Which of the thousands of rival, squabbling sects is the true “Church of Christ”? Why are thousands of missionaries necessary to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, if we are already living in the messianic era? If Christianity has saved mankind why is the so-called “Christian” world still torn and ravaged by war, hatred, and injustice?

We suggest that Christians ”reread” the new Testament to discover whether or not they are on the wrong track! We sincerely believe they are!

Submitted by:
Israel League of Former Christians
M. Alfandari
Jerusalem, Israel

Source: http://lightofisrael.typepad.com/home/read-the-new-testament-we-have-1.html

http://noahide-ancient-path.co.uk/index.php/judaism-articles/judaism-v-christianity/2013/10/5613/